R&B legends The Isley Brothers land on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart for the first time since 2006 as their current single, “Friends & Family,” featuring Ronald Isley and Snoop Dogg, debuts at No. 49 on the list dated July 17.
The track enters the radio survey after it gained 20% in audience impressions to 2.2 million in the week ending July 11, according to MRC Data. “Friends” gives the act its ninth appearance on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay since the chart began in 1993, notably well after The Isley Brothers’ success in mainstream music began. Here’s a list of those nine appearances:
Song Title, Artist, Peak Position, Peak Year
“Let’s Lay Together,” No. 19, 1996
“Floatin’ on Your Love,” featuring Angela Winbush, No. 22, 1996
“Tears,” No. 20, 1997
“Contagious,” featuring Ronald Isley, No. 3, 2001
“Secret Lover,” featuring Ronald Isley, No. 56, 2002
“What Would You Do?,” featuring Ronald Isley, No. 11, 2003
“Busted,” featuring Ronald Isley & JS, No. 32, 2003
“Just Came Here to Chill,” featuring Ronald Isley, No. 23, 2006
“Friends & Family,” featuring Ronald Isley and Snoop Dogg, No. 49, 2021
Beyond its R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay showing, the collaboration also rises 17-15 on the Adult R&B Airplay chart and is their best result since “Just Came Here to Chill” peaked at No. 3 in 2006. In the latest tracking week, “Friends” added 17% more plays compared with the prior frame.
“Friends” also received an initial publicity boost after The Isley Brothers debuted the track during their April 4 appearance on the hit series Verzuz. The episode, hosted by Steve Harvey, featured the Isleys competing against fellow R&B icons Earth, Wind and Fire.
The family-based R&B group lineup, which at times included various brothers and a brother-in-law, though now consists of solely Ronald and Ernie, have churned out hits since the 1950s with a blend of soul, funk, rock and gospel evident in classics such as “Shout!,” “It’s Your Thing,” “That Lady” and the original version of “Twist & Shout.” Now, as “Friends & Family” marks their first charting single in the 2020s, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees extend their Billboard chart career into an eighth decade.
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