Ernie Isley of the Isley Brothers Interview – Buying a white Strat with Ernie Isley (Part 1 of 3) [Listen 18:20 min] S02 Ep15
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S02 Ep15 (Part 1 of 3) - Buying a white Strat with Ernie Isley
Interview Date: August 13, 2012 @10 am EDT
Special Guest: Ernie Isley (of the Isley Brothers) - is a key member in one of the most famous soul/funk/R&R bands of all time. Ernie Isley was a crucial component in the band at a historic and transitional time in music; they changed the sound of the band's early music with songs like “This Old Heart of Mine” and “Shout” and advanced into their later funk driven sound with songs like "Fight the Power Pts. 1 & 2", "Harvest for the World", "Voyage to Atlantis" and “That Lady.” Ernie Isley helped make the Isley brothers one of the few groups that have charted in five consecutive decades. In this podcast we talk about the history of the Isley Family and the day Jimi Hendrix moved into the Isley house when Ernie was 11.
Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
Most know him by his outrageous stage presence and antics, most notably, from Monterrey, or Woodstock, but Jimi Hendrix was truly an artist, and had a gentle and introspective nature. It's this nature of his that drew attention to him when he may have preferred simply to melt into the crowd. He earned more than a few nicknames because of this. Ironically, he started out with "Buster"
Jimi's first legal name was Johnny Allan Hendrix. His father, Al,returning from the service and meeting him for the first time, had it legally changed to James Marshall Hendrix.
Apparently, because of his quiet demeanour and innocent face, the band members of The Rocking Kings would call him "Cupcake."
After his time in the Army and befriending Billy Cox, Jimi was in a band called the King Kasuals, who referred to him as "Marbles" as in he's lost his for doing things like sleeping with his guitar.
For what exact reason is not explained, perhaps for obscurity or just his sense of humour, but Jimi told his idol, Little Richard, that his name was Maurice James.
A friend of his in Harlem, Dean Courtney, called him "Snagglepuss." So far, it can only be proven by it's absence, but no bad men have ever been known to be called Snagglepuss.
It's said that Etta James called Jimi "Egg Foo Yung" because that was all that he'd eat for dinner every night in Harlem.
Beautiful, just beautiful.
Parting Thoughts:
For those of you who are interested in the instruments, Ernie has some custom Stratocasters built for him. Here's a link which shows one of them. http://www.fender.com/blog/watch-joss-stone-ernie-isley-on-leno/
Historical research gained from: Becoming Jimi Hendrix: From Southern Crossroads to Psychedelic London, the Untold Story of a Musical Genius by Steven Roby and Brad Schreiber, Da Capo Press 2010