Ron Isley Talks About Faith While In Prison

Ron Isley credits his faith in God with helping him make it through his just-completed prison term. The last surviving member of the original Isley Brothers lineup was recently released after serving three years for tax evasion. And he's restarted his career with a new album titled Mister Isley that features the Grammy-nominated duet on "You've Got a Friend" with Aretha Franklin. While admitting the lower-security facility where he was held was far less restrictive than, say, Leavenworth, Isley says it was still imprisonment. "You were just held away from what you wanted to do. All the telephone calls, you gotta go to bed a certain time."

Antonio "L.A." Reid, who heads DefJam, the label that released Isley's album, has nothing but praise. He says, "This man is as much of an icon as Mick Jagger. This man is as much of an icon as Elton John ... Stevie Wonder."