American musician, one of four brothers who sang in the local church choir before forming a professional quartet in 1955.
They quit for a year when brother Vernon was killed in a bicycle accident. After they resumed, they had a single record deal in 1957 but their big break did not come for another two years, a Rhythm & Blues hit in 1959.
They were able to move the entire family to New Jersey. In July 1962 their “Twist and Shout” topped the charts.
The brothers formed their own record label in 1964, T-Neck, with Ron as President and head vocalist. Their first release had Jimi Hendrix on guitar. They were signed by Motown 1965-68, then revived T-Neck, writing and producing their own material.
In 1969 the boys added two more brothers and a cousin who were with them for 15 years. There was an acrimonious split when they became a trio themselves in 1984.
The three brothers were inducted into the R&R Hall of Fame 1/15/1992. Ron and Rudy continued as the Isley Brothers after Kelly died in 1986.
He declared bankruptcy in 1997, after the IRS seized his yacht. He emerged from bankruptcy in 2001. However, he reportedly neglected to file tax returns for the years 1997-2001 and in 2002 did not sign his return. On October 13, 2004, a federal grand jury handed down an indictment charging him with five counts of tax evasion and one count of failing to file an income tax return. The Internal Revenue Service claims that he evaded taxes from 1997 to 2002 by allegedly depositing his dead brother’s royalty checks, buying personal cars using a business account and using cash to keep payments to band members off the books,
Link to Wikipedia biography