Table of Contents

The 20th of February 1974

Official U.K. Singles Chart results from Sunday the 17th to Saturday the 23rd of February 1974

Cut-off for sales figures was up to the end of Saturday the 16th of February

Results counted from Sunday the 17th,

published on Tuesday the 19th,

and broadcast on B.B.C. Radio 1 on Sunday the 24th of February 1974.

The Isley Brothers

Highways Of My Life

At No.26, on the “The Top 50 U.K. Singles Chart”, the week of my 2nd Birthday, are The Isley Brothers with Highways Of My Life.

As I continue to run through this chart,..

…as part of my own musical road, I now meet up with the Isley Brothers who, with the title of this single, sound to me like they’re on a similar journey.

At this point in their career,..

…the brothers themselves have been going through some personal career changes.

Originally from Ohio, Cincinnati, before a tragic accident killed their brother Vernon (who at the time was also the lead singer of the band), the family moved away to New York, where after some time, they decided to carry on as a trio, with Ronald taking over the lead singing duties.

The three brothers, O’Kelly, Ronald and Rudolph, who were now performing into their third decade, had also recently changed record contracts from Buddha, to now being on Epic. They also took this opportunity to officially add younger brothers Ernie and Marvin, and brother-in-law Chris Jasper to the line-up (even though the extra three had been unofficially contributing with the band for a number of years already). Nevertheless, the official addition of the three made them a formidable sound and presence in the music world. It also inspired the title of the latest album this single is pulled from; “3 + 3“.

Initially envisaged as a B-Side,..

…outside interest in the song, along with constant radio airplay in the U.S. pushed the decision to promote the track to the A-Side of the single.

It entered the UK Chart at No.48 last month on the 13th of January and then climbed into the Top 40 the following week.

By week three, it had entered into the Top 30 to hit its peak position of No.25; then, after taking a couple of steps back, rose back up to that position once more, before it drops back a place again this week.

From here,..

…the single will eventually fall further and then slip away after the 9th of March, having driven through a total of 8 weeks.

The “A” Side

The Isley Brothers – Highways Of My Life

The “B” Side

The Isley Brothers – Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight