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Artist Biography For Ohio Players

The Ohio Players Are A Funk And R&B Band Whose Heyday Was In The Mid- To Late 1970s. They Formed In Dayton Ohio In 1959 As The Ohio Untouchables And Initially Included Members Robert Ward vocals/guitar Marshall "Rock" Jones bass Clarence "Satch" Satchell saxophone/guitar Cornelius Johnson drums And Ralph "Pee Wee" Middlebrooks trumpet/trombone . The Ohio Untouchables Broke Up In 1963 With Ward Leaving For A Solo Career But The Core Members Of The Group Returned To Dayton And Added Gary Webster drums And Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner guitar In 1964. The Group Added Two More Singers Bobby Lee Fears And Dutch Robinson And Became The House Band For New York City-Based Compass Records In 1967. They Soon Became One Of The Better Known R&B Bands Of The 1970's. They Inspired Many Artists Including The Mighty Majors "You Can Never Go Back" Which Opened A Show For Them Once On The Road. Their Song "Runnin' From The Devil" Inspired The Van Halen Song "Runnin' With The Devil". The Group Disbanded Again In 1970. After Again Reforming With A Line-Up Including Bonner Satchell Middlebrooks Jones Webster Trumpeter Bruce Napier Trombonist Marvin Pierce And Keyboardist Walter "Junie" Morrison The Players Had A Minor Hit On The Detroit-Based Westbound Label In 1971 With "Pain" Which Reached The Billboard R&B Top 40. Detroit Vocalist Dale Allen Shared Co-Lead Vocals On Some Of The Early Westbound Material Although Not Credited On The Albums "Pain" And "Pleasure". The Band’s First Big Hit Was "Funky Worm" Which Hit #1 On The Billboard R&B Charts And Made The Pop Top 15 In May 1973. The Band Signed With Mercury Records In 1974. By This Time Their Lineup Had Changed Again With Keyboardist Billy Beck Instead Of Morrison And Jimmy "Diamond" Williams On Drums Instead Of Webster. On Later Album Releases They Added Second Guitarist/vocalist Clarence 'Chet' Willis And Conga Player Robert "Rumba" Jones To The Lineup. Bonner Sang Lead Vocals On Most Of The Band's Hits. The Band Had Seven Top 40 Hits Between 1973 And 1976 Including "Fire" #1 On Both The R&B And Pop Charts For Two Weeks And One Week Respectively In February 1975 And "Love Rollercoaster" #1 On Both The R&B And Pop Charts For 1 Week In January 1976 . The Group's Last Big Hit Was "Who'd She Coo" A #1 R&B Hit In August 1976. The Band Became Widely Known Not Only For Their Sound Which Has Been Sampled And Copied By Countless R&B And Hip-Hop Artists Since But For Their Sexually Provocative Album Covers Including The Cover Of 1974's Ecstasy Which Featured A Man And A Woman In A Pose Of Arousal Wearing Chains And Leather And 1975's Honey Which Featured A Nude Woman Holding An Overflowing Jar Of Honey And Dropping Some Into Her Mouth With A Ladle. There Is An Urban Legend That Has It That A Scream On "Love Rollercoaster" That Came During The Break After The Second Verse Was The Sound Of Someone Being Murdered In The Studio While The Track Was Being Recorded. It Is Widely Believed To Be The Scream Of A Female Model the Nude Woman Ester Cordet Featured On The Image For The Honey Album After Being Stabbed With A Knife By The Band's Manager. She Was Complaining That The Honey And Fibre Glass She Was Sitting On Reacted When Mixed Causing Permanent Damage To Her Legs During The Image Photography Ending Her Modelling Career. She Then Approached The Manager Seeking Compensation During The Recording Of "Love Rollercoaster" Only To Be Stabbed And Attacked. The Ohio Players Then Left The Scream In As A Sick Tribute. 1 The Band Did Not Discredit This Rumor At The Time Because As One Band Member Put It Later "that Makes You Sell More Records." This Is Just An Urban Legend However As Are Any Other Disturbing Explanations Including A Person Murdered Outside The Recording Studio although Recording Studios Are Soundproof And The Scream Would Not Have Been Heard A Band Member Murdering His Girlfriend Or A Cleaning Woman In The Recording Studio Or A Real Scream Taken From A 911 Call Or A Psychiatric Ward. Clarence Satchell Died In January 1996 After He Had A Brain Aneurysm. Ralph Middlebrooks Died In November 1997. The Red Hot Chili Peppers Were One Of The Bands Heavily Influenced By The Ohio Players Covering "Love Rollercoaster" For The Film Beavis And Butt-Head Do America. In The UK There Was A Chain Of Music And DVD Stores Named After One Of Their Hit Songs "Fopp". "Fopp" Was Also Covered By Soundgarden For An EP Called Fopp. Read More On Last.Fm. User-Contributed Text Is Available Under The Creative Commons By-SA License Additional Terms May Apply.

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Ohio Players - Top Tracks

Heaven Must Be Like This
Views: 8.1M
Ohio PlayersProvided To YouTube By Universal Music Group Heaven Must Be Like This · Ohio Players Skin Tight A Mercury Records ...
The Ohio Players - Fire
Views: 5.4M
Ohio PlayersThe Ohio Players @ The Midnight Special 1975 Lyrics: Fire Uh, Uh Fire Sing Us Home Oh Lord Fire woo, Woo, Woo, Woo Fire ...
Slide
Views: 5.2M
Ohio PlayersProvided To YouTube By Rhino Atlantic Slide · Slave Slave 1977 Atlantic Recording Corp. Engineer: Bob Ligotino Keyboards: ...
Ohio Players - Funky WormOhio PlayersAll Content Belongs To Its Creators. I Am Not The Ohio Players And I Did Not Make This Song. I Make No Money From This. Enjoy!
Love Rollercoaster
Views: 572.4K
Ohio PlayersProvided To YouTube By Universal Music Group Love Rollercoaster · Ohio Players Love Funk 1975 The Island Def Jam Music ...
Jive Turkey
Views: 360.7K
Ohio PlayersProvided To YouTube By Universal Music Group Jive Turkey · Ohio Players Skin Tight A Mercury Records Release 1974 ...
Ohio Players - Together
Views: 266.7K
Ohio PlayersFrom The Album FIRE 1974 ...And Also Available On The 20th Century Masters Compilation CD "The Best Of The Ohio Players - The ...
Contradiction
Views: 182.2K
Ohio PlayersProvided To YouTube By Universal Music Group Contradiction · Ohio Players Contradiction 1976 Mercury Records, A Division Of ...
Love Rollercoaster
Views: 172K
Ohio PlayersProvided To YouTube By Universal Music Group Love Rollercoaster · Ohio Players Gold A Mercury Records Release 1975 ...
TOPPOP Ohio Players - Skin TightOhio PlayersArtist: Ohio Players Title: Skin Tight Broadcast Date: 9-7-1974 TV Program: TopPop Video Rights: AVRO Gives ...
OHIO PLAYERS - Angel HQ
Views: 140.2K
Ohio PlayersOhio Players - Angel Label: Mercury SRM-1-3701 Format: Vinyl, LP, Album Released: 1977 US Producer: Ohio Players Written ...
Ohio Players - Ecstacy
Views: 94.5K
Ohio PlayersEcstacy Performed By Ohio Players Support / Follow Ohio Players ️ Lyrics: ...
Happy Holidays Pt 1 & 2
Views: 77.8K
Ohio PlayersProvided To YouTube By Universal Music Group Happy Holidays Pt 1 & 2 · Ohio Players Funk On Fire - The Mercury Anthology ...
Ohio Players - Funky Worm
Views: 72.9K
Ohio PlayersFunky Worm Performed By Ohio Players Support / Follow Ohio Players ️ ...
I Want To Be Free
Views: 62.9K
Ohio PlayersProvided To YouTube By Universal Music Group I Want To Be Free · Ohio Players Boogie Nights #2 1974 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Angel
Views: 42.4K
Ohio PlayersProvided To YouTube By Universal Music Group Angel · Ohio Players Funk On Fire - The Mercury Anthology 1977 The Island ...
Ohio Players - Let' S LoveOhio Players"Let's Love" Is From The 'Honey' LP, Released In 1975. No Copyright Infringement Intended. All Copyrights Belong To Their Original ...
Sweet Sticky Thing
Views: 9.1K
Ohio PlayersProvided To YouTube By Universal Music Group Sweet Sticky Thing · Ohio Players Funk On Fire - The Mercury Anthology A ...
Ohio Players - Skin Tight | REACTIONOhio PlayersWhats Good A.R. SQUAD Its Ashley Reacts Back With Another Banger! !! Thank Y'all So Much For 32890 Subs Let's Get To ...
Far East Mississippi
Views: 2.7K
Ohio PlayersProvided To YouTube By Universal Music Group Far East Mississippi · Ohio Players Funk On Fire - The Mercury Anthology 1976 ...