3 + 3 Featuring: That Lady

.com As influential in its own way as early '70s efforts by Sly and the Family Stone, Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield, and Marvin Gaye, the Isley Brothers' 3+3 took black music to the next level. Combining frontline vocalists O'Kelly, Ronald, and Rudolph with the instrumental chops of younger brothers Ernie and Marvin, plus brother-in-law Chris Jasper, the group broke out with the smoking single "That Lady," featuring Ernie's Hendrixian guitar. They followed it up with some soulful reworkings of rock songs of the moment (which, as luck would have it, all turned into certified classics), including the Doobie Brothers' "Listen to the Music," Seals and Crofts's "Summer Breeze," and James Taylor's "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight." It's hard to imagine now how daring a strategy that was at the time, but the results sounds as fine today as ever. --Daniel Durchholz

3 + 3