From “It’s Your Thing” to “Between the Sheets,” Elizabeth Isley-Barkley describes life in the R&B limelight.

By Courtney Leiva | Email the author | 5:07am

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Most people can’t say they grew up in family filled with Grammy winners. And they most certainly can’t remember Jimi Hendrix playing in their basement or meeting Marvin Gaye.

But Hopatcong resident Elizabeth Isley-Barkley, the daughter Rudolph Isley of the Isley Brothers, sure can. And she’s written a book about it.

“One Isley Brothers’ Daugther” is a 72-page journey into Isley-Barkley’s life among stars. And it’s not a gossipy, tell-all, she insists.

“I should have written it earlier but I really wrote it for the fans,” Isley-Barkley said. “I can remember in college people would say, ‘I wish I could trade places with you.’ And growing up surrounded by fame I always saw performers through rose-colored glasses. I always saw people with money and the problems that sometimes fans don’t see. The book is a personal journey with what I experienced throughout my life.

“I always had chapters written under my bed, but I was a little afraid of my dad’s reaction. I wrote the book in order to educate other people to see performers for who they really are.”

The book describes some of Barkley’s more exciting moments, such as meeting celebrities and Hendrix’s guitar playing interrupting her homework.

“When I was growing up, I remember Jimi Hendrix playing with my dad and uncles in the basement,” Isley-Barkley said. “I remember not being able to do my homework, but it was really exciting.

“I met a lot of people. I remember when my father woke me up to meet Marvin Gaye. When I was younger we would tour a lot. We went to concerts in limousines and at the end of concerts when the group performed ‘Twist and Shout,’ we even went on stage.”

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The group attracted all sorts of fans. Some even would come and see Elizabeth’s house.

“My dad used to buy expensive cars, one of them being a Rolls Royce. I remember people coming just to look at our house and my dad’s cars.”

However, the rush and excitement of touring with her father and his brothers is something Barkley will always remember.

“I really remember the thrill of the concerts as I describe in the introduction of my book,” Isley-Barkley said. “As a fan myself, I would see people jumping up and down for my dad and you would just get caught up in this frenzy and, to be honest, it’s really hard to put into words. But overall, it was a great experience.”

With fame and fortune, Isley-Barkley wanted fans to know that celebrities are people, too.

“Kids are really getting lost in TV, idolizing celebrities and people a little too far,” she said. I wanted to show my readers that everyone puts their pants on just like everybody else and in the end celebrities are people too.”

Isley-Barkley said she kept the book to herself for years and didn’t even tell some of the closest members of her family.

“When I first wrote the book, I didn’t tell anyone except for my uncle Ernie, but it was mostly a surprise,” Isley-Barkley said. “When my sister found out, she called our brother because she had no idea. However, my book is not a tell-all with personal things to tell or gossip. This is how I was and it’s my point of view.”

But in the end, writing the book has proven to be therapeutic to Isley-Barkley, as she was able to put her own feelings into perspective.

“It was like taking off 10 pounds,” she said.

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Grammy winners The Isley Brothers were a successful music group of predominately made up of brothers, and one brother in-law. The group started with gospel music and eventually transitioned into other genres, such as doo-wop, funk, soul and R&B.

The group made their first hit “Shout,” which The Beatles would later cover, in the year 1959.

After forming their own label T-Neck Records in the 1964, the group experienced success through hits such as ‘Fight the Power,” “For the Love of You,” and “Between the Sheets.”

In 1969, the group won its first Grammy.

The Isley Brothers separated when Ernie Isley, Marvin Isley, and Chris Jasper parted ways. But the group reformed in the year 1991, this time with Ronald Isley, Ernie Isley and Marvin Isley.

The Isley Brothers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

Like her musically-inclined family members, Isley-Barkley has musical talents of her own.

“We all sing as we used to put on shows during high school,” Isley-Barkley said. “I’m more of the writer of the family as I like to be behind the scenes. I’ve also written musicals and children’s books.”

But Isely-Barkley’s favorite song is “Shout.”

“It’s what got my family into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,” she sad. “It’s the song you hear at weddings and concerts, and you can’t sit still when you hear that song.”

Read more about Isley-Barkley’s book at oneisleybrothersdaughter.com.

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