Ha! What “size” is it…small, smaller or minuscule?
I just opened up their Wiki page, and there were DOZENS of them through the years, including P. P. Arnold & “trail-blazer) Bonnie Bramlett! They are both still with us, and I bet they’ve got some stories to tell (some of which might be pretty ugly):
I find music docs generally to be the lowest form of filmmaking. And part of the reason may be that fans want them to recount everything that ever happened to the band. And in turn the filmmakers accept the challenge. And then it’s not really a film anymore. So i am happy every time a film doesn’t do that. eg New York Doll.
Which is precisely why I dug Becoming Led Zeppelin so much - take a specific point in the career and focus on it, and you come up with something much richer.
I can't explain it, but I haven't been into rock docs for quite some time now. I did catch "Summer of Soul" and "Becoming Led Zeppelin" in the theater and enjoyed both, but reading this makes me want to dive back into them. I'll start with "It's Your Thing!"
More thanks from here for the Isleys hint, and I've also got to say that yours is one of the best music-related dreams I've ever heard of. I hardly ever remember my own dreams upon awakening – only when it's been a good one, I frustratingly tend to remember that it was good.
The music dream I remember best is one I once had, where it was a warm summer night and I was walking in a kind of meadowy grove near the dormitory where I lived as a student, with one of my professors from that time, who suddenly said by way of an aside that he had "written one track on Alice Cooper's newest album". Now this professor was too old to have been a rock fan, and could not keep time or hold a tune, but he had in fact made a couple of novelty EPs in 1969–70, singing satirical topical songs with scurrilous Fugs-type lyrics to an anodyne accordion-jazz accompaniment. But he probably died never having even heard of Alice Cooper.
Hahaha, that's a pretty amazing one, especially considering your prof's odd recording career. I have a LOT of music-related dreams (including ones where I find weird old records the racks of some dusty drugstore), but my favorite/most frustrating one was from about 12 years ago, where I dreamt that Neil Young had invited me to audition for the rhythm guitar spot in Crazy Horse. I spent much of the dream figuring out which guitars and effects pedals I was going to use at the audition... but right as Neil walked in and we were about to hit the first note on "Powderfinger," my cat Otis jumped onto my chest and woke me up. Good thing he was cute!
The Isley Brothers are included among the luminaries featured at the 2026 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in April. As a new resident, I feel I must attend and - having read your piece this morning - will make sure I don’t miss them.
Oh, you should definitely go — there's only two of 'em left, but Ronald's voice is still a thing of ageless beauty, and any opportunity to see Ernie play guitar should absolutely be acted upon!
Oh man, I just had a panic attack looking at the listed artists for Day One alone. Will examine more closely... but off the top of my head, I would definitely wanna catch Fred Wesley, Herbie Hancock and Sue Foley...
Wonderful news about "It's Your Thing". It had the misfortune to be distributed by a very small film studio so it didn't make it much outside of its target market. Which is probably why it never got a good video/DVD release, but this YouTube exposure will get it back on peoples' minds.
In some ways, it's an east coast version of Wattstax, which would happen a few years later. Having the Isleys at their peak, plus Ike and Tina, the Stairsteps, the Winstons and Moms Mabley makes it a very significant depiction of the Black music scene at that time.
Glad you enjoyed the Zep docu, Dan, your assessment was right on imo. And, yes, really appreciate the heads up on "It's Your Thing" - that looks great!
While I've never craved a steak since going veggie almost a decade ago, I weirdly still crave things like gyros and Italian cold cuts. Must be the nitrates... There used to be a place in Virginia where I could get genuinely convincing veggie gyros and cold cuts via mail-order, but sadly they went out of business a few years back.
Can't wait to see It's Your Thing! Also, I totally get where you're coming from on Moonage Daydream. I really enjoyed it, more as a "happening" than a documentary if you know what I mean.
Concerning the strange dream on Friday night: I sure hope it wasn’t triggered by Brad’s and my Polnareff piece? 😂 Or was the hint already in the title… the dreams started after eating too much gyros? 😁
Anyway, who knows why we dream the things we dream sometimes. But when a cured German salami features in it, I’d rather call it a nightmare… but I digress.
Fun piece on the music docs over on Netflix. We do have a subscription, mainly because my better half still likes to binge-watch one of their series from time to time. As you can decouple your brain while watching (cause you don't need it) it seems to be relaxing or so he says. Personally, I haven’t watched anything on that platform for ages, although I sometimes check if they have any interesting documentaries on offer. I’ve seen the Devo one, I must check out the LZ one as well.
For your info: I’ll be doing “It’s a Disco Night” by the Isleys soon.
Oooh, nice! That's an underrated period for the Isleys — looking forward to it!
Mostly, I'm remembering now why I cancelled Netflix in the first place — too many Netflix-produced reality shows and feature films, and very little in the way of stuff that I actually want to watch beyond the Great British Bake-Off and a handful of interesting documentaries, music and otherwise. (The Wham one was pretty decent, too, though it gets a bit confusing at times because George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley's interview voice-overs sound nearly identical) We have it until March 16, and I don't think I'll miss it when it goes...
Best post title yet. And the content ain’t bad either.
Thanks, brother. I aims ta please!
Thanks for the tip on It’s Your Thing! I was not aware…
Right on, Jeremy! I figured most folks wouldn’t be aware of it yet, so I had to spread the word!
Will the “Ikette mini-skirt” EVER make a comeback?
I'm wearing one right now!
Ha! What “size” is it…small, smaller or minuscule?
I just opened up their Wiki page, and there were DOZENS of them through the years, including P. P. Arnold & “trail-blazer) Bonnie Bramlett! They are both still with us, and I bet they’ve got some stories to tell (some of which might be pretty ugly):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ikettes?wprov=sfti1#1960s–1970s
I heard P.P. guesting on the Rockonteurs podcast a little while back — she DEFINITELY has some stories!
She’s pretty cool, and somehow made these guys look “TALLER”!
https://youtu.be/6vWTtx_PxPo?si=rdySg6Heuwfz1ckh
I find music docs generally to be the lowest form of filmmaking. And part of the reason may be that fans want them to recount everything that ever happened to the band. And in turn the filmmakers accept the challenge. And then it’s not really a film anymore. So i am happy every time a film doesn’t do that. eg New York Doll.
Which is precisely why I dug Becoming Led Zeppelin so much - take a specific point in the career and focus on it, and you come up with something much richer.
Congratulations for having hundreds of paid subscribers. That’s a real accomplishment
Thank you! I deeply appreciate every single one of them!
I can't explain it, but I haven't been into rock docs for quite some time now. I did catch "Summer of Soul" and "Becoming Led Zeppelin" in the theater and enjoyed both, but reading this makes me want to dive back into them. I'll start with "It's Your Thing!"
Thanks for the It's Your Thing heads up!
More thanks from here for the Isleys hint, and I've also got to say that yours is one of the best music-related dreams I've ever heard of. I hardly ever remember my own dreams upon awakening – only when it's been a good one, I frustratingly tend to remember that it was good.
The music dream I remember best is one I once had, where it was a warm summer night and I was walking in a kind of meadowy grove near the dormitory where I lived as a student, with one of my professors from that time, who suddenly said by way of an aside that he had "written one track on Alice Cooper's newest album". Now this professor was too old to have been a rock fan, and could not keep time or hold a tune, but he had in fact made a couple of novelty EPs in 1969–70, singing satirical topical songs with scurrilous Fugs-type lyrics to an anodyne accordion-jazz accompaniment. But he probably died never having even heard of Alice Cooper.
Hahaha, that's a pretty amazing one, especially considering your prof's odd recording career. I have a LOT of music-related dreams (including ones where I find weird old records the racks of some dusty drugstore), but my favorite/most frustrating one was from about 12 years ago, where I dreamt that Neil Young had invited me to audition for the rhythm guitar spot in Crazy Horse. I spent much of the dream figuring out which guitars and effects pedals I was going to use at the audition... but right as Neil walked in and we were about to hit the first note on "Powderfinger," my cat Otis jumped onto my chest and woke me up. Good thing he was cute!
The Isley Brothers are included among the luminaries featured at the 2026 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in April. As a new resident, I feel I must attend and - having read your piece this morning - will make sure I don’t miss them.
Oh, you should definitely go — there's only two of 'em left, but Ronald's voice is still a thing of ageless beauty, and any opportunity to see Ernie play guitar should absolutely be acted upon!
Done! I can’t post the image here, but you should have a look at the insane lineup - I have tickets for both weekends. Any recommendations welcomed!
Oh man, I just had a panic attack looking at the listed artists for Day One alone. Will examine more closely... but off the top of my head, I would definitely wanna catch Fred Wesley, Herbie Hancock and Sue Foley...
Ron and Ernie are keeping the family flame burning still.
Wonderful news about "It's Your Thing". It had the misfortune to be distributed by a very small film studio so it didn't make it much outside of its target market. Which is probably why it never got a good video/DVD release, but this YouTube exposure will get it back on peoples' minds.
In some ways, it's an east coast version of Wattstax, which would happen a few years later. Having the Isleys at their peak, plus Ike and Tina, the Stairsteps, the Winstons and Moms Mabley makes it a very significant depiction of the Black music scene at that time.
The concert took place on June 21... which means it was just eight days before the kickoff of the Harlem Cultural Festival captured in Summer of Soul.
Coincidence? I think not...
Nice! If only I could my hands on some leftover Skittles from Eno's Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy sessions, I would die a happy man.
Check eBay!
Glad you enjoyed the Zep docu, Dan, your assessment was right on imo. And, yes, really appreciate the heads up on "It's Your Thing" - that looks great!
Thanks for those links, Dan. Excited to watch the Yankee Stadium footage.
Just popping in to say “We Can Be Gyros” is kind of genius.
Thanks, Rabbi. There is part of my brain that has been constantly churning out meat-related music puns since my teens — and there's Exhibit A.
Excellent assessments and damn, that's a lot of processed meat content for a vegetarian and damnit, there's no good gyros in LA!
While I've never craved a steak since going veggie almost a decade ago, I weirdly still crave things like gyros and Italian cold cuts. Must be the nitrates... There used to be a place in Virginia where I could get genuinely convincing veggie gyros and cold cuts via mail-order, but sadly they went out of business a few years back.
Can't wait to see It's Your Thing! Also, I totally get where you're coming from on Moonage Daydream. I really enjoyed it, more as a "happening" than a documentary if you know what I mean.
I get that — it was probably a lot more fun to experience in a theater than at home, too.
Am I the only one who thought The Isley Bros were singing, "kiss your thing," when "It's Your Thing" hit the airwaves back in 1969? I thought so.
Concerning the strange dream on Friday night: I sure hope it wasn’t triggered by Brad’s and my Polnareff piece? 😂 Or was the hint already in the title… the dreams started after eating too much gyros? 😁
Anyway, who knows why we dream the things we dream sometimes. But when a cured German salami features in it, I’d rather call it a nightmare… but I digress.
Fun piece on the music docs over on Netflix. We do have a subscription, mainly because my better half still likes to binge-watch one of their series from time to time. As you can decouple your brain while watching (cause you don't need it) it seems to be relaxing or so he says. Personally, I haven’t watched anything on that platform for ages, although I sometimes check if they have any interesting documentaries on offer. I’ve seen the Devo one, I must check out the LZ one as well.
For your info: I’ll be doing “It’s a Disco Night” by the Isleys soon.
Oooh, nice! That's an underrated period for the Isleys — looking forward to it!
Mostly, I'm remembering now why I cancelled Netflix in the first place — too many Netflix-produced reality shows and feature films, and very little in the way of stuff that I actually want to watch beyond the Great British Bake-Off and a handful of interesting documentaries, music and otherwise. (The Wham one was pretty decent, too, though it gets a bit confusing at times because George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley's interview voice-overs sound nearly identical) We have it until March 16, and I don't think I'll miss it when it goes...