The O'Jays originally consisting of Walter Williams (b. August 25, 1942), Bill Isles (January 4, 1941 – March 2019), Bobby Massey, William Powell (January 20, 1942–May 26, 1977) and Eddie Levert (b. June 16, 1942). The O'Jays were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004, and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005. The O'Jays (now a trio after the departure of Isles and Massey) had their first hit with "Lonely Drifter", in 1963. In spite of the record's success, the group was considering quitting the music business until Gamble & Huff, a legendary team of producers and songwriters, took an interest in the group. With Gamble & Huff, the O'Jays emerged at the forefront of Philadelphia soul with Back Stabbers (1972), a huge pop hit, and topped the U.S. singles charts the following year with their anthemic "Love Train".
They formed the group in Canton, Ohio in 1958 while attending Canton McKinley High School. Originally known as The Triumphs, and then The Mascots, the friends began recording with "Miracles" in 1961, which was a moderate hit in the Cleveland area. In 1963 they took the name "The O'Jays", in tribute to radio disc jockey Eddie O'Jay (Toop, 1991), and released "Lonely Drifter", which charted nationally. Their debut LP was Comin' Through. Throughout the 1960s, they continued to chart with songs such as "Lipstick Traces" (which they performed nationally on the ABC Television program, Shivaree), "Stand In For Love", "Let It All Out", "I'll Be Sweeter Tomorrow", "Deeper In Love With You" and "One Night Affair", along with several other regional and national Pop and R&B hits. In 1972, they finally scored with their first million-seller, "Back Stabbers", from the gold album of the same name. By this time, original member Bobby Massey had also departed, leaving the group a trio. This album produced several more hit singles, including "992 Arguments", "Sunshine", "Time To Get Down" and the #1 Pop smash, "Love Train". They became known as "The Mighty O'Jays" due to their exciting, emotion-packed stage performances, led by the dynamic Levert, and the cool, multi-range vocals of Walter Williams, coupled with the matinee idol looks and smooth first tenor voice of William Powell.
During the remainder of the 1970s the O'Jays continued releasing chart-topping singles, including "Put Your Hands Together" (Pop #10), "For the Love of Money" (Pop #9), "Give the People What They Want", "Let Me Make Love To You", "I Love Music" (Pop #5), "Livin' for the Weekend", "Message in Our Music" and "Darlin' Darlin' Baby (Sweet Tender Love)". Original member William Powell died of cancer in 1977 at the age of just 35.
After adding Sammy Strain (born December 9, 1941) (of Little Anthony & the Imperials), the O'Jays continued recording, though with limited success. 1978's "Use ta Be My Girl" was their final Top Five hit, though they continued placing songs on the R&B charts throughout the 1980s. Their 1987 album, Let Me Touch You, was a breakthrough of sorts, and included the #1 R&B hit "Lovin' You". Eddie Levert also got a copy of Kevan Tynes' "Loving You" prior to recording their version .Though they continued charting on the R&B charts in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the O'Jays never again achieved pop success. In 1992, Sammy Strain left the group, and returned to the Imperials, to be replaced by Nathaniel Best, and later, by Eric Grant. Later in the 1990s, the group did little recording, though they remained a popular live draw. Their latest album was Imagination in 2004.
In 2003, they co-starred in the movie The Fighting Temptations, which starred Cuba Gooding Jr. and Beyonce Knowles. In the film, they played three barbers who joined the local church choir to help out the film's protagonist Darrin (Gooding) who was the choir director.
In 2005 the O'Jays were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Original members Eddie Levert, Walter Williams, Bobby Massey and, posthumously, William Powell, were inducted. In a note of controversy, 70's O'Jays member Sammy Strain was also inducted with the group, while original member Bill Isles was not. (Strain is one of the few artists in popular music history who is a double RRHOF inductee: with The O'Jays in 2005, and The Imperials in 2009). In 2006, the O'Jays performed at the ESPY awards, hosted by Lance Armstrong. "For the Love of Money" is the theme song to the hit reality TV show The Apprentice, starring Donald Trump, which is ironic considering that the lyrics warn of the evil people will do for the love of money.
On February 23, 2007, Radio-Canada's website reported that Canadian Industry Minister Jim Prentice had used the song "For The Love of Money" without the group's permission during a political event, a faux pas since Prentice is responsible for the application of the Copyright Act in Canada. Radio-Canada also reports that Prentice has since been contacted by the attorneys for both the O'Jays and Warner/Chappell Music.
On June 28, 2009, at the 2009 BET Award Show in the Shrine Auditorium the O'Jays were honored with BET's 2009 Life Time Achievement Award. Tevin Campbell, Trey Songz, Tyrese Gibson, and Johnny Gill performed a medley of the groups songs followed by the presentation of the award by Don Cornelius. The group reminisced, joked with the audience and accepted their award before performing a rendition of their hit songs.
Make Up
The O'Jays Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Love so good just want more
Man how things turned I can't get to this
What a 360, what a two years
Never fussin' never no arguments
I was so happy, something I missed
Irreconcilable differences
I ask why nobody knows
Why don't we make up
We didn't have to break up
In the first place
No, no
Was it because I work like this
The overtime, the dinners I missed
The things you wanted I had to get
Life is cruel, heartache rules
Someone tell me what happened here
I'm kinda confused, I'm just not clear
How a love be gone
When it was just here
Why did we break-up
We belong together anyway
Why don't we make-up?
We didn't have to break up
In the first place
No, No.
You see baby
Maybe I'm on the road too long
But baby I always come home
Cause that's where I wanna be
With your love all around me
Girl what we have is so strong
And with a few words, it's all gone
And I feel
Something you're not telling me
You're not telling me
Why don't we make-up
We didn't have to break up
In the first place
No
Why did we break up
When we belong together
Anyway
Why don't we make up
We didn't have to break up
In the first place
No
Why did we break up...
The O'Jays's song 'Make Up' talks about a couple’s breakup and the desire of one partner to reconcile. The song starts by reminiscing about the good times when the couple was inseparable and their love was so good that they wanted more. However, things took a turn, and the relationship made a 360-degree turn to where there were irreconcilable differences, and the couple was no longer compatible. The singer expresses confusion as to how a love so strong could disappear so suddenly. He tries to speculate the reason for the breakup, thinking it might be because of his long work hours and missed dinners or life's cruel nature. Despite the differences and heartaches, the singer longs to reconcile and wants to know why they broke up in the first place.
The song tells a simple and relatable story of a breakup and the longing for reconciliation. The singer is honest about his feelings and is willing to make an effort to repair the damaged relationship. The lack of communication seems to be the main reason for the breakup, as the singer feels that his partner is not telling him something. He longs for his partner to let him know what happened and why they broke up.
Line by Line Meaning
Few days ago we were inseparable
Not too long ago we were always together, inseparable.
Love so good just want more
The love we shared was so good that we both desired more of it.
Man how things turned I can't get to this
It's crazy how things changed, and now I can't understand what's going on.
What a 360, what a two years
It's been a complete change, a 360-degree turn from what we had in the past two years.
Never fussin' never no arguments
We never used to argue or fight.
I was so happy, something I missed
I was extremely happy, something that I'm missing now.
Irreconcilable differences
Our differences cannot be reconciled.
We're not compatible,
We're not suited or right for each other.
I ask why nobody knows
I keep asking why, but nobody seems to know the reason(s).
Why don't we make up
Why don't we reconcile and get back together?
We didn't have to break up
We could have worked things out and avoided breaking up in the first place.
In the first place
Initially, it wasn't necessary for us to end things.
Was it because I work like this
Did our breakup happen because of my work schedule or demands?
The overtime, the dinners I missed
The long hours and me missing dinners might have contributed to our breakup.
The things you wanted I had to get
I had to get things that you wanted, which may have been a source of tension between us.
Life is cruel, heartache rules
Life can be harsh, and heartache seems to be what prevails in our situation.
Someone tell me what happened here
I'm seeking answers; someone please tell me what caused our relationship to fall apart.
I'm kinda confused, I'm just not clear
I'm confused and don't understand why we're no longer together.
How a love be gone
How is it possible for love between us to be gone when it was so strong before?
When it was just here
It feels like just yesterday we had love between us, and now it's gone.
We belong together anyway
No matter what, we were meant to be together.
You see baby
Listen, my love.
Maybe I'm on the road too long
Perhaps I'm away on work trips too frequently, causing tension in our relationship.
But baby I always come home
But even with my work obligations, I always come home to you.
Cause that's where I wanna be
I want to be with you, so I come home.
With your love all around me
I feel love and comfort with you around me.
Girl what we have is so strong
What we share is powerful and durable.
And with a few words, it's all gone
With just a few words, everything that was strong and enduring is now gone.
And I feel
I experience emotions.
Something you're not telling me
I sense that there's something that you're keeping from me.
Contributed by Amelia I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
nubian queen
on A Prayer
Heavenly father
Creater of all things
I humble myself
As i bow to your throne
I pray for love.joy.peace and happiness
To be present in my home
Well i do...
And that your holy spirit
Build in my heart and in my mind
Please give me strenght cause i get a little weak sometimes
I need help from you just to see me through
Well...
Heavenly father
There is no one to you I give the glory
And on my knees i fall
I ask for wisdom and understanding
To you my prayers i bring
To you my soul i send
Nthabzadamastawamatootouzend
on Fading
This song brings back so much and it makes me mesmerize every moment slowly fading out and I try everytime to stop them but it only heals wiylth time. This a fantastic song. Thank you!