Billy Beck (musician)
| Ohio Players | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | The Ohio Untouchables |
| Origin | Dayton, Ohio, United States |
| Genres | Funk, disco, R&B, soul |
| Years active | 1959–2002 |
| Labels | Westbound, Mercury, Arista, Boardwalk |
| Website | Official website |
| Past members | Cornelius Johnson Walter "Junie" Morrison Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner Marshall "Rock" Jones Robert "Kuumba" Jones Billy Beck Wes Boatman Dean Simms Marvin "Merv" Pierce Ralph "Pee Wee" Middlebrooks Jimmy Sampson Vincent Thomas James "Diamond" Williams Clarence "Chet" Willis Shaun"Shaunie Mac"Dedrick Ronald "Nooky" Nooks Odeen"Deeno"Mays Greg Webster Bruce Napier Andrew Noland Clarence "Satch" Satchell Bobby Lee Fears Dutch Robinson Robert Ward Charles Dale Allen |
Ohio Players were an American funk, soul music and R&B band, most popular in the 1970s. They are best known for their songs "Fire" and "Love Rollercoaster".
Gold certifications, records selling at least five hundred thousand copies, were awarded to the singles "Funky Worm", "Skin Tight", "Fire", and "Love Rollercoaster"; plus to their albums Skin Tight, Fire, and Honey.
On August 17, 2013, Ohio Players were inducted into the inaugural class of the Official R&B Music Hall of Fame that took place at Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio.
The band 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). 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, during gigs, walk off the stage, 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 front man, and added Gregory 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 Ohio Players, reflecting its members' self-perceptions as musicians and as ladies' men.
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