Through more than 20 albums and thousands of live appearances, the Isaacs have become one of the most important acts in acoustic music. They have helped build a bridge between bluegrass and Southern gospel music, combining stunning,

folk-influenced harmonies with world-class instrumentation and award-winning songwriting.

Vocalist and family matriarch Lily Isaacs helped carve the family’s style out of a background that included off-Broadway theatre and a 1968 Columbia Records album as half of the folk duo, Lily and Maria. Standup bass player and son, Ben Isaacs, has played with Tony Rice, Ralph Stanley, Aubrey Haynie, Rhonda Vincent and many others. Daughter Sonya Isaacs released several country singles on Lyric Street Records, toured with Vince Gill and has recorded with Dolly Parton, Stanley, Reba McEntire and Brad Paisley. Youngest daughter, Becky Isaacs Bowman, is an award-winning songwriter who has made guest appearances as a vocalist with Parton, Bryan Sutton, Paul Simon, Stanley, Mark Lowry and others. John Bowman, a world-class multi-instrumentalist who has worked and traveled with Alison Krauss & Union Station and Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, is married to Becky.

The Isaacs’ long musical heritage and ministry began with a meeting in New York of a Kentucky-born banjo player and New York-raised Jewish folk singer who had never heard a bluegrass song. Lily Fishman was the immigrant daughter of Jewish Holocaust survivors from Poland. Her musical tastes ran to Barbra Streisand, and the only banjo she had ever heard was in the televised theme song to “The Beverly Hillbillies.” Joe Isaacs, the youngest of 17 children from a poor East Kentucky family, had to sell blackberries to buy shoes and could never afford to own an instrument of any kind growing up. He was influenced strongly by the Stanley Brothers, and, after moving to Ohio, played for a time with Larry Sparks and then Ralph Stanley. He was playing in the Greenbriar Boys when he met Lily at Gerdes Folk City, a New York City hotspot that had played host to both Bob Dylan and Peter, Paul & Mary early in their careers. Their marriage in 1970 prompted a journalist to write that the teaming of Joe and Lily was “analogous to Ralph Stanley joining Joan Baez.”

When the young couple attended a church service following the death of Joe’s brother, both were so moved they began the process of becoming active Christians, with Lily converting from Judaism. They began attending church, then singing there together, leaving behind night clubs forever. Joe formed the Calvary Mountain Boys and traveled to area churches, and between 1972 and 1975, he and Lily became the parents of Ben, Sonya and Becky.

Joe headed Joe Isaacs and the Sacred Bluegrass from 1975-86, a period in which the children began making guest appearances. They picked up a knack for harmony singing almost before they could talk and learned to play any number of instruments. When a mandolin player left the group, Sonya learned how to play.

The children made a number of guest appearances on their parents’ regular TV show on a local cable access channel. Still, the difficulties of making a living with music nearly convinced Joe to quit, until, in 1985, the children begged him to allow them to help carry the load. In 1986, they became a family band, began calling themselves the Isaacs, bought a bus and set about taking their music on the road.

Drawing inspiration as well from the Marshalls, Ricky Skaggs and others, they established a sound that married fiery bluegrass picking with vocals that owed more to Southern gospel. Lily’s folk background and wide knowledge of and appreciation for popular music brought the styles of artists like James Taylor and Eric Clapton to bear as well. The mix was not universally accepted. A promoter told them they could forget about being accepted in the Southern gospel world, much less having chart-topping records unless they changed their style. But they refused.

Lily did the band’s booking until 1992 when the Isaacs went with an outside agent. The era marked a turning point, with 1993 proving to be a landmark year. The Isaacs were so popular with Opry members and its audience that they were invited back numerous times. That year, “I Have a Father Who Can,” an a cappella song meant originally as album filler, became the group’s first Top 5 hit, peaking at No. 2 on the Singing News magazine chart. They followed with “From the Depths of My Heart,” (written by Ben and Sonya) which became the group’s first No. 1, bringing a huge influx of attention and popularity. The song was named song of the year by both Gospel News and Gospel Voice.

Along the way, the Isaacs were invited to become part of the Gaither Homecoming videos, as that groundbreaking series was launched. They also appeared periodically in the Homecoming concert series, joining the tour full time in 2003. Their album Heroes was released in 2004.