ST. LOUIS — Two of the Isley Brothers, originally from Cincinnati, adopted St. Louis as their hometown more than 20 years ago. St. Louis returned the love Wednesday with a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame. Ernie and Ronald Isley gladly accepted.
"I’d like to thank you all for coming out here," said Ronald Isley to the crowd gathered in front of The Pageant concert venue. "You’re so wonderful. It touches my heart."
Since the 1950's the Isley Brothers have been a hit-making machine.
"Starting with their 1959 hit "Shout", the Isley Brothers appeared on the Billboard chart for an incredible seven consecutive decades," said Delmar Loop developer Joe Edwards before revealing the brand new star.
Guitar virtuoso Ernie Isley explained why the band has been so successful for so long.
"We’ve been able to change when the musical terrain changed, or the musical climate," said Isley, "and not knowing that when technology came along and MTV, hip hop, rap, that there was a whole another group of artists that were going to be leaning on our catalog."