Footsteps in the Dark

{{short description|1977 song performed by The Isley Brothers}}

{{for multi|the 1941 movie|Footsteps in the Dark (film)|the Cat Stevens compilation album|Footsteps in the Dark: Greatest Hits, Vol. 2}}

{{unreliable sources|date=July 2018}}

{{Infobox song

| name = Footsteps in the Dark

| cover = Footsteps in the Dark by The Isley Brothers UK vinyl single.png

| alt =

| type = song

| artist = The Isley Brothers

| album = Go for Your Guns

| A-side = "Groove with You"

| released = 1977

| recorded = Bearsville Studios, Bearsville, New York

| studio =

| genre = {{hlist|R&B|soul|funk}}

| length = 5:07

| label = T-Neck

| writer = {{hlist|Ernie Isley|Marvin Isley|O'Kelly Isley|Ronald Isley|Rudolph Isley|Chris Jasper}}

| composer =

| lyricist =

| producer = The Isley Brothers

}}

"Footsteps in the Dark" is a 1977 slow jam recorded by The Isley Brothers as an album track featured on the group's album Go for Your Guns.{{cite web|title=POP REVIEW; Two Brothers Who Are Carrying On the Family Act|author=Pareles, Jon|date=January 1, 2002|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/01/arts/pop-review-two-brothers-who-are-carrying-on-the-family-act.html|work=The New York Times}}{{cite book|title=Footsteps in the Dark: The Hidden Histories of Popular Music|author=Lipsitz, George|page=27|publisher=University of Minnesota Press|date=2007|isbn=9780816650194|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ghwwUyP1PuYC&q=the+isley+brothers+footsteps+dark+new+york+times&pg=PA27}}{{cite web|date=November 2, 2012|author=Sumney, Moses|title=Alex Isley Has Her Own Thing|url=http://blogs.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/2012/11/alex_isley_isley_brothers.php|work=LA Weekly|access-date=August 4, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130504031205/http://blogs.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/2012/11/alex_isley_isley_brothers.php|archive-date=May 4, 2013|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=A Playful Encounter With the Isley Brothers|date=May 6, 1997|author=Coker, Cheo Hodari|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-05-06-ca-56059-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times}} It was the B-side to "Groove with You", which reached number 16 on the R&B singles chart. The song is noted for its unique guitar timbre which can be heard on other Isley Brother tracks such as "Voyage to Atlantis", as well as marking Ron Isley's growing transition into singing more ballads compared to the band's earlier funk approach.

Since the 1990s, it has been sampled in numerous other songs, predominantly in the R&B and hip hop genres. Most famously, it was used in "It Was a Good Day" by California-based rapper Ice Cube.