Songs by: Aaliyah
Songs: “At Your Best” & “Let Me Down Easy”
Photo credit: MikaV - Own work
Usage: CC BY-SA 4.0


Podcast vocals: Gail Nobles
Keyboardist & Drummer: Gail Nobles

Today’s topic is Aaliyah and the Isley Brothers Songs. Songs like At Your Best and Let Me Down Easy.

Nobody can sing a song by the Isley brothers like Aaliyah. I just hummed the tune of “Let Me Down Easy” and I sang three words from “At Your Best” so you can know what songs I’m talking about.

Aaliyah had a beautiful voice. I love the way she sang ballads. Especially those ballads by the Isley brothers. Hearing her was like hearing their songs for the first time. There was so much feeling. The Isley brothers have done well singing those songs too, but there was just something special about the way Aaliyah sang them.

When some people sing, all you hear is shouting, but Aaliyah proved that it is not always needed. She probably could do a lot more with her voice.I’ve heard her sing Christmas songs standing on stage with Shirley Caesar and others on a Christmas special.

I thought, “If Aaliyah sounds that great singing Christmas songs, she probably can sing the gospel.”

Remember her performance at the 1998 Oscars where she made history as the youngest entertainer to ever perform on the Oscar’s stage? Aaliyah performed her song “Journey to the Past” ? Right there she was letting us know that she was more than hip hop. The girl had it going on.

Getting back to the songs she sang by the Isley Brothers, she was already letting us know from the get go. (At Your Best) You Are Love is a song originally a radio hit in 1976.

Then Aaliyah comes along with her version eighteen years later. It was released as the album’s second single. It peaked at number 6 on the billboard Hot 100, and number 2 on the R&B singles chart. It also peaked at number 27 on the UK singles chart. The song was certified a gold single by RIAA on Oct 25, 1994. You can find “ At Your Best” on the studio album, “ Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number”.

“Let Me Down Easy” is from the 1976 album “Harvest for the World” by the Isley Brothers. I heard Aaliyah sing the song in an interview with no music. You can now hear it on YouTube with music.

Today you’ve heard a podcast about “Princess of R&B Aaliyah. I’m your host Gail Nobles. Tune in again next time for more music history & news. Thank you for listening.