The Isaacs

The Isaacs. . , The Isaacs, a family group that began performing in the early 1970s, moved to Hendersonville, Tennessee in 2000. Their music crosses between gospel, bluegrass, country, and Americana, and even though the group has had several lineup changes, Lily Isaacs has remained the core member., Born Leiala Fiszman, Lily Isaacs' family was from Czestochowa, Poland. Her parents met in 1946 after being liberated from the Buchenwald and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps in Germany. Lily was born in a displaced persons camp near Munich on Sept. 20, 1947. In 1949, the family immigrated to the United States and lived in the Bronx, New York. Naturalized in 1955 as Lillian Fishman, she began a career performing as a singer and an actress at Woodstock Playhouse. In 1968, she and singer-songwriter Maria Neumann released a contemporary folk album on Columbia under the name Lily and Maria., At Gerde's Folk City in New York, Lily met Joe Isaacs (born Jan. 24, 1947, in McKee, Kentucky), a bluegrass musician who was working with the Greenbriar Boys. Joe moved to Ohio in 1969 to join bluegrass musician Larry Sparks, and after Lily married Joe in May 1970, she also moved to Ohio., The death of Joe's brother in December 1970 led to a profound religious experience for both Lily and Joe. They both received Yeshua as Messiah, and began performing bluegrass gospel. Their first recordings were released as Joe Isaacs and the Calvary Mountain Boys, subsequently Sacred Bluegrass., The Isaacs' children, Ben (born July 25, 1972); Sonya (born July 22, 1974); and Becky (born Aug. 2, 1975), joined the family group as they became old enough to perform regularly, and the group became known as The Isaacs., In 1992, the Isaacs moved to East Tennessee, realizing that it would be central for touring. Joe Isaacs left the group after his separation from Lily in 1998, and by 2000, the Isaacs' career increasingly centered on the Grand Ole Opry and Nashville recording sessions, which prompted the family's relocation to Hendersonville., For years, Sonya Isaacs had a parallel career outside the family group. In 1998, she began touring in Vince Gill's band and co-wrote a song with him for his The Key album, and Gill co-produced her self-titled solo album for Lyric Street Records in 2000. Four singles made Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart between 1999 and 2003. In 2011, “I'm Gonna Love You Through It," a song written by Sonya; her husband, Jimmy Yeary; and friend Ben Hayslip, was a country hit for Martina McBride and has since gone viral as a YouTube favorite. It was based on Lily Isaacs' battle with cancer in 1983., Ben Isaacs owns a recording studio in Hendersonville where the Gaither Vocal Band, The Oak Ridge Boys and others have recorded. Ben, Sonya, Becky, and Lily have appeared on hundreds of country, bluegrass, and gospel artists recordings, including Dolly, Reba, Trace Adkins, Trisha Yearwood, and others., The Isaacs travel worldwide and have organized a nonprofit to benefit Israel. They have long-standing relationships with Gaither Homecoming shows and the Opry. They have performed the national anthem at Carnegie Hall, and many professional sporting events, including Titans and Predators games. They have achieved several Grammy nominations, and have won many awards in country, bluegrass, and gospel, including many Dove Awards., Lily Isaacs chronicled her life in the book, "You Don't Cry Out Loud.", Caption: The Isaacs, Becky, Lily, Sonya and Ben, perform on the Grand Ole Opry in July 2018. Photo by Chris Hollo. Image courtesy of the Grand Ole Opry Archives.