Ohio Players

For a period of just over three years between the summer of 1973 when ‘Funky Worm’ rose to #1 on the US R&B charts, until the Bicentennial summer of 1976, the Ohio Players were hot, possibly the hottest R&B act in the US.

Their combination of sensual soul, sleazy funk and X-rated album covers meant that gold records and number one hits were the order of the day. When the late 1975 hit ‘Love Rollercoaster’ crossed over to the pop charts they had become a chart phenomenon. If their Mercury albums were the pinnacle of their success, it was elsewhere that they had put down the roots that allowed them to achieve it. A decade on the chitlin’ circuit and then the three albums that they released for the Detroit-based Westbound label ensured that they had the chops when fame came calling.