The Isley Brothers’ “It’s A Disco Night (Rock Don’t Stop)” was one of the rare times they made a club record. They were known for funk, rock and soul but disco was not a genre they had directly approached despite having helped lead the way to its creation. Winner Takes All was their 17th album and it was unusual in other ways because it was their only double album and there were no ballads. But their prolific creativity persevered in their versatility. They mastered a disco groove with the Isley funk percolating in the middle of a rhythm designed for satin slip dresses and oversized collars on the dancefloor. Ron Isley’s songbird falsetto gave smooth instructions to the dancers while his brothers Rudolph and Kelly commanded everyone to keep rocking. Winner Takes All became a certified Gold album and “It’s A Disco Night (Rock Don’t Stop)” survived the disco backlash to emerge as another quintessential party jam. The Isley Brothers released their 31st studio album Make Me Say It Again, Girl in 2022 and are long overdue for a biopic.
