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.
Bi-Centennial
Ohio Players Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Let's do it together it's a happy time
You know we've always got to give it back too
Bi-centennial make a friend y'all
Love your mother, trust your brother
Have faith one another
Bi-centennial make a friend y'all
love your mother, trust your brother
We can overcome our strife (you and I)
All we have to do is try, try, try
This is not the end
It's just a bi-centennial
Bi-centennial make a friend y'all
Join the race save this place
We must keep the faith, yeah
Bi-centennial make a friend y'all
Celebrate, re-appreciate, come together
Won't you use the weapons of peace
I'm talking about love, truth, and your beliefs
Hold on to the past, time slips by so fast
Faithful sugar get time, got time
We get together
We must overcome this strife you and I
All we have to do is try, try, try
This is not the end, it's only the beginning
it's a bi-centennial
Bi-centennial make a friend y'all
Love your mother, trust your brother
Have faith in one another
Bi-centennial make a friend y'all
Join the race rededicate, well
We must keep the faith
Bi-centennial, bi-centennial
Save the race, bi-centennial
Amen, Amen, Amen
The Ohio Players' song "Bi-Centennial" was released in 1975, a year before the United States celebrated its 200th anniversary. The song is a call to unity and positivity during a time of political and social unrest in the country. The lyrics encourage people to love and trust each other, and to come together to save the planet and make the world a better place. The message is delivered with a catchy funk groove and infectious chorus, making it a feel-good anthem for the era.
The song starts with a call to action, inviting everyone to join in and celebrate the bi-centennial together. The lyrics acknowledge the challenges we face as a society, but encourage us to believe in each other and have faith in the power of love and unity. By coming together and working towards a common goal, we can overcome any obstacle and make the world a better place.
The final verse of the song emphasizes the importance of holding onto the past while moving forward. The lyrics specifically mention using the "weapons of peace," such as love, truth, and our own beliefs, to make a positive impact on the world. The song ends with a repeated call to action to save the race, a phrase that can be interpreted as a call to save humanity itself.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey everybody
Attention everyone
Let's do it together it's a happy time
Let's work collaboratively since this is a joyous moment
You know we've always got to give it back too
We ought to give back what we've received
Bi-centennial make a friend y'all
Create a new friendship in honor of the bicentennial
Love your mother, trust your brother
Show affection to your mother, and trust your sibling
Have faith one another
Believe in each other
We can overcome our strife (you and I)
We can triumph over our difficulties if we work together
All we have to do is try, try, try
We simply need to attempt to make a difference, repeatedly
This is not the end
This is not the conclusion of anything
It's just a bi-centennial
It's just the two-hundredth anniversary of something
Join the race save this place
Collaborate with us in this endeavor to preserve this area
We must keep the faith, yeah
It's important to maintain our confidence
Celebrate, re-appreciate, come together
Observe, be grateful for, and reunite
Won't you use the weapons of peace
Please make use of peaceful methods
I'm talking about love, truth, and your beliefs
I imply that you should use love, sincerity, and your values
Hold on to the past, time slips by so fast
Remember history since time is fleeting
Faithful sugar get time, got time
Have patience, you have plenty of it
We must overcome this strife you and I
We need to surmount our obstacles together
This is not the end, it's only the beginning
This is simply the start of something, not the end
Bi-centennial make a friend y'all
Create a new friendship for the bicentennial
Join the race rededicate, well
Collaborate with us in this race and recommit yourself
We must keep the faith
It's important to maintain our confidence
Bi-centennial, bi-centennial
Bicentennial, bicentennial
Save the race, bi-centennial
Protect our people, bicentennial
Amen, Amen, Amen
I pray it will be so
Contributed by Owen O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Invisible Sun
An inspirational song. One that resonates even stronger now in 2020, given the current world situation.
Tammy ST Wilson
This was a beautiful song of theirs that didn't get enough play.I was 12 when it came out and I liked it then.Listening to it now it is still extraordinary.
S. Baltimore Jones
I was in the 6th grade and I kept playing this song on my daddy eight track when he would go to work. He has pass on since then but this is on of my all time great songs it reminds me of a time when life was a lot simpler.
cwash2005
Can you imagine these guys doing a rendition of the Star Spangled Banner? Their vocals, musicianship and creativity would have been something to behold.
Tammy ST Wilson
True that!
Jimmy James
🙋🏾♂️ I remember this song! I was nine years old! I was always wondering where I picked it up from (WAMO Pittsburgh) and it stuck with me for years. I heard someone mention it on YouTube today. Man I remember those days. I remember the Bicentennial just barely. Thanks for posting this.
Sha Car
Still love ❤️ this song
Mary Johnson
I've never heard this song before, it's truly an awesome song. We truly need to go back to living the way our Elders lived..
Clarence Washington
Did Diamond hold that snare drum roll for that long.... throughout this song? I believe he did...
Iceway
Reminds me of my uncle. He loved everything by the O.P.💕