(FROM "EVERYTHING IS ON THE ONE: THE FIRST ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FUNK by SCOTT GOLDFINE; diecastdel@aol.com)
THE OHIO PLAYERS (members included leader Clarence "Satch" Satchell, saxophone/flute; William "Billy" Beck, keyboards/vocals; Leroy "Sugerfoot" Bonner, guitar/vocals; Jim "Diamond" Williams, drums; Marshall Jones, bass; Marvin "Merv" Pierce, trumpet' Ralph "Pee Wee" Middlebrooks, trumpet; Chester "Chet" Willis, guitar/vocals; Robert "Conga Dan" Jones, percussion; Walter "Junie" Morrison, keyboards/vocals; Gregory Webster, drums; Dale Allen, vocals; Bruce Napier, trumpet; Darwin Dortch, bass)
From the musical hotbed of Dayton came forth one of the funkiest bands ever assembled, The Ohio Players. Tremendously influenced by Sly & the Family Stone, the entirely self-contained Players' exceptional musicality, ingenious vocal arrangements, unforgettable songs and eye-poppingly provocative album covers allowed them to rise to great prominence in the mid-1970s as one of the top R&B acts in the country. For the most part, the OPs were an uncompromising group that relied on the rawness and honesty of their music to attract a following. But, by the time rivals such as Earth, Wind & Fire and the Commodores were going pop, the Players were hitting the skids.
The original lineup of the Ohio Players knocked around quite a while during the 1960s as studio musicians before signing with Detroit-based Westbound Records, the same label as George Clinton's Funkadelic. A collection of very early OPs material was released under various titles (i.e. First Impressions) by assorted labels. It is recommended for diehards only. The Players released a series of albums on Westbound in the early 1970s that included such id-oriented titles as Pain, Pleasure, Ecstasy and Climax. Those records were notable not only for the music, which meshed primitive, rough-edged funk with free-flowing jazz, but also for their S&M themed album covers featuring a shaven-headed woman.
The OP's first single for Westbound, "Pain," was intended to be an instrumental. But while the band was in the studio laying down the track, they decided to add vocals, which were created and added on the spur of the moment. That sort of openess and improvisational spirit coursed through the Players' music and kept it fresh.
The group's breakthrough came in 1973 when the novelty song "Funky Worm" (from Pleasure) cracked the top 20 on the pop chart. The followup, "Ecstacy," also made it into the Top 40. But success wrought friction among the ranks, resulting in a reshuffled lineup. Avant-garde multi-instrumentalist Junie Morrison left for a solo career, while the Players switched allegiance to Mercury Records. Junie went on to record a couple of solo albums for Westbound before joining Parliament-Funkadelic in the late 1970s. He then released a few solo LPs in the 1980s before vanishing late in the decade.
With new members Jim "Diamond" Williams (drums/vocals) and Billy Beck (keyboards/vocals) aboard, the Ohio Players swiftly demonstrated they were no fly by-night operation. Besides being superlative musicians, Diamond and Beck supplied the upper-register background singing that acted as the counterpoint for Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner's soulful tenor. That vocal setup gave the Players their own unmistakable sound and elevated them to another level. Although it should be recognized that every band member was integral to their success.
Sugar's distinctive singing influenced a generation of vocalists, not the least of which was Cameo's Larry Blackmon. The group also had a strong visual personality thanks to Sugar's Fu-Manchu mustache, giant teeth, microphone filter shaped afro and habit of cupping his hand around his ear (to ensure he was in tune) and bassist Marshall Jones' ever-present turban.
The new lineup's efforts were first brought to fruition on 1974's Skintight. A classic bass line helped propel the sexy title song beyond any of the Ohio Players' previous hits. The album contained only six songs, each long and loose enough to tap into the energy of a live performance. The street funk of "Jive Turkey" and the breezy ballad "Heaven Must Be Like This," which showcased Billy's fluid piano work, gave the band more exposure on R&B radio. The LP, which began a new trend of cover art featuring beautiful, near-naked women, went platinum. Suddenly, the music world was the Ohio Players' oyster and they were ready to crack it wide open.
Before 1974 came to an end, the Players unleashed the landmark album Fire. The title song was a marvel of funk-rock synthesis, execution and production. "Fire," which skyrocketed to the top of the charts, procured a rare plateau of perfection that made it seemingly impossible to tire of hearing it. As with all of the Ohio Players' material, the track gave writing and production credit to everyone in the group and presented all with the opportunity to strut their stuff.
"Fire" shed light on Sugar's feisty vocals and economical guitar work, Jones' unflashy but solid bass, Diamond's unsurpassed timekeeping and percussion playing, Billy's bluesy clavinet noodling and impassioned screams and the precise horn phrasing of band leader Clarence "Satch" Satchell (reeds), Marvin "Merv" Pierce (brass) and Ralph "Pee Wee" Middlebrooks (brass).
Fire, which included other strong funk tunes such as "Runnin' From the Devil" and "Smoke," as well as the doo wop-inspired hit "I Want To Be Free," also topped the charts. The OPs became a major concert headliner and even taped an entire live performance which was aired on TV's popular Midnight Special.
The Players discounted any notions that they were content to rest on their laurels by charging back to the top of the charts in 1975 with aguably their finest album, Honey. Nearly every cut on the disc found its way onto R&B radio and a few crossed over to pop. The repetitive, riff-based funker "Love Rollercoaster," which was boosted by an infamous controversy, became the band's second No. 1 pop smash. The scandal involved a girl's scream heard in the background of the song that some said was a murder. Like the rumors of Paul McCartney's death years earlier, it turned out to be nothing more than a rouse.
Other hits on Honey included the rockin' "Fopp," the Players' hardest jam ever, and the jazzy "Sweet Sticky Thing." Had "Fopp" been released the previous year, it probably would've had a shot at the top of the charts, but unfortunately the disco craze had begun and seemingly overnight pop radio became difficult for funk acts to permeate. Meanwhile, the ballad "Let's Love" became an R&B radio staple.
Back when vinyl records were the medium of choice, Fire and Honey were the type of albums that you literally wore out because you never wanted to take them off your turntable. Both are recommended as the minimum Ohio Players contingency for your music collection. Before 1975 was part of history, Westbound attempted to cash in on the Players' newfound popularity by releasing Ohio Players Greatest Hits. At the time, it was definitely the best way to get up to speed on the band's formative years.
The Ohio Players began their inevitable decline the following year with Contradiction. The album was uniformly good, but it was missing the knockout hooks of their prior three LPs. The guitar- and drum-driven "Who'd She Coo?" was the only tune able to creep into the Top 40. However, the ambitious blues of "Far East Mississippi," which featured Sugar giving the harmonica a whirl, and the slow funk grind of the title song, which spotlighted Sugar's blistering rock guitar, were equally worthwhile.
Before 1976 was wrapped up, the splendid compilation Ohio Players Gold was released. The disc contained all the essential tracks from the band's four Mercury outings as well as a pair of unreleased throwaways in "Feel the Beat (Everybody Disco)" and "Only A Child Can Love." No matter what your musical preference is, this LP should be among your collection. Also around this time, Westbound put out Rattlesnake, a compilation of Ohio Players outtakes. The title cut was sufficiently funky, but most of the LP was disposable.
The OPs kept very busy in 1977 with the release of two albums and the unveiling of a protege band. Recorded as the soundtrack to the Fred "The Hammer" Williamson's movie of the same name, Mr. Mean was more befitting of of Mr. Bill and well below Ohio Players standards. But, as disappointing as it was, the LP towered over the film. The flute-driven "Speak Easy" highlighted the predominently instrumental disc.
The Ohio Players then got back down to business and delivered their last great album, Angel. The LP served up more high-grade grooves with the sonically daring "Body Vibes" and "Merry Go Round," a non-recycled sequel to "Love Rollercoaster." But the set's biggest hit was "O-H-I-O," which was based on the concert-closing chant that the band had been employing for years. The melodic title song was in the tradition of "Honey." Angel also marked the addition of rhythm guitarist and singer Chester "Chet" Willis. Meanwhile, Westbound released the unnecessary Best of the Ohio Players Early Years Vol. 1.
The Satch-produced and Ohio Players-aided band Faze-O bowed before the year was over with Riding High. The haunting title song went on to surpass the success of anything the OPs did that year. Unfortunately, not only did the bulk of Faze-O's debut fall short of the quality of "Riding High," but their subsequent two albums, Good Thang and Breakin' the Funk, were fairly undistinguished as well.
By 1978, the Ohio Players were so mismanaged that they were reduced to playing Hollywood's tiny Roxy Theater on Sunset Blvd. The band produced their last record for Mercury and their final comprised of the post-Westbound configuration, Jass-Ay-Lay-Dee. Mr. Mean notwithstanding, it was their weakest effort of the Mercury period. The Players, with membership ballooned to nine via the addition of Robert "Conga Dan" Jones, apparently had become bankrupt of songwriting skills. The gimmicky lead single "Funk-O-Nots" was a half-baked "Who'd She Coo?," the synth-driven "Shoot Yer Shot" was a rehash of "O-H-I-O" and "Dance (If Ya Wanta)" was just plain uninspired. It took just once glance at the group photo on the album jacket to tell that things had gone awry in OP camp - Jones was for the first pictured without his turban!
The OPs splintered in 1979, with Satch, Sugar, Jones, Merv and Pee Wee signing with Arista as the Ohio Players and Billy, Diamond and Chet forming a new band called Shadow. The Players' Everybody Up was considerably better than Shadow's Love Lite, but both illustrated that neither possessed the same chemistry as separate entities. The title cut of the Players' disc finally found the band making some concessions to disco, however the LP also included some serious funk such as "Take De Funk Off, Fly." After Everybody Up flopped, Satch deserted the music business while Sugar and a couple of others continued to record as the Ohio Players.
Sugar and his co-horts released a series of dispensible albums in the early 1980s, including Young and Ready, Tenderness, Ouch! and Graduation, on small labels that registered minuscule sales. Concurrently, Shadow released albums, including Shadow and Shadow in the Streets, that were slightly more interesting than the flimsy material being dispatched by what little remained of the OPs.
Sugar finally grew weary of keeping the Players afloat and Shadow disbanded due to lack of interest. Sugar resurfaced with an eponymously titled solo album in 1985 that included a remake of "Fire." The inconsequential disc was produced by fellow Dayton funkster Roger Troutman, who Billy Beck had become ensconced with as a session player. Sugar also turned in some session work for Troutman and others before teaming up with jazz keyboard pioneer Herbie Hancock and funk bass legend Bootsy Collins for Hancock's Perfect Beat in 1988.
That same year, Sugar, Diamond, Billy, Chet and new bassist Darwin Dortch reformed the Ohio Players and released the comeback album Back on the newly formed Track Records. The mediocre LP, which found the band making some feeble attempts to update their sound with Hip-Hop elements, failed to revive their career. By the time they went out on tour, Billy had pulled out. It was too bad, because despite the ill-advised absence of horns, the Players still had it going on as a live act.
The band continued to tour while in 1993, Westbound released a new, more comprehensive collection of the OP's early 1970s output called Orgasm - The Very Best of the Westbound Years. In addition to the 14 selections culled from Pain, Pleasure, Climax and Ecstacy, the disc included the previously unreleased "Ain't That Lovin' You (For More Reasons Than One)." Orgasm was the definitive compilation of pre-superstardom Ohio Players.
The Ohio Players have earned their place on the mantel of funk giants as one of the greatest bands the genre has ever produced. Their top songs stack up well against those generated by any other act during the rock era. The Players' multifaceted talents as songwriters, arrangers, producers and performers, which permitted them to operate as a cohesive unit that exerted total creative control over their musical destiny, provided an inspirational model for future bands to emmulate. The state of Ohio should be extremely proud of its Players, who played some of the most timeless music of the 1970s without ever selling out.
THE RATINGS. . .
Ohio Players - First Impressions (Trip, 1968) - F
Ohio Players - Pain (Westbound, 1971) - FUN
Ohio Players - Pleasure (Westbound, 1972) - FUN
Ohio Players - Ecstacy (Westbound, 1973) - FUN
Ohio Players - Climax (Westbound, 1974) - FUN
Ohio Players - Skintight (Mercury, 1974) - FUNK
Ohio Players - Fire (Mercury, 1974) - FUNKY
Ohio Players - Honey (Mercury, 1975) - FUNKY!
Ohio Players - Ohio Players Greatest Hits (Westbound, 1975) - FUNK
Ohio Players - Contradiction (Mercury, 1976) - FUNK
Ohio Players - Ohio Players Gold (Mercury, 1976) - FUNKY!
Ohio Players - Rattlesnake (Westbound, 1976) - FU
Ohio Players - Mr. Mean (Mercury, 1977) - FU
Ohio Players - Angel (Mercury, 1977) - FUNK
Ohio Players - The Best of the Ohio Players Early Years Vol. 1 - (Westbound, 1977) - FUNK
Ohio Players - Jass-Ay-Lay-Dee (Mercury, 1978) - FUN
Ohio Players - Everybody Up (Arista, 1979) - FUN
Ohio Players - Young and Ready (Accord, 1980) - FU
Ohio Players - Tenderness (Boardwalk, 1981) - FU
Ohio Players - Ouch! (Boardwalk, 1982) - FU
Ohio Players - Graduation (Boardwalk, 1983) - FU
Ohio Players - Back (Track, 1988) - FUN
Ohio Players - Orgasm - The Very Best of the Westbound Years (Westbound, 1993) - FUNKY
Faze-O - Riding High (She, 1977) - FU
Faze-O - Good Thang (She, 1978) - F
Faze-O - Breakin' the Funk (She, 1979) - F
Shadow - Love Lite (Elektra, 1979) - FU
Shadow - Shadow (Elektra, 1980) - FU
Shadow - Shadow in the Streets (Elektra, 1981) - FU
Sugarfoot - Sugar (Warner Brothers, 1985) - FU
OP's Reviews Excerpt from Everything is On the One by Scott Goldfine (Scott Goldfine/Jill Shernowitz)
