Summertime: Summer Breeze

The Isley Brothers: Summer Breeze

[purchase]

There is a long history in pop music of white artists covering songs by black artists. In the '70s, R&B/soul/funk group the Isley Brothers turned this around by covering songs by white artists.

Their first album with an expanded six-person lineup, 3 + 3, included covers of Johnathan Edwards "Sunshine (Go Away Today)", the Doobie Brothers' "Listen to the Music", and James Taylor's "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight, but perhaps the whitest song they covered was "Summer Breeze", originally a pop hit for Seals & Crofts. The Isley's version made the U.S. R&B charts in 1974.

With the guitar of new member Ernie Isley giving it some much needed-muscle, the song grooves. It's a great example of how the right arrangement can breathe new life into a song.