Ecstasy, Passion & Pain
Earth, Wind & Fire... Love, Peace & Happiness... Faith, Hope & Charity... … Read Full Bio ↴Earth, Wind & Fire... Love, Peace & Happiness... Faith, Hope & Charity... The seventies brought a number of three-noun groups onto the disco charts with varying degrees of success.
Ranking up there with the best of them was the relatively short-lived Roulette Records act Ecstasy, Passion & Pain, considered disco's first super-group. Althought they only released one album and a handful of singles for the label, their impact was to be felt well into future decades.
Formed in 1973, in New York, it's seemingly fluid membership of between 5 and 8 persons was entirely dominated by Barbara (Gaskins) Roy. We'll come back to Ms. B. later, let's explore her colleagues first, all of whom were instrumentalists (as was Barbara with her jammin' big guitar) which allowed the group to perform as a self-contained unit.
The other members included Althea "Cookie" Smith, rare for an unusual young lady in that she was the group's drummer, while the remainder of the percussion work on their recordings came from Carl Jordan, later replaced by Alan Tizer. Joseph Williams Junior provided musical support on bass and Jimmy Clark was co-guitarist (with Ms. B.) for their entire Roulette recordings. Then there was keyboardist Ronald Foster...
Ronnie Foster was born in 1950 in New York. By the early 1970's he was already making jazz albums for Blue Note Records and his move into E.P. & P. at a time when he was establishing himself as a solo performer suggests that either no one expected the group to have any longevity or that he was merely contracted for their sessions. Whatever, he was back on his solo career after his duties on the Roulette recordings, ultimately branching out into writing and producing, working with such diverse artists as Dee Dee Bridgewater, Flora Purim, Chaka Khan and the Temptations, to name a few. Billy Gardner took over keyboard duties from Foster. It should be noted that any contributions by the group members, other than Roy, to the actual recordings were nullified by the presence of Philly star muscians "M.F.S.B." who were given credit on the original releases.
Barbara, as well as commanding her jammin' big guitar, was the group's lead vocalist, nominally supported on backgrounds by other group members but more 'properly' supported by those "Sweethearts Of Sigma Sound"- Barbara Ingram, Evette Benton and Carla Benson. She was also responsible for writing much of the group's material.
Barbara, born in Kingston, North Carolina, began her career as one half of the duo Barbara & Brenda, Brenda (Gaskins) being her niece. Together they recorded three singles for the Heidi label, "Hurting Inside," "Special Kind Of Love" and "One More Chance" before coming under the guidance of Luther Dixon and moving to Musicor's subsidiary, Dynamo. Another trio of singles were released by Dynamo, "If I'm Hurt You'll Feel The Pain," "Never Love A Robin" and "Don't Wait Up For Me Mama." A further recording, "That's Enough" remained unreleased until it's appearance on a 1997 compilation "Kent's Magic Touch."
With their lack of success Brenda decided to quit the business. Made of stronger stock, Barbara hung in there from her New York base and began playing guitar for Inez and Charlie Foxx ("Mockingbird") and on various recording sessions in New York waiting for another break. In 1973, Ecstasy, Passion & Pain was formed and shortly afterwards, through manager Phil Braxton, the group had a recording contract. Getting a deal with Roulette Records, Ecstasy, Passion & Pain recorded roughly 28 sides that included demos and finished masters. 10 cuts made it to their one and only album, several were single-only releases and 13 had to wait 25 years to be released!
A stream of hits started with their first release "I Wouldn't Give You Up" from late 1973 which hit #-17 on the R&B charts. Next came "Good Things Don't Last Forever" #-14 R&B, #-93 pop. The follow-up "Ask Me," regarded as a classic, hit #-19 R&B and went to #-52 on the pop charts. A side note; the song was such an underground classic that Nigerian-born Canadian disco legend Carol (Uchenna Ikejiani) Jiani cut a version in 1982 that swept the club scene and landed her a worldwide hit. "One Beautiful Day" followed hitting #-14 R&B and #-48 pop. The next release 1975's "There's So Much Love All Around" was first an A-side single and then the b-side to two later releases proving Roulette's faith in the song and the group. Thanks to legendary mixologist Tom Moulton's handy work on "Touch & Go" it became their signature tune as well as an enduring classic. The highly sought-after 12" single is their only Roulette release to be cut on a 12" single. Two more releases in 1977 "Passion" and "Dance The Night Away" failed to match the success on "Touch & Go" although both are brilliant tunes in their own right. By the end of 1977 just as disco was entering it's golden age E.P. & P. disbanded.
During the years 1977 to 1981 Barbara continued with session work and formed her own successful label, Roy B. Records. As a label owner she had a string of hits with Pizzazz's "I Heard It Through The Grapevine," Soccer's "Dancin' Game," Melody Stewart's "Get Down, Get Down/Action Satisfaction" and culminating with a reunion of E.P. & P. for the 1981 club smash "If You Want Me."
Another chart/recording hiatus ensued from 1981 to 1986. Her label had folded and E.P. & P. never really managed to stay together after the brief reunion. By 1986 Barbara had surfaced on RCA Records with the release of "Gotta See You Tonight" followed by another 12" single "Gonna Put Up A Fight" in 1987. However their was no album forthcoming. As of 1989 she was still signed to RCA when she recorded her part for the studio group, Togetherness, assembled to support Paul Simpson on the song "We Are The Ones" from his Simp-House/Cooltempo album, "One." The Togetherness group consisted of Barbara "Ecstasy, Passion & Pain" Roy, Will Downing, Rochelle Fleming, Loleatta Holloway, Toney Lee, Ray Simpson, and Fonda Rae. An incredible line-up to say the least.
Sadly Barbara's career seems to be on-hold after this point. Thanks to sampling she can be heard on the 1990's hits: "Son Of A Gun" by JX and "Just Wanna Touch Me" by Fidelfatti, and by virtue of re-release the entire E.P. & P. catalogue can be heard on the U.K. Westside album "Good Things (The Roulette Recordings 1973-1977)." Perhaps Barbara will reappear again on CD. Until then we have her eternal legacy of some of the best of the early "club" classics to enjoy.
Ranking up there with the best of them was the relatively short-lived Roulette Records act Ecstasy, Passion & Pain, considered disco's first super-group. Althought they only released one album and a handful of singles for the label, their impact was to be felt well into future decades.
Formed in 1973, in New York, it's seemingly fluid membership of between 5 and 8 persons was entirely dominated by Barbara (Gaskins) Roy. We'll come back to Ms. B. later, let's explore her colleagues first, all of whom were instrumentalists (as was Barbara with her jammin' big guitar) which allowed the group to perform as a self-contained unit.
The other members included Althea "Cookie" Smith, rare for an unusual young lady in that she was the group's drummer, while the remainder of the percussion work on their recordings came from Carl Jordan, later replaced by Alan Tizer. Joseph Williams Junior provided musical support on bass and Jimmy Clark was co-guitarist (with Ms. B.) for their entire Roulette recordings. Then there was keyboardist Ronald Foster...
Ronnie Foster was born in 1950 in New York. By the early 1970's he was already making jazz albums for Blue Note Records and his move into E.P. & P. at a time when he was establishing himself as a solo performer suggests that either no one expected the group to have any longevity or that he was merely contracted for their sessions. Whatever, he was back on his solo career after his duties on the Roulette recordings, ultimately branching out into writing and producing, working with such diverse artists as Dee Dee Bridgewater, Flora Purim, Chaka Khan and the Temptations, to name a few. Billy Gardner took over keyboard duties from Foster. It should be noted that any contributions by the group members, other than Roy, to the actual recordings were nullified by the presence of Philly star muscians "M.F.S.B." who were given credit on the original releases.
Barbara, as well as commanding her jammin' big guitar, was the group's lead vocalist, nominally supported on backgrounds by other group members but more 'properly' supported by those "Sweethearts Of Sigma Sound"- Barbara Ingram, Evette Benton and Carla Benson. She was also responsible for writing much of the group's material.
Barbara, born in Kingston, North Carolina, began her career as one half of the duo Barbara & Brenda, Brenda (Gaskins) being her niece. Together they recorded three singles for the Heidi label, "Hurting Inside," "Special Kind Of Love" and "One More Chance" before coming under the guidance of Luther Dixon and moving to Musicor's subsidiary, Dynamo. Another trio of singles were released by Dynamo, "If I'm Hurt You'll Feel The Pain," "Never Love A Robin" and "Don't Wait Up For Me Mama." A further recording, "That's Enough" remained unreleased until it's appearance on a 1997 compilation "Kent's Magic Touch."
With their lack of success Brenda decided to quit the business. Made of stronger stock, Barbara hung in there from her New York base and began playing guitar for Inez and Charlie Foxx ("Mockingbird") and on various recording sessions in New York waiting for another break. In 1973, Ecstasy, Passion & Pain was formed and shortly afterwards, through manager Phil Braxton, the group had a recording contract. Getting a deal with Roulette Records, Ecstasy, Passion & Pain recorded roughly 28 sides that included demos and finished masters. 10 cuts made it to their one and only album, several were single-only releases and 13 had to wait 25 years to be released!
A stream of hits started with their first release "I Wouldn't Give You Up" from late 1973 which hit #-17 on the R&B charts. Next came "Good Things Don't Last Forever" #-14 R&B, #-93 pop. The follow-up "Ask Me," regarded as a classic, hit #-19 R&B and went to #-52 on the pop charts. A side note; the song was such an underground classic that Nigerian-born Canadian disco legend Carol (Uchenna Ikejiani) Jiani cut a version in 1982 that swept the club scene and landed her a worldwide hit. "One Beautiful Day" followed hitting #-14 R&B and #-48 pop. The next release 1975's "There's So Much Love All Around" was first an A-side single and then the b-side to two later releases proving Roulette's faith in the song and the group. Thanks to legendary mixologist Tom Moulton's handy work on "Touch & Go" it became their signature tune as well as an enduring classic. The highly sought-after 12" single is their only Roulette release to be cut on a 12" single. Two more releases in 1977 "Passion" and "Dance The Night Away" failed to match the success on "Touch & Go" although both are brilliant tunes in their own right. By the end of 1977 just as disco was entering it's golden age E.P. & P. disbanded.
During the years 1977 to 1981 Barbara continued with session work and formed her own successful label, Roy B. Records. As a label owner she had a string of hits with Pizzazz's "I Heard It Through The Grapevine," Soccer's "Dancin' Game," Melody Stewart's "Get Down, Get Down/Action Satisfaction" and culminating with a reunion of E.P. & P. for the 1981 club smash "If You Want Me."
Another chart/recording hiatus ensued from 1981 to 1986. Her label had folded and E.P. & P. never really managed to stay together after the brief reunion. By 1986 Barbara had surfaced on RCA Records with the release of "Gotta See You Tonight" followed by another 12" single "Gonna Put Up A Fight" in 1987. However their was no album forthcoming. As of 1989 she was still signed to RCA when she recorded her part for the studio group, Togetherness, assembled to support Paul Simpson on the song "We Are The Ones" from his Simp-House/Cooltempo album, "One." The Togetherness group consisted of Barbara "Ecstasy, Passion & Pain" Roy, Will Downing, Rochelle Fleming, Loleatta Holloway, Toney Lee, Ray Simpson, and Fonda Rae. An incredible line-up to say the least.
Sadly Barbara's career seems to be on-hold after this point. Thanks to sampling she can be heard on the 1990's hits: "Son Of A Gun" by JX and "Just Wanna Touch Me" by Fidelfatti, and by virtue of re-release the entire E.P. & P. catalogue can be heard on the U.K. Westside album "Good Things (The Roulette Recordings 1973-1977)." Perhaps Barbara will reappear again on CD. Until then we have her eternal legacy of some of the best of the early "club" classics to enjoy.
More Genres
No Artists Found
More Artists
Load All
No Albums Found
More Albums
Load All
No Tracks Found
Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Search results not found
Song not found
Ecstasy Passion & Pain Lyrics
Ask Me Baby, baby Ask me, ask me Tell me what you want me…
Don't Burn Your Bridges Behind You Allways believe that No one could live in this world alone, …
Good Things Don Hey, hey, hey, hey Good things, good things Don't last…
Good Things Don't Last Forever Hey, hey, hey, hey Good things, good things Don't last…
Good Things Last Forever Hey, hey, hey, hey Good things, good things Don't last…
Happy Happy Happy Happy Hour Henny Sour Margarita Why you so salty at Happy H…
One Beautiful Day The morbid reeks surround A planetary sickness abound The mo…
Passion There's something in my heart That I'm burning to say Lovi…
Touch And Go Oohoo I ain't just on the run Oohoo I ain't just on the…
We have lyrics for these tracks by Pain:
100 I'm in a cloud drifting I'm on a cross mission They be…
12.42 this is an ambient instrumental piece..…
A Good Day To Die I don't want to touch what I can't feel I…
A szex vajon mi Hahaha... ref: A szex vajon mi? Ha szeretsz vajon…
A szex vajon mi? Hahaha... ref: A szex vajon…
Adam See Adam's apple sitting on top of his head? It's not…
Antidote Tony's got a botfly in his forehead Jenny's got a guinea…
Army of the Bored in the campaign of lonely, hungry boys few make plans…
Az én mennyországom Az én mennyországom gyönyörűen ragyog. Ott hangszeren játsza…
Beanbag Shoes & socks protect soles from rocks And thick coats defen…
Behind The Wheel My little girl drive anywhere Do what you want uh I…
Bitch Bitch I'm the king in this dirty game Be my puppy and…
Bottle's Nest Woke up this morning with my head in the dirt Master of…
Bottle’s Nest Woke up this morning With my head in the dirt Master of…
Breathe They have destroyed your whole life Ever since you were born…
Breathing In Breathing Out Speeding through hell And the devil will snatch your soul I'…
Bye (Verse 1) Hold up Wait, fukk it Im Glad Niggaz all…
Bye / Die Tell me What do you see when you see yourself…
Bye/Die Tell me What do you see when you see yourself I don't…
Call Me If you got the cash I got the time I′m just…
Can You Feel The Love So, are you sick of me yet? Well I'm sick of…
Cap'n Scrub Way back in 1982... My friends and me, We had…
Cap'n Scrubs Way back in 1982... My friends and me, We had some…
Choke On Your Lies Choked by your own lie, God blessed no one Controlled by…
Chris gets up on it May I introduce the manliest of all men His name is…
Chuch Al Hashib Bob Al Hashib was a man of the Nile. A fez…
Close My Eyes Can't see faith through the tears Of my swollen eyes I…
Clouds Of Ecstasy Pushing forty, cracks on her skin Needs to get out, she's…
Club Get Loose Greatness + Greatness = Great Greatness Hey, Hey, Hey The …
Coming Home I have seen too many things That'll make you want to…
Computer God Computerized technology Wipes out all your enemies Digital…
Cool Go girl, girl, girl, do you (do you) Go girl, girl,…
Crashed Time is running out, can't you understand? The end is coming…
Crawling Thru Bitterness I’ve been driving down the dark and strange highways And I’…
Dancing With The Dead I can still hear their laughter echo And the taste of…
Dante pokla A pokol kapuja kitárul, fölötte sötét betűkkel szedett sor, …
Dark Fields of Pain Alone in the dark, [incomprehensible] for the fish Waiting t…
Delusions I've become one with the universe [Incomprehensible] I'm con…
Derision Derision ain't so bad, it makes me glad I'm tougher For…
Dirty Woman I just fell out the sky it’s been a hell…
Does It Really Matter Does it really matter anyway? You have to feel real bad Be…
Does It Really Matter? Does it really matter anyway? You have to feel real bad Befo…
Don Hangman, is it me you're looking for I don't think I'm…
Don't Care Never done a hard days work in your whole life…
Don't Count Me Out Never wanted to see it from the bright side I…
Don't Let Me Down Hangman, is it me you're looking for I don't think I'm…
Dont Count Me Out Never wanted to see it from the bright side I…
Dont Tell Me There's a me who always found his way, but I can't…
Doubt Me Now Kill me now, or I'll drown, I don't wanna play…
Easy Out The black silhouette appears at my door Dragging me out, I'm…
Eleanor Rigby Ah, look at all the lonely people Ah, look at all…
Ellen Ellen, I fell in big loving with you. I saw you…
End of Line My gun is pumping you're down on your knees A closer…
Enough Love had nothing to do with us You had nothing better to do …
Excalibur You drew me from this stone, You pulled me out and…
Expelled I feel you breathing down my neck Nowhere to hide I thought…
Fade Away Shattered frames fill up the floor Tightly locking the fuck…
Feed The Demons Creeping and cracking Baby don't look back, no one goes hom…
Feed Us The world is filled with desperate people Looking with thei…
Fight Bored, drinking my beer on the floor Surrounded by people I…
Follow Me Good luck has never been my friend I've always been the…
Full Speed Ahead Take care, beware, fire off a warning flare! Radio dispatch,…
Future For Me Don't be worry who be chasing me And Even though I'm…
Futz Said Julie There we stood on our dark and isolated planetoid Shivering …
Gavin It's not the number of times he tried to But the…
Generation X All the crap I've seen and how you're running things I'm…
Gimme Shelter Ooh, a storm is threatening My very life today If I don't…
Give It Up I just want to come home and relax with my…
Goggins She had to much to tell But not a thing to…
Greed Destroy society, erase your enemy For trying to break you do…
Grudge In the eighties, I had a radio. I had a real…
Hate Me I gotta think of something to make you think less Of…
Have a Drink on Me I don't believe in love I love the way it tastes Please…
Here Is The News Here is the news Coming to you every hour on the…
I Maybe it was really worth it Maybe this is going somewhere M…
I Don Go ahead and go out with your friends Keep spending my…
I Don't Care You sick of me I'm sick of you I'm sick of me…
I'm Going In You don't believe in what I'm doin' How much more do…
I'm The One To Blame 날씨가 점점 추워져가요 목 끝까지 재킷을 여며봐요 여전히 코 끝은 시리네요 어쩐지 힘이…
Idle Hands idle hands and bridled passions muddled thoughts with good…
In A Band Growing up, I had it rough Although I hated work it…
Injected Paradise How does it feel to get kicked When you're down and…
Inside Your Love I see you in my dreams, in my simulations For no…
Intro Ay that's how it go man Ay that's how it go…
Island Of Fear A man once told us that no man is an…
It Could Have Been Love You came into my life You showed signs of interest Illusions…
It's On I know you been hurting but I wanna see you…
It's Only Them Since I was a kid I've seen greedy people Just grabbing…
It´s Only Them Since I was a kid I see greedy people Just grabbing…
I’m Going In You don't believe in what I'm doin' How much more do…
Jabberjaw Me and my friends get no respect. What does Scooby-Doo that…
Jabberjaw Running Under Water Me and my friends get no respect What does Scooby do…
Jonathan Fallow Witness Jonathan Fallow, sit & stare, He's a cartoon enginee…
Juice Na na na na na Na na na na Na na na…
Juice/Square Pegs Oh yeah Lately I've heard this song, you see, and it…
Just Hate Me I gotta think of something to make you think less Of…
Just Think Again Have you ever seen a child die? Did you even know…
Keep Going Yeah Uh Uhem Keep going Yeah They get me up…
Kokamantratarius Blank walls in a restaurant bathroom. Black marker though j…
Lap Dance It's 241 tonight (oh). Fellas grab a lady, ladies get that…
Learn How To Die Learn how to live Learn how to breathe Learn how to kill Lea…
Leave Me Alone I know that i've made mistakes But i really miss your…
Let Me Out I cannot breathe suffocating slow I need to come up for…
Listen I've been trying to find the right words But they always…
Live Fast / Die Young We all are craving for the life we can not…
Malk *Kazoos* Shutup, bitch! Waaaaaah!…
Man in the Mirror I'm gonna make a change, For once I'm my life It's gonna…
Midgets With Guns Broken arms, I would hold you Even if I had broken…
Milk Hey kid! Yeah you! You see I dropped my pencil. Pick it…
Monkey Business Yeah! Go! The touch of magic that you thought you once…
Monster Time, I cannot turn back I'm not living in the past Air,…
My #1 Lady Lady, I'm your knight in shining armor and I love…
My Life Life doesn't work out as planned Visions of happiness are bu…
My Misery Did you ever think you could change the world The world…
Nailed to the Ground Now I've got something to say So just get out…
Nitro i woke up with a cough a germ had gotten…
no more tears no more pain (Y me dolía más de lo que pensabas) (Sólo era mirarme…
No One Knowns She be blowing up my phone about nonsense I've been getting…
No One Knows These visions in my head The friendly faces I don't know m…
Not Afraid To Die A journey through the space, colours, planets everywhere We'…
Not Your Kind In my life I've learned a lot, don't give a…
Nothing Why are we never satisfied, The Grass is always greener on…
On And On Listen here, try me out, Can you understand a word that…
On Your Knees I'm going for a ride And I hope I'll never ever…
On Your Knees (Again) I'm going for a ride And I hope I'll never…
On Your Knees Again I'm going for a ride And I hope I'll never ever…
One In The Same You don't believe in what I'm doin' How much more do…
One-Legged Girl Behind the counter stood on crutches made of wood A one-legg…
Pain You cannot run or hide From the pain that lives inside Tak…
Pain In The Ass My head is splitting While I walk I know life's there But I…
Parallel To Ecstasy [Incomprehensible] I can feel the energy Feels like I've bee…
Party in my head I’ve been staring at the wall And trying not to lose…
Play Dead Darling stop confusing me With your wishful thinking Hopef…
Pose Ode Pose, Pose, nobody knows Just what we go through we go…
Power Just can't get control of my life Forever stuck in this…
Psalms Of Extinction Why do we have to live in fear? The future's looking…
Pull Me Under I'm gonna ride on my addiction tide Why don't you come…
Put 'Em Back Put your tears back into your eyes Adjust your hair I am…
Put Together i never thought i'd be put together so easily but…
Right On My words cry out to a higher power My time of…
Rope Aroud Your Neck Trapped in a nightmare called life With no sign of exit…
Same Old Song Same old song Welcome to my world Dark side of…
Save Me Waking up from this dream Got a feeling that something is…
Save Your Prayers Hey you, I know you don't like me But the feeling…
Season Of The Reaper We came with nothing and with nothing we'll leave The wheel…
She Whipped I just cried as she hung me off the ceiling I…
Shine Like This Ooh-wee, she got that booty What type of boom-boom, that bas…
Shut Your Mouth The only thing I ever wanted The only thing I ever…
Sins Came down seen this place Fade black world disgrace Fake new…
Square Pegs Lately I've heard this song, you see, And it will not…
Stay Away Stay away, stay away Stay away, stay away I'm on the road…
Stealth Silently And with obvious grace A shadow moves Through the d…
Suckerpunch I'm sick of only making peanuts. I'm sick of stale sandwich…
Suicide Machine I never do it for nothing It's never been for free I…
Supersonic Bitch I, I never really meant to hurt you bad I, I…
Szakítás A tollam a lapon táncot jár, Amiért írok most…
Tear It Up I am the one who chose the path in my…
The Bottlerocket War Never enough celebrating Independence Day. It was never eno…
The Comeback He was a drunk He was a punk-ass useless slob and…
The Game Life is a game check in at the airport we…
The Great Pretender You can bitch all you want 'cause I don't care It's…
The Last Drops Of My Life Life doesn't work out as planned Visions of happiness are bu…
The Man Upstairs On the wedding anniversary Of the Johnson's They went out on…
The People The People Can't for the life of me think of what to…
The Song Of The 7 Inch Cowboy I'm a seven-inch cowboy With a tiny pair of six guns. Five'l…
The Tables Have Turned I'm not here so you can knock me down, again Things…
The Third Wave They tried to build a nation, greater than anyone But what…
The White Recluse The lights are off, but look! There's somebody in the home. …
Thimbledrome What's the matter? Who cares? People running everywhere, Run…
This Heart of Mine I lie awake watching your shoulders Move so softly as you…
This Way Love be still, love be sweet Don't you dare change a…
trapped Uh! I count people in every country sitting on their ass Tr…
Umbrella With a black silk umbrella On a rooftop one day To put…
Upright The argonauts always intrigued me, They typified every man: …
Voices Look around my eyes I’m stuck up in my head this is…
Walking On Glass So how many times do I have to pick myself…
We Want More The nature's abuser The creature takes what it wants We ha…
Who Took Botu's Picture? Who took Botu's picture? Botu wants it back He never gave…
You Only Live Twice Some people's love is other's hate Depression, jealousy of …
Zombie Slam There's something coming crawling 'Round the corner of your…