Ohio Players’s 10 Greatest Songs and Greatest Discs (Representative Songs and Hidden Masterpieces)

This time, I created a ranking of the Ohio Players.

This band is a perfect match between singing and being a funk band.

They tend to focus on their slow songs, but they are also strong dancers!

I have selected songs that will help you understand the appeal of this band.

This blog is an automatic translation of a Japanese blog into English.

Please understand that it may be difficult to read.
 

No.1「Sweet Sticky Thing」(Album:Honey)

■Song Title：Sweet Sticky Thing
■Album Name：Honey
■Video link：「Sweet Sticky Thing」

This song is famous now, but it was not such a big hit at the time.

It reached #33 on the singles chart.

In other words, it became famous through reevaluation.

But if the song is so great, it may not matter if it was a hit or not.

They are a band that appeals to a sexy image, and there are other jackets like this one.

This is the inside cover of an album called “Graduation”.

I’d like to say, “What kind of graduation?

No.2「Fire」(Album:Fire)

■Song Title：Fire
■Album Name：Fire
■Video link：「Fire」

This is their biggest hit song.

They got their first number one hit in the US with this album, and this song also reached number one on the singles chart.

It is their masterpiece.

The song starts off with a medium funk feel.

The guitars and congas are often lively in this song.

They are the type of funk band that has a lot of ingenuity in their development.

They are not a simple funk band.

They don’t rely too much on the groove, but they have a way of making you listen.

No.3「You And I」(Album:Ecstasy)

■Song Title：You And I
■Album Name：Ecstasy
■Video link：「You And I」

This is one of the earliest songs I’ve chosen.

They debuted on Capitol Records, but have since released three albums on Westbound Records.

I chose this song from their second Westbound album.

This time around is not as complete as the later Mercury Records period, but there are some great songs.

Here are two more songs from this period.

Ohio Players – Funky Worm

Ohio Players – Ecstasy

Both songs are famous as sampling sources for HOPHOP.

No.4「Streakin’ Cheek To Cheek」(Album:Skin Tight)

■Song Title：Streakin’ Cheek To Cheek
■Album Name：Skin Tight
■Video link：「Streakin’ Cheek To Cheek」

This song is an instrumental.

They moved on to lighter and brighter funk around the late 1970s.

However, when this song was released in 1974, new soul was dominating the scene.

Perhaps the background of the times influenced the funk sound of this song, which is a bit sharp.

Their famous songs may be all vocal songs.

It is true that the twin vocals of Leroy “Sugarfoot” Bonner in Barrington and Billy Beck in falsetto are very impressive.

But they are also a top-notch funk band.

On this song, Sugarfoot and Billy are not singing, but playing.

James “Diamond” Williams on drums is also very active from the introduction.

No.5「Honey」(Album:Honey)

■Song Title：Honey
■Album Name：Honey
■Video link：「Honey」

The R&B vocal groups of the 1970s are fascinating to listen to.

They were originally funk bands, but their songs were just as appealing as the vocal groups.

They were originally a funk band, but their songs were just as appealing as the vocal groups.

Take a listen to about 1:20 of this song.

They are often associated with sexiness, but this song appeals to me spiritually.

The lyrics, which appeal to pure love, are moving enough even without the music.

No.6「Who’d She Coo?」(Album:Contradiction)

■Song Title：Who’d She Coo?
■Album Name：Contradiction
■Video link：「Who’d She Coo?」

They are one of the most famous Ohio funk bands of all time.

Their hometown of Dayton, Ohio has produced many great funk bands.

In addition to them, the following people are from Dayton.

Lakeside
Slave
Zapp
Heatwave
Sun

Dayton is only a city of about 140,000 people.

And yet it is the birthplace of so many funk legends.

Incidentally, if you expand the scope to Ohio, you will find the following people.

The Isley Brothers
Bootsy Collins

Isn’t this a very funky state?

No.7「Speak Easy」(Album:Mr. Mean)

■Song Title：Speak Easy
■Album Name：Mr. Mean
■Video link：「Speak Easy」

Many of you may not know this song.

It’s a soundtrack song from a time when they were past their prime.

This album is the soundtrack to the movie “Mr. Mean” directed by Fred Williamson.

I tried to find out what kind of movie it was, but I couldn’t find much information except that it was released in 1977.

It is probably not a hit movie.

For this ranking, I chose two instrumental songs.

This one features Clarence “Satch” Satchell’s flute.

No.8「Glad to Know You’re Mine」(Album:Angel)

■Song Title：Glad to Know You’re Mine
■Album Name：Angel
■Video link：「Glad to Know You’re Mine」

After their heyday, their sales have gradually slumped.

It is generally said that their peak period was “Skin Tight”, “Fire” and “Honey”.

However, “Jass-Ay-Lay-Dee”, which I haven’t mentioned here, is also a great album, and I personally think that their peak period was up to “Everybody Up”.

I like this album the best.

I like this album the best, because it contains other great songs like the following.

Ohio Players – O-H-I-O

The song above has a P-Funk feel to it.

No.9「Together」(Album:Fire)

■Song Title：Together
■Album Name：Fire
■Video link：「Together」

This album is generally regarded as one of their best, especially the first half.

Not only “Fire” but also “Runnin’ from the Devil” and “I Want to Be Free” are almost of the same standard.

They may not be heard as much on an Album basis.

The “Gold” album, which is often seen, is the best of the best, but I think many people are satisfied with that.

However, they have many good songs other than singles, and only three of the ten songs in this ranking are singles.

Since they have many good songs other than singles, it came naturally.

The song “Love Rollercoaster” covered by the Red Hot Chili Peppers is also out of the ranking.

I’d like to cover the best songs of the singles, so I’ll just post the links.

Ohio Players – Love Rollercoaster

If you like any of the songs other than the singles in this ranking, please give Album a listen.

No.10「Make Me Feel」(Album:Everybody Up)

■Song Title：Make Me Feel
■Album Name：Everybody Up
■Video link：「Make Me Feel」

This band’s jackets are all sexy jackets.

Anyway, this album is the last one of their golden period.

This album reached a high of #80, but the next album, “Tenderness”, dropped to #165.

The reason for the slump was the departure of the main members.

Some of the members left the group to form another group called Shadow.

Shadow has released three albums, including one produced by Leon Ware.

It retains elements of funk, but with minor changes to be more urban soul.

Here’s a link to one of the songs.

Shadow – Born to Hustle

They released an album called “Back” in 1988 with all the members in their prime, and then broke up in 2002.