Winner Takes All (album)

Winner Takes All
Studio album by
ReleasedAugust 21, 1979
Recorded1979
StudioBearsville (Woodstock, New York)
Genre
Length72:28
LabelT-Neck Records
ProducerThe Isley Brothers
The Isley Brothers chronology
Timeless
(1978)
Winner Takes All
(1979)
Go All the Way
(1980)
Singles from Winner Takes It All
  1. "I Wanna Be with You"
    Released: April 1979
  2. "Winner Takes All"
    Released: July 1979
  3. "It's a Disco Night (Rock Don't Stop)"
    Released: August 1979

Winner Takes All is a studio album by the Isley Brothers, released on T-Neck Records on August 21, 1979. It was their first and only double album. The album included the number-one R&B hit, "I Wanna Be With You" and the top 20 UK disco hit, "It's a Disco Night (Rock Don't Stop)".

The album was remastered and expanded for inclusion in the 2015 released CD box set The RCA Victor & T-Neck Album Masters, 1959-1983.

The album continued the brothers' trademark of mixing uptempo funk numbers with softer soul balladry. However, their sound now included elements of disco. While some of their music had pioneered the genre, Winner Takes All was the first album to embrace disco rhythms.

The disco element helped songs such as "I Wanna Be With You" and "It's a Disco Night (Rock Don't Stop)" become hits. However, the band did not release any ballads from the album, making it one of the few times since 1973 that they not release a ballad as a single. However, ballads like "You're Beside Me" and "How Lucky I Am" still received airplay on quiet storm radio formats.

The album was successful enough on both the pop and R&B album charts where it reached #14 and #3 respectively and eventually went gold after selling past 500,000 copies.