Can you believe that back in the day singer, Wilson Pickett, decided to play a game of  shoot-em-up-bang-bang against The Isley Brothers?!! It’s true, but the only problem is Pickett was the only willing participant in this situation. You see, the Isley’s weren’t actually in on the game, as a matter of fact, it wasn’t a game at all. Our man, Pickett, was stone serious when he tried to land a few bullets in a couple of the Isley’s!

How did this even happen, you ask? Well, on one typical night in December 1975, Wilson Pickett was flat out drunk that; and after he and the Isley’s got into an argument, all HELL broke loose. I guess it’s never wise to mix pistols, alcohol, and quick tempers together in one setting.

What Had Happened Was…

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Wilson Pickett and The Isley Brothers went on a hunting trip in Andes, New York, when the incident occurred. According to police reports, a drunken Pickett started causing a disturbance in The Andes Hotel. Rudolph Isley and O’Kelly Isley, along with two other men, tried to get Pickett to tone his temper down approximately a thousand notches, by taking him into a parking lot to reasonably talk to him. As they were trying to calm down “Wicked” Wilson Pickett, a fight broke out between all of them and the drama only escalated from there.

The Isley Brothers and the two unidentified men eventually went into a hotel room and locked the door, but Pickett sniffed them out…just as drunk and angry as he was moments earlier. So, he did what any quick-tempered drunk man with a pistol would do – he fired shots right through the door of The Isley Brothers’ hotel room, with a .38 caliber two-shot Derringer.

Needless to say, the police showed up and arrested Wilson Pickett, charging him with first-degree reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a dangerous weapon. He was released on $500 bail.

Not sure what Pickett’s relationship was like with the Isley’s after that incident. After all, what does one say to their fellow colleagues after trying to shoot them? ‘Hey man…look here, I apologize for trying to pump bullets into y’all, I didn’t mean any harm, I was drunk?’ Crazy, right? The Isley’s likely never let their guards down around Wilson Pickett again.

Pickett’s Reported Violent Incident With Former New Jersey Mayor

The Isley Brothers incident wasn’t “Wicked” Wilson’s only riled up moment. He once allegedly became angry at the then-mayor of Englewood, New Jersey, Mayor Donald Aronson, and decided to do what he presumably believed to be the most logical thing to do when one doesn’t like someone. Pickett reportedly did donuts in his Cadillac right there on the front lawn of the mayor’s house, while shouting threats at the mayor…WOW. That Wilson Pickett was something else, I tell ya.’

There’s no denying that Pickett and the Isley Brothers are incredible artists, despite the drama. And besides, we old school music fans, would much rather vibe to their music, which grown folks can make LOVE to…not WAR. Can I get a ‘Amen’ somebody?!!

-ILoveOldSchoolMusic, old school news with a new point of view

[Source: Jet Magazine]

The post Hot-Headed Soul Singer Once Nearly Killed Isley Brothers During Weird, Heated Dispute? appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

As many of us know from first-hand experience, every now and then there’s some family drama that gets stirred up amongst loved ones. And unfortunately for the Isley Brothers, the pot has just officially been stirred.

Original Isley Brothers member, Rudolph Isley, has just hit his brother, Ronald Isley…claiming Ronald stabbed him in the back on the business end.

Rudolph says he’s the co-owner of the Isley Brothers trademark, and that any business involving their brand must first have his approval; as well as Ronald’s approval– who apparently also co-owns the trademark. In Rudolph’s lawsuit, he claims Ronald sidestepped his bro’ and instead is sneakily making major business decisions without Rudolph…in turn, reportedly stackin’ all the profits.

Via TMZ: According to a new lawsuit…Rudolph is suing Ronald over the rights to “The Isley Brothers” trademark … he says Ronald applied and got approval for the trademark in his own name and is taking all the profits.

Rudolph says he and Ronald are supposed to split all profits from the band 50/50 … claiming they’ve each had 50% ownership in the band since their brother O’Kelly died way back in 1986 … but Rudolph claims Ronald recently went rogue.

In the docs, Rudolph claims Ronald applied for and was granted the exclusive rights to “The Isley Brothers” for use on “visual recordings and audiovisual recordings featuring music and animation” back in August … but Rudolph says Ronald needs his approval to cut such a deal.

In addition to the aforementioned issues, Rudoplh is also claiming that prior to Ronald filing for “exclusive” ownership of their trademark in August 2022, Ronald had also filed to put the ownership in his name in November 2021, but he says they were still splitting the Isley Brothers profits 50/50, from several major business transactions– including a major multi-million dollar publishing deal. But Rudolph says now that Ronald has gone behind his back to gain “exclusive” ownership, he is requesting that a judge order an updated audit on all profits he claims Ronald has stacked ever since the trademark change.

There’s more…Rudoplh is also asking the court to re-honor the co-ownership of the Isley Brother trademark, which he says lists both he and Ronald as the owners. He’s demanding that Ronald run him his HALF of all Isley Brothers’ profits that Ronald has supposedly racked up after ‘secretly’ changing the trademark ownership solely to his name only.

Not sure exactly how many millions are at stake, but hopefully Rudolph and Ronald Isley can get this situation straightened out quickly. Rudolph, Ronald, and Ernie Isley are the last living members of their iconic group, and they’re not getting any younger. So, it would be a shame to let this beef linger any longer than necessary…for the sake of their fam,’ and their legacy. But I get it…sometimes when it comes to mixing family and business, that feat is far easier said, than done.

The post Family Beef: Rudolph Isley Files Big Lawsuit Against Brother Ronald Isley, Makes Major Claims appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

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How did this even happen, you ask? Well, it turns out Wilson Pickett was flat out drunk that night and after he and the Isley’s got into an argument, all HELL broke loose. I guess it’s never wise to mix pistols, alcohol, and quick tempers together in one setting.

What Had Happened Was…

Wilson Pickett and The Isley Brothers went on a hunting trip in Andes, New York, when the incident occurred and according to police reports, Pickett was extremely drunk when he started causing a disturbance in The Andes Hotel. Rudolph Isley (pictured below, top row, far right) and O’Kelly Isley (pictured below, bottom row, left), along with two other men, tried to get Pickett to tone his temper down about thousand notches, by taking him into a parking lot to talk to him. As they were trying to calm down “Wicked” Wilson Pickett, a fight broke out between all of them and the drama escalated from there.

Embed from Getty Images

The Isley Brothers and the two unidentified men eventually went into a hotel room and locked the door, but Pickett sniffed them out and was still just as drunk and angry as he was moments earlier. So, he did what any quick tempered drunk man with a pistol would do- he fired shots right through the door of The Isley Brothers’ hotel room, with a .38 caliber two shot Derringer.

Needless to say, the police showed up and arrested Wilson Pickett, charging him with first-degree reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a dangerous weapon. He was released on $500 bail.

Not sure what Pickett’s relationship was like with the Isley’s after that. What do you say to your fellow work colleagues after you tried to shoot them? ‘Hey man…look here, I apologize for trying to pump some bullets in y’all, I didn’t mean any harm, I was drunk?’ Crazy, right? LOL. I guess the Isley’s never let their guards down around Wilson Pickett again.

Pickett’s Reported Violent Incident With Former New Jersey Mayor

Now that wasn’t “Wicked” Wilson’s only riled up incident. He once allegedly became angry at the then mayor of Englewood, New Jersey (where Wilson was living), Mayor Donald Aronson, and decided to do what he presumably believed to be the most logical thing to do when one doesn’t like someone. He did donuts in his Cadillac right there on the front lawn of the mayor’s house, while shouting threats at the mayor…WOW. That Wilson Pickett was something else, I tell ya.’

There’s no denying that Pickett and the Isley Brothers are incredible artists though and besides, we, soul music fans, would much rather jam to their music that grown folks can make LOVE to…not WAR. Can I get an Amen somebody?!!

-ILoveOldSchoolMusic, old school news with a new point of view

[Source: Jet Magazine]

The post A Famous Soul Singer Once Almost Killed Isley Brothers During Violent Altercation appeared first on I Love Old School Music.