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.
Love Roller Coaster
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' song "Love Rollercoaster" is a groovy, funk-infused track about the ups and downs of being in a romantic relationship. The lyrics use the metaphor of a rollercoaster ride to describe the emotional turbulence that comes with falling in love. The singer compares the experience of being in love to riding a rollercoaster, with all of its twists and turns, dips and climbs. He expresses a desire to keep riding this rollercoaster, despite the uncertainties and occasional feelings of fear.
The song's catchy chorus repeats the phrase "Rollercoaster of love" several times, emphasizing the central metaphor. The verses describe the singer's emotional journey as he learns to ride the rollercoaster of love, with all of its thrills and spills. He acknowledges that being in love has been crazy at times, but he can't help wanting to ride again and again.
Overall, the song is a fun and funky celebration of the joys and challenges of being in love. The rollercoaster metaphor is an apt one, capturing the highs and lows of this universal human experience.
Line by Line Meaning
Rollercoaster of love (say what?) Rollercoaster yeah oohh oohh oohh
Comparing love to a rollercoaster ride that takes the singer on a thrill-inducing adventure.
Rollercoaster of love (wow wow wow) oohh oohh oohh
Describing the ups and downs of this relationship like a rollercoaster ride with unexpected twists and turns.
Rollercoaster of love (lovin' you it's been a while) oohh oohh oohh
Acknowledging the challenges and struggles of this romance, but still being willing to stick it out for the thrill of the ride.
Your love is like a rollercoaster baby, baby I want to ride (baby ride)
Expressing the artist's desire to experience the ups and downs of this romance just like a thrilling rollercoaster ride.
Your love is like a rollercoaster baby, baby Learning to ride (awawaw)
Comparing the learning process in this relationship to that of trying to ride a rollercoaster, adapting to the twists and turns that come with the territory.
Rollercoaster of love (lovin' you has been crazy) oohh oohh oohh
Acknowledging the madness that sometimes comes with being in a passionate, unpredictable relationship.
Rollercoaster of love (let me ride) Rollercoaster (one more time) oohh oohh oohh
Desiring to experience the thrill and excitement of this romance just one more time, despite all the ups and downs.
Rollercoaster of love (wow) oohh oohh oohh
Expressing awe and amazement at the intense adventure this relationship has taken the artist on.
Your love is like a rollercoaster baby, baby Learnin' to ride (learnin' to ride baby)
Comparing the evolution of this romance to the learning process of riding a rollercoaster, where each experience builds and leads to greater thrills.
Love is like a rollercoaster baby, baby Love's a rollercoaster (Love is rollercoaster) your love is like a rollercoaster baby, baby
Repeating the analogy of love as a thrilling rollercoaster ride, emphasizing that this relationship has been full of ups and downs, twists and turns.
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: Clarence Satchell, James L. Williams, Leroy Bonner, Marshall Jones, Marvin Pierce, Ralph Middlebrooks, Willie Beck
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@sarahjanecrabtree
I think this is superb & funky song I ever heard. This is 1 of my favourite 70’s songs.
@anonimous332
GTA SA Bounce FM: ☺
Final Destination 3: 💀
@aios1671
Beavis and butthead do america
@ezequielmanya95
Driving through Las Venturas at night with this song is awesome
@69Cherry69
Driving through any place in San Andreas with this song is awesome
@carlthegamernpc849
Being in a tanning bed with this song is.. ..
@SuzeeBeeCA
I was 8 yrs old when this came out and asked my dad to take me to the record store so I could buy it with my allowance. Still have the 45. 🙌🏼
@jojovaldez2766
My folks and I also had the Love Rollercoaster song on the 45 record. We bought it at Tower Records a long time before they went out of business
@STVG71
Rifling through my parents stack of LPs and seeing the naughty (to 8 year old me) album covers got me hooked on funk lol!
@Just-the-Gameplay
God dayummmmmm