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.

What's Going On
Ohio Players Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Mother, mother
There's too many of you crying
Brother, brother, brother
There's far too many of you dying
You know we've got to find a way
To bring some lovin' here today, yea

Father, father

We don't need to escalate
You see, war is not the answer
For only love can conquer hate
You know we've got to find a way
To bring some lovin' here today

Picket lines and picket signs
Don't punish me with brutality
Talk to me, so you can see
Oh, what's going on
What's going on
Ya, what's going on
Ah, what's going on

In the mean time
Right on, baby
Right on
Right on

Father, father, everybody thinks we're wrong
Oh, but who are they to judge us
Simply because our hair is long
Oh, you know we've got to find a way
To bring some understanding here today
Oh

Picket lines and picket signs
Don't punish me with brutality
Talk to me
So you can see
What's going on
Ya, what's going on
Tell me what's going on
I'll tell you what's going on - Uh

Right on baby
Right on baby

Overall Meaning

The Ohio Players' song "What's Going On" is a plea for peace and understanding during a time of intense social and political unrest. The song is a response to the violence and injustice of the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement in the United States during the 1960s and 70s. Through the powerful lyrics, the band stresses the importance of bringing love and compassion into a world filled with hatred and war.

The song begins with calls to "Mother, mother" and "Brother, brother, brother", highlighting the widespread suffering caused by the ongoing conflicts. The lyrics urge listeners to find a way to bring more love and understanding into the world, arguing that violence and hatred will only lead to more suffering. The lines "Talk to me, so you can see / Oh, what's going on" emphasize the need for communication and dialogue to achieve peace.

The Ohio Players' "What's Going On" is a powerful protest song that remains relevant today. Its message of peace and understanding is universal, and has been covered by many other artists over the years. The song's social and political commentary, combined with its soulful melodies and powerful vocals, make it a classic of the protest music genre.

Line by Line Meaning

Mother, mother There's too many of you crying
Addressing mothers, the singer acknowledges the many who are crying trying to bring attention to their pain and suffering.

Brother, brother, brother There's far too many of you dying
Similarly, he empathizes with the brothers who are dying, expressing that there are simply too many suffering in this way.

You know we've got to find a way To bring some lovin' here today, yea
The singer calls for love to be brought into the equation, saying that it is the only way to make things better.

Father, father We don't need to escalate
Turning to fathers, the singer emphasizes that an escalation in conflict is not what the world needs right now.

You see, war is not the answer For only love can conquer hate
The singer emphasizes the futility of war and how love is the only way to overcome hate and bring peace instead.

Picket lines and picket signs Don't punish me with brutality
The singer is calling out for non-violence, saying that even a peaceful protest (such as a picket line) shouldn't result in brutality.

Talk to me, so you can see Oh, what's going on What's going on Ya, what's going on Ah, what's going on
The singer insists that communication is key, asking people to share their experiences and knowledge with each other so everyone can truly understand what's happening.

In the mean time Right on, baby Right on Right on
The singer is encouraging people to continue to fight for what they believe in, saying 'right on'.

Father, father, everybody thinks we're wrong Oh, but who are they to judge us Simply because our hair is long
The singer acknowledges that people may judge them because of the way they look or act, but asserts that they are still fighting for something important.

Oh, you know we've got to find a way To bring some understanding here today Oh
Once again, the singer calls for understanding and empathy, saying that it is the only way to find common ground in these conflicts.

Tell me what's going on I'll tell you what's going on - Uh Right on baby Right on baby
The singer is continuing the conversation, asking people to share what's on their mind so they can (hopefully) reach some type of agreement.

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Alfred W Cleveland, Marvin P Gaye, Renaldo Benson

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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Comments from YouTube:

SixThirty

5y↑13

Best version of this song hands down. I stand ten toes down on that.

Invisible Sun

4y↑1

Truthfully I have yet to hear a bad rendition of this classic. I can even get with Quincy Jones' version with Valerie SImpson on those background vocals!