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.
Let's Do It
Ohio Players Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It takes you it takes me together
Oh, let's love, we only got one day
Oh, let's love to pass the time away
I've only known you for a moment
Oh but I love you desperately girl
If it wasn't for the things that people would say child
It takes a l and a O and a V and a E
It takes you it takes me together
Oh let's love we only got one day
I say we only got one day
Oh let's love to pass the time away
They say that I am mean and evil, oh girl
Oh but how else how can a starving man be
If you wouldn't listen to what they
Say behind my back child
You would be making love to me (Alright)
It takes a L and a O and a V and a E
It takes you it takes me together
Oh let's love we only got one day
Let's fall in love
I say we only got one day
Oh let's love to pass the time away (alright)
Love on me and let me love on you understand me
That's not your thing to do
If you wouldn't listen to what they say
Behind my back girl
You would be making love to me (alright)
Please do it, please do it
Even you and me can do it
There's really nothing turning it into honey
Oh let's love we only got a day
Oh let's love to pass the time away
The lyrics to Ohio Players' song "Let's Do It" speak of the urgency of love and the desire to make the most of the time we have. The song starts with the line, "It takes a L and a O and a V and a E," spelling out the word "love" and emphasizing the importance of it. The chorus repeats the phrase, "Oh let's love, we only got one day," reminding us that our time is limited and we should make the most of it by loving and being loved.
The second verse speaks of the passion and desperation that love can elicit, as the singer professes their love for someone they have only known for a short time. Despite the judgments of others, they long to be with this person and make love to them. The bridge emphasizes the importance of ignoring the opinions of others and following our own hearts.
Overall, the lyrics of "Let's Do It" encourage us to prioritize love and connection in our lives, to embrace our desires and pursue them boldly, and to not let the opinions of others hold us back from experiencing the joy of love.
Line by Line Meaning
It takes a L and a O and a V and a E
Love requires the letters L-O-V-E
It takes you it takes me together
Love requires both parties to participate
Oh, let's love, we only got one day
We should love because time is limited
Oh, let's love to pass the time away
Love is a way to occupy our time
I've only known you for a moment
Our time together has been brief
Oh but I love you desperately girl
Despite the short timeframe, I feel strongly for you
If it wasn't for the things that people would say child
External opinions are affecting our relationship
You would be making love to me (alright)
If it weren't for societal pressure, we could be intimate
They say that I am mean and evil, oh girl
Others perceive me negatively
Oh but how else how can a starving man be
My behavior is a result of my circumstances
If you wouldn't listen to what they say behind my back child
Your perception of me is influenced by gossip
Love on me and let me love on you understand me
Let's show affection towards each other
That's not your thing to do
We may have different ideas of what love should look like
Please do it, please do it
I am urging you to show me love
Even you and me can do it
We are capable of loving each other
There's really nothing turning it into honey
There is no magic formula for love
Let's fall in love
Let's emotionally invest in each other
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