Their song "Runnin' from the Devil" inspired the Van Halen song "Runnin' With the Devil".
The group disbanded again in 1970. After again reforming with a line-up including Bonner, Satchell, Middlebrooks, Jones, Webster, trumpeter Bruce Napier, trombonist Marvin Pierce, and keyboardist Walter "Junie" Morrison, the Players had a minor hit on the Detroit-based Westbound label in 1971 with "Pain" which reached the Billboard R&B Top 40. Detroit vocalist Dale Allen shared co-lead vocals on some of the early Westbound material, although not credited on the albums "Pain" and "Pleasure".
The band’s first big hit was "Funky Worm", which hit #1 on the Billboard R&B Charts and made the pop Top 15 in May 1973. The band signed with Mercury Records in 1974. By this time, their lineup had changed again, with keyboardist Billy Beck instead of Morrison and Jimmy "Diamond" Williams on drums instead of Webster. On later album releases, they added second guitarist/vocalist Clarence 'Chet' Willis and conga player Robert "Rumba" Jones to the lineup. Bonner sang lead vocals on most of the band's hits.
The band had seven Top 40 hits between 1973 and 1976, including "Fire" (#1 on both the R&B and pop charts for two weeks and one week respectively in February 1975) and "Love Rollercoaster" (#1 on both the R&B and pop charts for 1 week in January 1976). The group's last big hit was "Who'd She Coo" a #1 R&B hit in August 1976.
The band became widely known not only for their sound, which has been sampled and copied by countless R&B and hip-hop artists since, but for their sexually provocative album covers, including the cover of 1974's Ecstasy, which featured a man and a woman in a pose of arousal wearing chains and leather, and 1975's Honey, which featured a nude woman holding an overflowing jar of honey and dropping some into her mouth with a ladle.
There is an urban legend that has it that a scream on "Love Rollercoaster" that came during the break after the second verse was the sound of someone being murdered in the studio while the track was being recorded. It is widely believed to be the scream of a female model (the nude woman Ester Cordet featured on the image for the Honey album) after being stabbed with a knife by the band's manager. She was complaining that the honey and fibre glass she was sitting on reacted when mixed causing permanent damage to her legs during the image photography, ending her modelling career. She then approached the manager seeking compensation during the recording of "Love Rollercoaster" only to be stabbed and attacked.
The Ohio Players then left the scream in as a sick tribute.[1] The band did not discredit this rumor at the time, because, as one band member put it later, "that makes you sell more records." This is just an urban legend however, as are any other disturbing explanations, including a person murdered outside the recording studio (although recording studios are soundproof and the scream would not have been heard), a band member murdering his girlfriend or a cleaning woman in the recording studio, or a real scream taken from a 911 call or a Psychiatric ward.
Clarence Satchell died in January 1996 after he had a brain aneurysm. Ralph Middlebrooks died in November 1997.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers were one of the bands heavily influenced by the Ohio Players, covering "Love Rollercoaster" for the film Beavis and Butt-head Do America. In the UK, there was a chain of music and DVD stores named after one of their hit songs, "Fopp". "Fopp" was also covered by Soundgarden for an EP called Fopp.
02 Love Rollercoaster
Ohio Players Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Rollercoaster yeah oohh oohh oohh
Rollercoaster of love
Rollercoaster yeah oohh oohh oohh
Rollercoaster of love
Rollercoaster (wow wow wow) oohh oohh oohh
Rollercoaster of love
Rollercoaster (lovin' you it's been a while) oohh oohh oohh
Your love is like a rollercoaster baby, baby
I want to ride (baby ride)
Your love is like a rollercoaster baby, baby
Learning to ride (awawaw)
Rollercoaster of love
Rollercoaster (lovin' you has been crazy) oohh oohh oohh
Rollercoaster of love (let me ride)
Rollercoaster (one more time) oohh oohh oohh
Rollercoaster of love
Rollercoaster (wow) oohh oohh oohh
Rollercoaster of love
Rollercoaster oohh oohh oohh
Your love is like a rollercoaster baby, baby
I want to ride yeah (awawaw)
Your love is like a rollercoaster baby, baby
Learnin' to ride (learnin' to ride baby)
Your love is like a rollercoaster baby, baby
I want to ride yeah
Your love is like a rollercoaster baby, baby
I want to ride yeah
Love is like a rollercoaster baby, baby
Love's a rollercoaster
(Love is rollercoaster) your love is like a rollercoaster baby, baby
The Ohio Players' iconic hit "Love Rollercoaster" is a celebration of the highs and lows of being in love. The lyrics speak to the physical sensations of falling in love - the fluttery feeling in the stomach that comes when one is enamored with another person. The rollercoaster metaphor is apt, as the lyrics describe the ups and downs of a romantic relationship, with all the thrills and surprises that go along with it. The second verse describes the rush of being in a relationship that is full of wild energy and excitement, likening love to a carnival ride.
The song's chorus is simple, repeating the words "Your love is like a rollercoaster, baby, baby. I wanna ride, yeah" over and over. The repetition adds to the hypnotic quality of the song, drawing the listener in and making them want to join in on the ride. The verses add a playful element to the song, with lines like "Move over dad 'cause I'm a double dipple, upside down on the big dip dipper" illustrating the youthful energy and exuberance that comes with being in love.
Line by Line Meaning
You give me that funny feeling in my tummy
Your love makes me feel excited and nervous in a good way
Ahw sh, yeah, that's right huh
Expressing agreement and enthusiasm for the feeling of love
Rollercoaster of love say what
Comparing love to a rollercoaster ride full of ups and downs
Rollercoaster yeah (oohh oohh oohh)
Reiterating the theme of love being a thrilling but unpredictable ride
Oh baby you know what I'm talking about
Addressing the listener directly and acknowledging their shared understanding of the rollercoaster-like nature of love
Lovin' you is really wild
Describing how strong and exciting the feeling of love is
Oh it´s just a love rollercoaster
Confirming that love is indeed like a rollercoaster
Step right up and get your tickets
Encouraging the listener to actively participate in the ride by embracing love
Your love is like a rollercoaster baby,baby
Continuing the comparison and emphasizing that this particular love is like a rollercoaster
I want to ride yeah (awawaw)
Expressing desire to experience this love and all of its ups and downs
Move over dad 'cause I'm a double dipple
Claiming youthful energy and enthusiasm for life and love
Upside down on the big dip dipper
Employing rollercoaster terminology to describe the feeling of being completely swept up in love
1, 2, 1, 2, 3 I've got a ticket come ride with me
Inviting the listener to join in on this exciting ride of love, using counting to create a rhythmic effect
Let me go down on the merry-go-round
Invoking another amusement park ride to describe the motion and feeling of love
All is fair 'n' a big fair ground
Comparing love to a fair, where there are many different experiences to be had and opportunities to have fun
Let's go slow, let's go fast
Acknowledging that the ride of love can be taken at different paces, and that both slower and faster experiences can be exciting
Like a liquorice twist gonna whip your ass
Comparing love to a twisty, somewhat unpredictable piece of candy that can be intense and have an impact on one's life
Rollercoaster say what
Repeating the idea that love is a rollercoaster ride, asking for confirmation or emphasis
I will be there for you I will be your man
Promising steadfast love and devotion as the rollercoaster of love continues
Lyrics © Ultra Tunes, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Clarence Satchell, James L. Williams, Leroy Bonner, Marshall Jones, Marvin Pierce, Ralph Middlebrooks, Willie Beck
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind