JANICE'S BLUES ALLEY PRESENTS





            OHIO PLAYERS





            horizontal bar

            BIOGRAPHY WEB PAGES DISCOGRAPHY

            horizontal bar

            BIOGRAPHY



            Formed in Dayton, Ohio, USA, in 1959, this multi-talented unit originated from three members of the Ohio Untouchables, Leroy 'Sugarfoot' Bonner, Clarence 'Satch' Satchell and Marshall Jones. They forged a reputation as a powerful instrumental group by providing the backing to the Falcons, whose R&B classic 'I Found A Love' (1962) featured singer Wilson Pickett. The Players began recording in their own right that same year, but did not achieve a notable success until the following decade when they embarked on a series of striking releases for the Westbound label after brief sessions for both Compass and Capitol Records. The group's experimental funk mirrored the work George Clinton had forged with Funkadelic for the same outlet and in 1973 the septet - Bonner, Satchell, Jones, Jimmy 'Diamond' Williams, Marvin 'Merv' Pierce, Billy Beck and Ralph 'Pee Wee' Middlebrook - enjoyed a massive R&B smash with the irrepressible 'Funky Worm'. The Players later switched to Mercury where their US hits included 'Fire' (1974) and 'Love Rollercoaster' (1975), both of which topped the soul and pop charts. 'Who'd She Coo?' became the group's last substantial hit the following year and although success did continue throughout the rest of the 70s, their releases grew increasingly predictable. The group had become renowned for their sexually explicit album covers, suggesting the possibilities of a jar of honey, or depicting macho males dominating scantily clad subservient females - and vice versa. However, their musical credibility was such that the unit's version of 'Over The Rainbow' was played at Judy Garland 's funeral. Williams and Beck left the line-up in 1979 to form a new group, Shadow. A reshaped Ohio Players recorded throughout the 80s, and scored a minor soul hit in 1988 with 'Sweat'. They have continued touring into the 90s.
            Encyclopedia of Popular Music Copyright Muze UK Ltd. 1989 - 1998



            BACK TO THE TOP


            horizontal bar

            WEB PAGES

            "Ohio Player's Web page"
            BACK TO THE TOP


            horizontal bar

            DISCOGRAPHY

            LOOKALBUMYEAR
            Jam1996
            Ol' School1996
            Funk on Fire: Mercury Anthology 1995
            Tenderness1981
            Everybody Up1979
            Jass-Ay-Lay-Dee 1978
            O-H-I-O1978
            Mr. Mean 1977
            Angel1977
            Gold1976
            Contradiction1976
            Rattlesnake1975
            Honey 1975
            Fire1974
            Skin Tight1974
            Climax1974
            Ecstacy1973
            Pleasure1972
            Pain1972
            First Impressions1968
            Observations in Time 1968


            BACK TO THE TOP


            horizontal bar

            ALBUMS

            Jam 1996

            01. Merry-Go-Round
            02. Love Rollercoaster
            03. Alone
            04. Skin Tight
            05. Fopp
            06. Magic Trick             		07. Good Luck Charm
            08. Fire
            09. O-H-I-O
            10. Sugar's Blues
            11. O-H-I-O (Reprise)


            horizontal bar

            Ol' School 1996

            01. Skin Tight
            02. Ol'School
            03. Pain
            04. Heaven Must Be Like
            05. Sweet Sticky Thing             		06. Thank You
            07. I Wanna Be Free
            08. Love Rollercoaster
            09. Fire
            10. Megamix


            BACK TO THE TOP


            horizontal bar

            Funk on Fire: Mercury Anthology 1995

            Disc 1
            01. Skin Tight
            02. Jive Turkey
            03. Heaven Must Be Like This
            04. Fire
            05. Together
            06. I Want To Be Free
            07. It's All Over
            08. Piano Ballad (Just Right)
            09. Fopp
            10. Sweet Sticky Thing
            11. Love Rollercoaster
            12. Honey
            13. There It Is
            14. Happy Holidays, Parts 1 & 2             		Disc 2
            01. Who'd She Coo
            02. Bi-Centennial
            03. Far East Mississippi
            04. Only A Child Can Love
            05. Angel
            06. O-H-I-O
            07. Body Vibes
            08. Alone - (live)
            09. Good Luck Charm
            10. Funk-O-Nots
            11. Time Slips Away
            12. Shady Lady
            13. Wonderful
            14. More Than Love


            horizontal bar

            Tenderness 1981

            01. Try a Little Tenderness
            02. Sometimes I Cry
            03. Skinny
            04. Try To Be A Man
            05. Boardwalkin'            		 06. Call Me
            07. Sitting On The Dock Of A Bay
            08. It Takes A While
            09. Hard To Love Your Brother


            BACK TO THE TOP


            horizontal bar

            Everybody Up 1979

            01. Everybody Up
            02. Don't Say Goodbye
            03. Make Me Feel            		 04. Say It
            05. Take De Funk Off
            06. Something Special


            horizontal bar

            Jass-Ay-Lay-Dee 1978

            01. Funk-O-Nots
            02. Sleepwalkin'
            03. Jass-Ay-Lay-Dee
            04. Nott Enuff             		05. Time Slips Away
            06. Shoot Yer Shot
            07. Dance (If Ya Wanta)


            horizontal bar

            O-H-I-O 1978

            01. Who'd She Coo?
            02. Far East Mississippi
            03. Feel That Beat (Everybody Disco)
            04. Body Vibes             		05. O-H-I-O
            06. Good Luck Charm (part 1)
            07. Funk-O-Nots
            08. Time Slips Away


            BACK TO THE TOP


            horizontal bar

            Mr. Mean 1977

            01. Mr. Mean
            02. Fight Me, Chase Me
            03. The Controller's Mind
            04. The Big Score            		 05. Magic Trick
            06. Good Luck Charm
            07. Speak Easy


            horizontal bar

            Angel 1977

            01. Angel
            02. Merry Go Round
            03. Glad To Know You're Mine
            04. Don't Fight My Love             		05. Body Vibes
            06. Can You Still Love Me
            07. O-H-I-O
            08. Faith


            horizontal bar

            Gold 1976

            01. Feel The Beat (Everybody Disco)
            02. Love Rollercoaster
            03. I Want To Be Free
            04. Fopp
            05. Far East Mississippi
            06. Skin Tight             		07. Fire
            08. Sweet Sticky Thing
            09. Jive Turkey
            10. Only A Child Can Love
            11. Who'd She Coo?


            BACK TO THE TOP


            horizontal bar

            Contradiction 1976

            01. Contradicition
            02. Precious Love
            03. Little Lady Maria
            04. Far East Mississippi
            05. Who'd She Coo?             		06. My Life
            07. Tell The Truth
            08. My Ladies Run Me Crazy
            09. Bi-Centennial


            horizontal bar

            RATTLESNAKE 1975

            01. Rattlesnake
            02. Introducing the Players
            03. What It Is
            04. Rooster Poot
            05. Gone Forever            		 06. Hustle Bird
            07. Spinning
            08. Hollywood Hump
            09. Laid It
            10. Varee Is Love
            11. She Locked It


            horizontal bar

            Honey 1975

            01. Honey
            02. Fopp
            03. Let's Do It/Let's Love
            04. Ain't Givin' Up No Ground             		05. Sweet Sticky Thing
            06. Love Rollercoaster
            07. Alone


            BACK TO THE TOP


            horizontal bar

            Fire 1974

            01. Fire
            02. Together
            03. Runnin' From The Devil
            04. I Want To Be Free             		05. Smoke
            06. It's All Over
            07. What The Hell
            08. Together/Feelings


            horizontal bar

            Skin Tight 1974

            01. Skin Tight
            02. Streakin' Cheek To Cheek
            03. It's Your Night / Words Of Love             		04. Jive Turkey
            05. Heaven Must Be Like This
            06. Is Anybody Gonna Be Saved?


            horizontal bar

            Climax 1974

            01. Sleep Talk
            02. Ruffell Foot
            03. Proud Mary
            04. Climax [Dimensions In Time]             		05. What's Going On
            06. Food Stamps Y'All
            07. Players Ballin'
            08. Pack It Up [Climax]


            BACK TO THE TOP


            horizontal bar

            Ecstacy 1973

            01. Ecstacy
            02. You and Me
            03. (Not So) Sad and Lonely
            04. (I Wanna Know) Do You Feel It
            05. Black Cat             		06. Food Stamps Y'all
            07. Spinning
            08. Sleep Talk
            09. Silly Billy
            10. Short Change


            horizontal bar

            Pleasure 1972

            01. Pleasure
            02. Laid It
            03. Pride and Vanity
            04. Walt's First Trip             		05. Varee Is Love
            06. Walked Away From You
            07. Paint Me
            08. Funky Worm
            09. Our Love Has Died


            horizontal bar

            Pain 1972

            01. Pain
            02. Never Had A Dream
            03. Players Balling (Players Doin' Their Own Thing)             		04. I Wanna Hear From You
            05. The Reds
            06. Singing In The Morning


            BACK TO THE TOP


            horizontal bar

            First Impressions 1968

            01. A Little Soul Party (A Woman & Some Soul)
            02. Over The Rainbow
            03. A Thing Called Love
            04. My Neighbors
            05. Tell Me Why
            06. Find Someone To Love            		 07. You Don't Mean It
            08. Trespassin'
            09. I Got To Hold On
            10. It's A Cryin' Shame
            11. Alabama Soupbone Pt.1 & 2


            horizontal bar

            Observations in Time 1968

            01. Summertime
            02. Stop Lying To Yourself
            03. Bad Bargain
            04. The Man That I Am
            05. Find Someone To Love            		 06. Lonely Street
            07. Mother In Law
            08. Here Today and Gone Tomorrow
            09. Cold, Cold World
            10. Street Party
            11. Over The Rainbow




            BACK TO THE TOP


            MAIN PAGE OLD SCHOOL FUNK SILKY SOUL SINGERS
            GOLDEN VOICES ROCK AND ROLL JAZZ
            GREAT GROUPS RHYTHM AND BLUES
            EMAIL GRAPHICS BY YS MCCOOL