Chris Jasper, a former member of the Isley Brothers who helped the group shape its flamboyant funk-rock sound, has died.
The singer-songwriter died Sunday at age 73, his family announced Monday on Facebook, two months after he was diagnosed with cancer in December. The post did not reveal additional details, including Jasper’s cause of death and where he died.
“He will be deeply missed and his legacy will live on as an inspiration for generations,” his family said.
Jasper’s Gold City Records label and members of his family did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for confirmation Tuesday. Jasper’s son Michael confirmed his father’s death to multiple outlets.
Jasper was born Dec. 30, 1951, in Cincinnati and started pursuing music with classical piano in his childhood. His passion for music brought him to the Juilliard School of Music, where he studied musical composition under composer Billy Taylor, and ultimately to the Isley Brothers in the early 1970s. The group in its first iteration comprised brothers O’Kelly Isley, Rudolph Isley, Ronald Isley and Vernon Isley. Despite the 1955 death of Vernon, the group had risen to prominence in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s with hits including “Twist and Shout” and “This Old Heart of Mine.”
Jasper — whose sister Elaine was Rudolph Isley’s wife — joined the group as a keyboardist in 1973 along with younger Isley brothers Ernie and Marvin and helped usher in a chapter of slow funk-rock jams. The band made its sextet status official with the release of its 1973 album “3+3.” During his time with the Isley Brothers, Jasper wrote, arranged and produced songs including “For the Love of You,” “Between the Sheets” and the upbeat “Fight the Power,” according to his website.
Amid tensions between its eponymous brothers, the group fractured into two smaller groups in the ‘80s with Jasper keeping close with Ernie and Marvin to form Isley-Jasper-Isley.
The trio was known for the songs “Caravan of Love,” “Look the Other Way” and “Insatiable Woman.” After three albums, Isley-Jasper-Isley disbanded in 1987. That same year Jasper began his solo career and founded his label, Gold City Records. The “Superbad” and “Share With Me” singer continued his solo work well into his later life. His most recent single, “Be Number One,” dropped in July 2024.
The Isley Brothers, including Jasper, were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. The group in 2014 also received a lifetime achievement award at the Grammy Awards. Independently, Jasper garnered honors from the National R&B Society and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, among other awards.
In Monday’s announcement his family remembered Jasper as more than a musician: “Chris was a dedicated and loving husband and father.”
He is survived by his wife of more than 40 years, Margie Jasper, and their three sons, Michael, Nicholas and Christopher, according to the family’s post.
