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

"Ohio Player's Web page"

LOOK	ALBUM	YEAR
	Jam	1996
	Ol' School	1996
	Funk on Fire: Mercury Anthology	1995
	Tenderness	1981
	Everybody Up	1979
	Jass-Ay-Lay-Dee	1978
	O-H-I-O	1978
	Mr. Mean	1977
	Angel	1977
	Gold	1976
	Contradiction	1976
	Rattlesnake	1975
	Honey	1975
	Fire	1974
	Skin Tight	1974
	Climax	1974
	Ecstacy	1973
	Pleasure	1972
	Pain	1972
	First Impressions	1968
	Observations in Time	1968

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)

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

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

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

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

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)

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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?

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]

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

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

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

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

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