Isley Brothers’ Rudolph Isley dies

Rudolph Isley, a founding member of the legendary R&B group the Isley Brothers, has died at the age of 84.

The iconic singer passed away in Illinois on Oct. 11, according to TMZ. It’s believed he suffered a heart attack but details of his cause of death were not immediately made known.

As a teenager, Rudolph Isley began performing gospel music with his brothers O’Kelly, Vernon and Ronald in their native Cincinnati. They soon began touring around the Eastern United States.

Following the tragic death of Vernon, who died after he was hit by a car while riding his bike at the age of 13, the group initially disbanded. However, they eventually regrouped and, as a trio, relocated to New York City to pursue other genres including pop, R&B and soul.

The band signed with RCA Records and had their first mainstream hit with 1959’s “Shout,” which Rolling Stone later ranked as one of the 500 greatest songs of all time. They followed that success with their cover of “Twist and Shout,” which spent 11 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

The group went on to produce additional hits like “This Old Heart of Mine” and “It’s Your Thing” under their own record company and later with Motown.