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.

Contradiction
Ohio Players Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Contradictions
(Contradictions)
To me it seems that's what life's all about
(That's what life's all about).
My convictions (my convictions, girl)
Are always keeping my poor soul in doubt
(Keeping my soul in doubt)
My restrictions (my restrictions, girl)

Are always at war with all my needs
(With all my needs!)
My intention's (my intention's, well)
To go through life and never bleed
Contradictions

And now love and hate
Should try to negotiate (let's make our deal girl).
There's no time to wait
Do it now, don't delay.
Put away all your fears
Don't believe the things you hear
Just keep the faith,
Don't hesitate -
Someday you'll be great

Contributions
We all must give so that we can receive
(Well)
The solution
Would be to never need (yeah)
A revolution (a revolution)
Is bound to change your constitution (bang bang honey child)
Retribution
(illusion)
Confusion
(confusion)
Illusion
(institution)
Diffusion
(dilution)
Contradiction.

If you won't change
You'll make me feel strain
And there will be a contradiction -
And we won't have a chance to love

Love and hate
Should try to negotiate.
There's no time to wait
Do it now, don't delay.
Put away all your fears
Don't believe the things you hear
Just keep the faith,
Don't hesitate -
Someday you'll be great

Contradictions (repeat until end of song)

Overall Meaning

Ohio Players' song "Contradiction" is about the conflicting beliefs and emotions that people face in life. According to the song, life is full of contradictions, and we must find a way to negotiate with our contradictory thoughts and feelings. The lyrics highlight the struggle between convictions, restrictions, needs, and intentions. The singer wants to go through life without getting hurt, but at the same time, the contradictory nature of life makes this challenging.

The song also touches on the theme of love and hate coexisting together, and how people should try to negotiate between the two. The lyrics suggest that people should not let their fears get in the way of pursuing love, and instead should have faith and take action to make their dreams a reality. However, if one is unwilling to change, then it could lead to a contradiction, and they may lose out on the opportunity to experience love.

Overall, "Contradiction" is a song that explores the complexities of life and encourages listeners to find a way to navigate through the contradictions they face.

Line by Line Meaning

Contradictions
Life is full of contradictions

To me it seems that's what life's all about
The meaning of life is full of contradictions

My convictions (my convictions, girl) Are always keeping my poor soul in doubt (Keeping my soul in doubt)
My beliefs always create doubt in my soul

My restrictions (my restrictions, girl) Are always at war with all my needs (With all my needs!)
My limitations prevent me from getting everything I want

My intention's (my intention's, well) To go through life and never bleed
My intention is to live life without suffering any pain

And now love and hate Should try to negotiate (let's make our deal girl). There's no time to wait Do it now, don't delay. Put away all your fears Don't believe the things you hear Just keep the faith, Don't hesitate - Someday you'll be great
Love and hate should compromise, we should act now to achieve greatness, ignore your fears and believe in yourself

Contributions We all must give so that we can receive (Well)
We need to give in order to receive

The solution Would be to never need (yeah) A revolution (a revolution) Is bound to change your constitution (bang bang honey child) Retribution (illusion) Confusion (confusion) Illusion (institution) Diffusion (dilution) Contradiction.
The solution to life's contradictions is to need nothing, a revolution will change your beliefs, there is retribution, confusion, and illusions that create contradictions

If you won't change You'll make me feel strain And there will be a contradiction - And we won't have a chance to love
If you don't change, it will create a strain in our relationship and prevent us from loving each other

Contradictions (repeat until end of song)
Life is full of contradictions (repeated until end of song)

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CLARENCE SATCHELL, JAMES L. WILLIAMS, LEROY BONNER, MARSHALL JONES, MARVIN PIERCE, MARVIN R. PIERCE, RALPH MIDDLEBROOKS, WILLIE BECK

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS