(October 8, 2022) Back in 2021, when The Isley Brothers and Earth Wind & Fire teamed on the television and web show Versuz, they posted on social media - to great fanfare on our pages - that they would be going into the studio together. We never heard more about the collaboration, but the result is buried ten songs deep in the new Isleys album, Make Me Say It Again, Girl, and includes El DeBarge, to boot.
The trio of acts come together to provide a faithful cover of Switch's iconic classic 1978 romantic ballad, "There'll Never Be." The addition of DeBarge to the fold is inspired, as he beautifully handles many of the vocals originally performed by his late brother Bobby, the lead singer for Switch. And with Ron Isley, Philip Bailey and DeBarge alternating leads, the song is a fun romp performed by a roomful of artists with too many classic hits to count.
(October 8, 2022) Back in 2021, when The Isley Brothers and Earth Wind & Fire teamed on the television and web show Versuz, they posted on social media - to great fanfare on our pages - that they would be going into the studio together. We never heard more about the collaboration, but the result is buried ten songs deep in the new Isleys album, Make Me Say It Again, Girl, and includes El DeBarge, to boot.
The trio of acts come together to provide a faithful cover of Switch's iconic classic 1978 romantic ballad, "There'll Never Be." The addition of DeBarge to the fold is inspired, as he beautifully handles many of the vocals originally performed by his late brother Bobby, the lead singer for Switch. And with Ron Isley, Philip Bailey and DeBarge alternating leads, the song is a fun romp performed by a roomful of artists with too many classic hits to count.
It's tough to find a soul music fan who didn't dig the Switch original, and this cover feels like a warm, comfortable blanket wrapped around us by artists who've played such a big part of our musical lives. Check it out below.
By Chris Rizik
The Isley Brothers, Earth Wind & Fire
and El DeBarge
"There'll Never Be"