Sophia Michaels
It’s immediately obvious to anyone who hears her work: Alex Isley has spent her entire life surrounded by music. The singer-songwriter mixes in all kinds of influences—jazz, classical, R&B, electronica, etc.—on her latest record, Marigold. And the results will appeal to you whether you like Solange, Sade, or Sarah Vaughan. Take it from Rolling Stone Radio co-host Charlie Cooper.
“Such a vibe,” Cooper said as Isley shared her track, “Such A Thing,” on the latest show. “I feel like I could wake up to this every morning.”
Isley joined Cooper and co-host Jon Weigell this week for the inaugural edition of Rolling Stone Radio on Amp, the live radio app where you can listen to top artists, creators, and athletes spin their favorite tracks and take your calls in real time. The musician had recently finished the first U.S. headlining tour of her decade-plus career, so Isley seemed as effervescent as her music when she got the chance to reflect on her summer of shows.
“It was incredible,” Isley said of the dozen-plus tour dates. “I was reminded of how loyal the people who listen to my music have been over the years. It went by really, really fast, so I did what I could to be in the moment because it just flew by. There were a couple moments—and I’m kinda emo already—where I teared up on stage. I couldn’t contain myself because there was so much great love and energy in every city. I was able to do meet and greets and talk with some people and get their stories, ‘We danced to your song at your wedding,’ or, ‘You got me through this time in my life.’ It was overwhelming—but in a really, really good way.”
Isley didn’t call in to only talk about 2022, however. If the name didn’t immediately give it away, she’s the daughter of Ernie Isley of the legendary Isley Brothers. Accordingly, her tastes and inspirations are the stuff of mixtape dreams, so Isley graciously walked Cooper and Weigell through a handful of her all-time favorite tracks during the show’s My Life in 10 Songs segment.
No surprise: Isley’s mix was as rangy and eclectic as the sounds on Marigold itself. She started with some Anita Baker (“Giving You The Best That I’ve Got”), TonyToneToni (“Anniversary [Extended Version]”), and Jamiroquai (“Manifest Destiny”). It was an opening trio that hinted a lot of the selected tracks for Isley harken back to her childhood, though not always to dad’s record collection. “I listened to a lot of Jamiroquai thanks to my mom,” Isley said. “When I think about this list, most of these songs take me back to a simpler time, to my childhood. And I often date things to what grade I was in, so I was in 2nd or 3rd grade when I really became familiar with this LP. I just love the song. And there’s so much musicality within the band, they’re incredible.”
On the topic of childhood, Isley has a daughter herself these days and so her My Life in 10 Songs mix had to account for the next generation, too. She added some Christina Aguilera (“Genie In A Bottle”) and SWV (“Weak”) from her own childhood, a classic Isley Brothers tune (“For The Love Of You”) for her parents, and then a surprise selection for her daughter—Henry Mancini’s classic “Moon River.”
“My daughter loves ‘Moon River,’ so sometimes I sing it to her,” Isley shared. “We also have this huge picture of Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s in my living room. But my daughter loves that song and she sings all day, everyday. So she sings ‘Moon River,’ too.
“I would absolutely support her doing it,” Isley continued when Cooper asked if the next generation of Isley may also go into music professionally. “And I would pass on everything I’ve learned the best I can—the main thing is just if this is what you want to do, make sure you really love it. There are parts that can get hard, of course, but you just have to show patience and grace to yourself.”
To round out her time on the show, Isley dipped into that direct Sade influence with “Cherish the Day” (“She’s a huge part of my artistry, especially how I write,” Isley said) then flexed more of her classical music muscles. Isley picked tracks from modern French composer Francis Lai (“Vivre Pour Vivre” from the film Love Story, which her dad would often play around the house as she grew up) and 18th century Italian composer Tommaso Giordani (“Caro Mio Ben”). Even if those sounds aren’t as easy to pick out on Marigold, Isley shared with Rolling Stone that they are very much a part of her musical DNA.
“When I was kid, my grandmother on my mother’s side actually trained me classically,” Isley revealed. “I started when I was 12 and did it all the way up through college. And that’s been a big part of me finding my voice. She made sure I was doing what I needed to technically so I wasn’t developing bad habits or doing anything that might be detrimental to me as a vocalist.” Now more than a dozen years into her career, grandma’s advice and guidance continues to do Isley well if her recent tour and 2022 album are any indication. Not just anyone can effortlessly fill a room with a chorus like Isley does on “Such A Thing.”
Weigell and Cooper will be back at it Thursday, 10/13 when rapper Smino joins them to share his Life in 10 Songs on another episode of Rolling Stone Radio (@rollingstone on Amp). Download the Amp app and tune in at 11 a.m. ET. Just getting started on Amp? If you want to learn more about the artists and athletes DJing on Amp and experience their shows live, head to onamp.com and just press “play.”
