That Lady
View on Discogs
Album Summary
Dropped in 1973 on the family-owned T-Neck Records, 'That Lady' stands as one of the crown jewels of The Isley Brothers' self-produced catalog. The brothers took the wheel themselves in the production seat, and what came out of those sessions was nothing short of a revelation — a two-part sonic journey built around one of the most electrifying guitar riffs the decade would ever witness. This was The Isley Brothers at their most fearless, fusing the raw edge of rock guitar with the deep, rolling currents of R&B and funk, and doing it entirely on their own terms.
Reception
- "That Lady (Part 1)" climbed to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving The Isley Brothers one of the biggest crossover moments of their storied career.
- The single performed powerfully on the R&B charts, cementing the group's status as one of the dominant forces in 1970s soul and funk.
- Radio programmers across the country embraced the track immediately, and it became one of the most recognizable recordings in the brothers' entire catalog.
Significance
- This record marks a bold and defining moment in The Isley Brothers' evolution, where they leaned hard into funk and soul while weaving in rock guitar sensibilities that few of their contemporaries had the nerve to attempt.
- Ernie Isley's scorching guitar work on this record announced him as a singular voice on the instrument — his playing didn't just complement the song, it became the heartbeat of it, reshaping what people expected from an R&B record in 1973.
- "That Lady" carved out a lane for the funk-soul-rock crossover sound that would echo through the remainder of the decade, proving that Black artists could command the electric guitar with as much authority as anyone on the planet.
Samples
- That Lady (Part 1) — one of the most sampled recordings in hip-hop and R&B history, with its guitar riff and groove appearing across dozens of records spanning multiple generations of artists
Tracklist
-
A That Lady (Part 1) —
3:09
-
B That Lady (Part 2) —
3:15
Artist Details
The Isley Brothers are a legendary soul and R&B institution, born out of Cincinnati, Ohio in the mid-1950s, where brothers Ronald, Rudolph, and O'Kelly first fused gospel fire with rhythm and blues grit to create a sound that could shake the walls and still make you cry like a baby. From the raw, hollering energy of "Shout" to the smooth, funky grooves of "That Lady" and "Between the Sheets," these brothers evolved with every decade, proving that true greatness doesn't age — it just gets deeper. Their influence stretches across rock, soul, funk, and hip-hop, touching everyone from Jimi Hendrix, who actually toured with them early in his career, to the countless producers who've sampled their irresistible grooves, cementing the Isley Brothers as one of the most enduring and far-reaching forces in the entire history of American music.
