Beyoncé has a new song that was released Friday — and it’s not on her critically acclaimed, chart-topping “Renaissance.”
The 28-time Grammy Award winner has teamed up with Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Ronald Isley on a remake of The Isley Brothers classic “Make Me Say It Again, Girl,” which arrived on digital streaming platforms Friday.
The song originally appeared on the legendary R&B group’s 1975 opus “The Heat Is On” as “Make Me Say It Again Girl (Part 1 & 2).”
The six-track collection, which also featured what would become seminal Isley Brothers’ songs —”Fight the Power (Part 1 & 2)” and “For the Love of You (Part 1 & 2)” — became the group’s first No. 1 title on the Billboard 200 chart.
Throughout her 25-plus year career, Beyoncé has consistently honored the classic R&B music idiom; On their 1998 self-titled debut, her group Destiny’s Child covered The Commodores’ “Sail On.” Also on that album, the opening track, “Second Nature,” sampled “Make Me Say It Again Girl (Part 1 & 2).” Isaac Hayes, Barry White and Al Green are also R&B greats sampled on the set.
As a soloist, she covered Bootsy Collins‘ “I’d Rather Be With You” and duetted with Luther Vandross on a remake of the Robert Flack and Donny Hathaway Quiet Storm classic “The Closer I Get to You” in 2003. Two years later, she teamed up with Stevie Wonder for a cover of one of Vandross’ signature ballads “So Amazing” on an all-star posthumous tribute album.
Also of note: Beyoncé’s cover of the Etta James staple “At Last” was the first song President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama danced to after the Jan. 20 2009 swearing-in ceremony. The song later won the Grammy Award for best traditional R&B vocal performance.
Although more recent collaborators have included hip hop superstars Lil Wayne, Drake, Kanye West, Andre 3000 and her husband Jay-Z, a pairing with Isley seemed destined.
In an interview with Billboard’s longtime R&B editor Gail Mitchell, the 81-year-old Isley said he “met and talked to Beyoncé when she was just getting started with Destiny’s Child,” and that “working with Beyoncé was one of the first things [he] thought about” when he began crafting his new album, which is due out later this year.
The Grammy-winning singer/songwriter described “Make Me Say It Again, Girl” as “probably one of the greatest songs” he co-wrote with his brother Ernie Isley.
“And when we’ve performed the song in concert, the response has been unbelievable,” he shared. “So this was the right song to do”
“Renaissance” has dominated the music business since it was released July 29. The 16-track collection was the biggest selling album of the year by a female artist.
