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Ohio Players
Ohio Players c. 1975
Background information
Also known as	The Ohio Untouchables
Origin	Dayton, Ohio, United States
Genres	Funk progressive soul
Years active	1959 (1959)–present
Labels	Capitol Westbound Mercury Arista Boardwalk
Past members	See personnel

Ohio Players are an American funk band, most popular in the 1970s. They are best known for their songs "Fire" and "Love Rollercoaster", and for their erotic album covers that featured nude or nearly nude women. Many of the women were models featured in Playboy.

The singles "Funky Worm", "Skin Tight", "Fire", and "Love Rollercoaster", and their albums Skin Tight, Fire, and Honey, were awarded Gold certification.

On August 17, 2013, Ohio Players were inducted into the inaugural class of the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame that took place at Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio.

History

The band formed in Dayton, Ohio, United States, 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). They were best known at the time as a backing group for The Falcons.

Ward had proved to be an unreliable leader, who would sometimes walk off the stage during gigs, forcing the group to stop playing. Eventually, the group vowed to keep playing even after he left. Ward and Jones got into a fistfight in 1964, after which the group broke up.

Ward found new backups, and the group's core members returned to Dayton. They replaced Ward with 21-year-old Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner (guitar), who would become the group's frontman, and added Greg Webster (drums). To accommodate Bonner's musical style preferences for the group ("R&B with a little flair to it") and to avoid competing with Ward, the group changed their format. By 1965, the group had renamed themselves the Ohio Players, reflecting its members' self-perceptions as musicians and as ladies' men.

The group added two more singers, Bobby Lee Fears and Dutch Robinson, and became the house band for the New York-based Compass Records. In 1967, they added vocalist Helena Ferguson Kilpatrick.

The group disbanded again in 1970. After again re-forming with a line-up including Bonner, Satchell, Middlebrooks, Jones, Webster, trumpeter Bruce Napier, vocalist Charles Dale Allen, trombonist Marvin Pierce, and keyboardist Walter "Junie" Morrison, the Players had a minor hit on the Detroit-based Westbound label with "Pain" (1971), which reached the top 40 of the Billboard R&B chart. James Johnson joined the group at this time as vocalist and saxophonist. Dale Allen shared co-lead vocals on some of the early Westbound material, although he was not credited on their albums Pain and Pleasure. It was at Westbound Records where the group met George Clinton, who admired their music. The two albums' avant-garde covers featured a spiked-black leather-bikini clad, bald model Pat "Running Bear" Evans, who would later grace additional Ohio Players albums, including Climax, Ecstasy, and Rattlesnake.

The band's first big hit single was "Funky Worm", which reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B chart and peaked at No. 15 on the Hot 100 in May 1973. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. The band signed with Mercury Records in 1974. By then, their line-up 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 conguero Robert "Kuumba" Jones. Meanwhile, keyboardist Walter "Junie" Morrison recorded three albums on his own before joining Funkadelic as the force behind their hit One Nation Under a Groove. An internet story in advance of a June 2017 concert indicated that Billy Beck, Jimmy "Diamond" Williams, Clarence "Chet" Willis, and Robert "Rumba" Jones are still performing.

The band had seven top 40 hits between 1973 and 1976. These included "Fire" (No. 1 on both the R&B and pop chart for two weeks and one week respectively in February 1975 and another million seller) and "Love Rollercoaster" (No. 1 on both the R&B and pop charts for one week in January 1976; another gold disc recipient). The group also took on saxophonist James Johnson. The group's last big hit was "Who'd She Coo?" a No. 1 R&B hit in August 1976. It was their only success in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at No. 43 on the UK Singles Chart in July 1976. Their title track "Ecstasy" from the 1973 album Ecstasy was sampled by Jay-Z on "Brooklyn's Finest", featuring The Notorious B.I.G. from the 1996 album Reasonable Doubt.

In 1979, three members of the group went on to form Shadow, which released three albums. A reconfigured Ohio Players recorded through the 1980s, enjoying a minor hit single with "Sweat" (1988). They also released three albums in that decade, Tenderness, Ouch! and Graduation. Another collection, Orgasm, followed in 1993.

In August 2013, the Ohio Players were inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame at the Waetjen Auditorium of Cleveland State University as part of the inaugural class.

Personnel

Classic lineup

• Marshall "Rock" Jones – bass guitar (1959–1984)
• James "Diamond" Williams – drums, chimes, percussion, lead and backing vocals, timbales, congas (1974–1980; unknown–present)
• William "Billy" Beck – piano, grand piano, organ, Hammond B-3 organ, Rhodes piano, Wurlitzer electric piano, RMI Electra piano, clavinet, ARP Odyssey, ARP string ensemble, percussion, lead and background vocals (1974–1980; unknown–present)
• Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner – guitar, percussion, lead and background vocals (1964–1997)
• Ralph "Pee Wee" Middlebrooks – trumpet, trombone and background vocals (1959–1984)
• Clarence "Satch" Satchell – baritone saxophone, tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, flute, percussion, lead and background vocals (1959–1980)
• Marvin "Merv" Pierce – trumpet, flugelhorn, valve trombone and background vocals (1972–1982)

Other members

• Robert Ward – guitar (1959–1964)
• Cornelius Johnson – drums (1959–1964)
• Gregory "Greg" Webster – drums (1964–1974)
• Bobby Lee Fears – vocals (1964–1970)
• Dutch Robinson – vocals (1964–1970)
• Helena Ferguson Kilpatrick – vocals (1967–unknown)
• Charles Dale Allen – vocals (1970?–unknown)
• Bruce Napier – trumpet (1972–1974)
• Walter "Junie" Morrison – keyboards (1970–1974)
• James Johnson – vocals, saxophone (1971?–unknown)
• Clarence "Chet" Willis – guitars (1977–1980; unknown–present)
• Robert "Kuumba" Jones – congas (1977–present)
• Wes Boatman – keyboards (1980–1981)
• Jimmy Sampson – drums (1981–1982)
• Dean Simms - trumpet (1980s)

Timeline

Deaths

• Clarence Satchell (April 15, 1940 – December 30, 1995) died after suffering a brain aneurysm at age 55.
• Ralph Middlebrooks (August 20, 1939 – November 15, 1997) died of cancer.
• Vincent Thomas ("Venny Wu") (January 26, 1958 – February 16, 2008) died of cancer in his hometown of Lubbock, Texas.
• Robert Ward (October 15, 1938 – December 25, 2008) died at home.
• Cornelius Johnson (July 12, 1937 – February 1, 2009).
• Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner (March 14, 1943 – January 26, 2013) died of cancer at age 69.
• Marshall "Rock" Jones (January 1, 1941 – May 27, 2016) died of cancer in Houston, Texas, at age 75. He was the last surviving member from the Ohio Untouchables line-up.
• Walter "Junie" Morrison (1954 – January 21, 2017) died at age 62.
• Shaun Dedrick died on May 2, 2018, at age 55, following an illness, in Dayton, Ohio.
• Gregory "Greg" Webster (January 4, 1938 – January 14, 2022) died at age 84. He was the last surviving member of the original Ohio Players line-up.

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

• Ol' School (1996, Essential Music)

Compilation albums

Singles

Notes

• "Fire" also peaked at No. 10 on Billboard's Disco Action chart.

See also

• List of artists who reached number one in the United States
• Unsung

References

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3. "The Untouchable Soul of Robert Ward". Rubbercityreview.com. May 28, 2011.
4. ^ Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. pp. 917/8. ISBN 1-85227-745-9.
5. ^ McGinn, Andrew (May 30, 2009). "Ohio Players bassist retires to funky town — Jamestown". Springfield News-Sun. Cox Media Group. Archived from the original on October 3, 2010. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
6. ^ "Season 4/Episode 31- 'The Story of The Ohio Players'". Unsung. July 4, 2011. Archived from the original on April 12, 2019.
7. "Pain - Ohio Players | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
8. "Pleasure - Ohio Players | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
9. "The Bald & The Beautiful". art nouveau. November 23, 2011. Archived from the original on October 1, 2017. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
10. "The Ohio Players Ladies". Hymie's Vintage Records. May 17, 2011.
11. Sweetlocs (November 6, 2012). "10 Pioneering Models of Color". Eric Roberson Music. Archived from the original on May 25, 2014. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
12. Uwumarogi, Victoria (February 12, 2014). "Black Beauties to Know and Love: Model Pat Evans". Madame Noire.
13. ^ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. pp. 332, 348, 349 & 362. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
14. "R&B and funk music to take over the Rose this week". Dayton.com. Archived from the original on June 23, 2017. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
15. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 405. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
16. "Breaking Down Every C Contributor For Jay-Z's 'Reasonable Doubt'". read.tidal.com.
17. "Shadow Page". Soulwalking.co.uk.
18. Stafford, Tom (July 16, 2023). "Springfield's Simms says playing Satchmo always a work in progress". Springfield News-Sun. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
19. Doc Rock. "The Dead Rock Stars Club 1994 - 1995". Thedeadrockstarsclub.com. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
20. Doc Rock. "The Dead Rock Stars Club 1996 - 1997". Thedeadrockstarsclub.com. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
21. "In Remembrance Ralph Middlebrooks". Discomuseum.net. August 20, 1939. Archived from the original on July 13, 2015. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
22. Cartwright, Garth (March 4, 2009). "Obituary: Robert Ward". The Guardian. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
23. "Ohio Players Page". Soulwalking.co.uk. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
24. "My WTLC Playlist honors Leroy 'Sugarfoot' Bonner of the Ohio Players". Tlcnaptown.com. January 28, 2013. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
25. Robinson, Amelia. "Legendary Ohio Players member dies". Dayton.com. Archived from the original on November 7, 2016.
26. Vacher, Peter (May 27, 2016). "Ohio Players bassist Marshall Jones dies at 75". Philadelphia Tribune. Archived from the original on September 8, 2021. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
27. Kaufman, Gil (February 16, 2017). "Ohio Players Keyboardist and Producer Walter 'Junie' Morrison Dies". Billboard. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
28. Grow, Kory (February 16, 2017). "Junie Morrison, Parliament-Funkadelic and Ohio Players Member, Dead at 62". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
29. "Gregory A. Webster, Sr. 1938 ~ 2022 (age 84)". House of Wheat Funeral Home, Inc. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
30. Franks, Sarah (January 14, 2022). "JUST IN: Ohio Players original drummer and leader Greg Webster dies". Dayton.com. Archived from the original on January 14, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
31. ^ "US Singles Charts > Ohio Players". AllMusic. Archived from the original on November 6, 2013. Retrieved June 8, 2010.
32. ^ "Ohio Players". bac-lac.gc.ca. RPM.
33. ^ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. pp. 192, 193 & 207. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
34. "Gold [2008] - Ohio Players | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. March 11, 2008. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
35. "Gold (2)". Muziekweb.nl. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
36. Betts, Graham (2004). Complete UK Hit Singles 1952-2004 (1st ed.). London: Collins. p. 567. ISBN 0-00-717931-6.

External links

• Ohio Players at Wenig-LaMonica Associates
• Ohio Players at AllMusic
• Ohio Players discography at Discogs

• Musical groups established in 1959
• Musical groups disestablished in 2002
• African-American musical groups
• American dance music groups
• Mercury Records artists
• Funk musical groups from Dayton, Ohio
• Progressive soul music groups
• American rhythm and blues musical groups
• Tangerine Records artists
• 1959 establishments in Ohio