The Ohio Players are a funk and R&B band whose heyday was in the mid- to la… Read Full Bio ↴The Ohio Players are a funk and R&B band whose heyday was in the mid- to late 1970s. They formed in Dayton, Ohio in 1959 as the Ohio Untouchables, and initially included members Robert Ward (vocals/guitar), Marshall "Rock" Jones (bass), Clarence "Satch" Satchell (saxophone/guitar), Cornelius Johnson (drums), and Ralph "Pee Wee" Middlebrooks (trumpet/trombone). The Ohio Untouchables broke up in 1963, with Ward leaving for a solo career, but the core members of the group returned to Dayton and added Gary Webster (drums) and Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner (guitar) in 1964. The group added two more singers, Bobby Lee Fears and Dutch Robinson, and became the house band for New York City-based Compass Records in 1967. They soon became one of the better known R&B bands of the 1970's. They inspired many artists including The Mighty Majors ("You Can Never Go Back"), which opened a show for them once on the road.

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.

Alone
Ohio Players Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

This is the first time I did this
Whoo! But I love it! (laughs) I just want to take you away a minute
This song I'm about to do today is like a spiritual song, it 's a piece of my heart
You see I'm the oldest of four-teen kids
Because I was the first one, mama said that may be king
So I went out and bought me a ring (laughs)
But I found out later in life that don't mean nothing
Even though I come from that great big o'l family with four-teen kids

For some reason I've never felt like
I had anybody by my side until I ran to these bad, bad
players and bad, bad, listeners, you know what i'm talking about
Name of this song is called " I Don't Wanna Be Alone"
Listen

I don't want to be, I don't want to be alone
I don't want to be alone yeah anymore, well
I don't want to be alone well shut that door
This is just a silly game girl
That we are playing yeah, well

I'll even take your blame yes I will oh well
Hear what I am saying child, I'm so ashamed
I don't want to be alone, well anymore
I don't want to be alone, well
Somebody pick me up off the floor

Listen they said that you and I will be together
From now on but if you walk out that door girl
I won't see you no more

I don't want to be alone well, anymore
I don't want to be alone
Somebody help me sing
Somebody pick me up off the floor

cho-cha, cho-chada, cho-chada, cho-chada
cho-chada, cho-chada, cho-chada, cho-chada
Do-do, do-do, you
Cho-cha, cho-chada, cho-chada, du-du, do-da, do-du, da-du

they said that you and I will be together from now on
But if you walk out the door girl
I won't see you no more

I don't want to be alone well anymore
I don't want to be alone
I don't wan to be alone somebody help me yeah
Somebody pick me up off the floor
I don't want to be alone

I don't want to be
I don't want it be alone

Overall Meaning

The Ohio Players’ song “Alone” is a soulful, emotional ballad that expresses the desire to have someone by one’s side. The song is an introspective look at the artist’s life, particularly his experience growing up in a large family, but still feeling alone. The song is a plea for someone to stay by his side, lest he be left alone for good. The song begins with the artist’s introduction, where he acknowledges the fact that he is the oldest of fourteen siblings, but despite being surrounded by family, he has never truly felt that he has had someone by his side.

The artist then goes on to explain how he went out and bought a ring, thinking that it would bring him a sense of companionship or company, but it wasn’t until he met the bad players and listeners that he felt like he truly had someone by his side. That’s when he starts to sing about his fear of being alone and how he doesn’t want to be alone anymore. The repetition of “I don’t want to be alone” makes the artist’s desperation to have someone by his side even more palpable.

In the chorus, the artist pleads with the girl not to leave him, because he fears that if she walks out the door, he won’t see her anymore, and he will be left all alone. The song concludes with the artist acknowledging that he can’t be alone anymore and that he needs someone to pick him up off the floor. Overall, the lyrics of the song express the pain of feeling alone while surrounded by people, and the longing for someone to be by one’s side.

Line by Line Meaning

This is the first time I did this
Disclaimer about the new format of the song

Whoo! But I love it! (laughs) I just want to take you away a minute
Excitement about introducing the new song and wanting to captivate listeners

This song I'm about to do today is like a spiritual song, it 's a piece of my heart
The upcoming performance is deeply meaningful and personal

You see I'm the oldest of four-teen kids
Background information about the artist's family

Because I was the first one, mama said that may be king
The artist's mother believed that being the firstborn made one special

So I went out and bought me a ring (laughs)
The artist thought being the firstborn was significant enough to buy himself a ring

But I found out later in life that don't mean nothing
The artist eventually learned that being the firstborn did not make him better or more important

Even though I come from that great big o'l family with four-teen kids
Confirmation and emphasis about the size of the artist's family

For some reason I've never felt like I had anybody by my side until I ran to these bad, bad players and bad, bad, listeners, you know what i'm talking about
Acknowledgement that the artist felt alone until he discovered music and his fans

Name of this song is called " I Don't Wanna Be Alone"
Introduction to the song title

Listen
Request for the audience to pay attention

I don't want to be, I don't want to be alone
Refrain to express the artist's desire to not be alone

I don't want to be alone yeah anymore, well
Additional emphasis on the artist's desire to not be alone

I don't want to be alone well shut that door
Demand to close the door as a symbol of closing off loneliness

This is just a silly game girl
Acknowledgement that relationships can feel like games sometimes

That we are playing yeah, well
Confirmation that the relationship in question is a game

I'll even take your blame yes I will oh well
The artist is willing to accept responsibility for the problems in the relationship

Hear what I am saying child, I'm so ashamed
The artist is apologizing and expressing remorse for something related to the relationship

Somebody pick me up off the floor
Expression of emotional distress and a plea for comfort

Listen they said that you and I will be together
Explanation that someone made a commitment for the couple to be together

From now on but if you walk out that door girl
Warning that leaving the relationship would have serious consequences

I won't see you no more
Acknowledgement that the relationship would be over if the partner leaves

Somebody help me sing
Request for the audience to join in singing the refrain

cho-cha, cho-chada, cho-chada, cho-chada cho-chada, cho-chada, cho-chada, cho-chada Do-do, do-do, you Cho-cha, cho-chada, cho-chada, du-du, do-da, do-du, da-du
Instrumental interlude

I don't want to be alone well anymore
Repetition of the refrain to emphasize the artist's desire to not be alone

Somebody pick me up off the floor
Repetition of the plea for comfort

I don't want to be
Final repetition of the artist's desire to not be alone

I don't want it be alone
Final expression of the artist's desire to not be alone

Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: WILLIE POOLE, CHRIS WILLIS, WELBORN ANTHONY III PRESTON

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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