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Performing July 4th at 8:45 p.m.
There were no radio stations in southern Ohio that played strictly black music in the early and mid -1970’s, so the Ohio Players would cover whatever was on the radio, which was usually an eclectic mix such as Peter, Paul & Mary, Grand Funk Railroad, Tower of Power, and the Jazz Crusaders. To attract the attention of record store browsers, the band became knows for its racy album jackets, usually featuring an undressed woman in a suggestive pose. When they switched over to Mercury Records, the risqué cover tradition continued; for example, one album pictured a nude woman covered in honey. In time, even people who did not purchase the Ohio Players’ albums began to look forward to the band’s next album jacket.
In 1974, the Ohio Players released their first album for Mercury, Skin Tight, and ushered in a three –year run at the top of the R&B and dance music charts. The singles “Skin Tight” and “Jive Turkey” were both Top Ten R&B hits. The Ohio Players were adding more and more sound effects with each album, and when Fire was released in 1974, it pushed the envelope even further with sirens, high-pitched squeals, and space bleeps.
Fire is arguably the crown jewel in the Ohio Players’ collection of albums. The band members listened to the LP’s tracks-without the vocals –in Los Angeles with Stevie Wonder, and they each knew even then that the album was going to be a tremendous hit. The title track was created out of a high-octane instrumental jam session, fusing funk, rock, and fiery drums. It became the band’s first Number One single on the pop charts.
Fire also included a rare stab at social commentary with the single “I Want to Be Free.” Aside from this album, the Ohio Players avoided heavy or moralistic lyrics, preferring a lighthearted, silly, almost nonsensical approach to their music. The band’s next Number One single was “Love Rollercoaster” on the Honey album in 1975, followed by “Who’d She Coo?” in 1976 on Contradiction; then the string of hit singles ended. “O-H-I-O,” released on Angel in 1977, was the band’s last major single to become a hit, but the Ohio Players continued to tour well into the 1990’s.
The influence of the Ohio Players is obvious in the music of the 1990s. Their songs have been heavily sampled by West Coast rap and hip-hop groups, most notably Dr. Dre and his “G-Fund” sound. Primus, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Soundgarden have all borrowed stylistically from the Ohio Players, and Soundgarden covered their single “Fopp” note for note.
With an extensive touring schedule and the 1995 release of the Mercury/Chronicles “Funk Essentials” collection – a seven-album overview of 1970s funk-rock-soul music that includes a compilation of the Ohio Players’ material called Funk on fire!- the band remained in the musical limelight two decades after the release of their best-known songs.
