Ohio Players circa 1975 classic or dud [UPDATE: RIP Leroy 'Sugarfoot' Bonner]

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Hits like "Free", "Love Rollercoaster" and "Honey" are undenibly the best of that era!

― startrekman, Monday, 6 March 2006 05:52 (nineteen years ago)

Classic but whats wrong with the pre 1975 fabulous Westbound era when Junie was in the band?

― Last Of The Famous International Pfunkboys (Kerr), Monday, 6 March 2006 06:00 (nineteen years ago)

not familiar with it.

― startrekman, Monday, 6 March 2006 06:18 (nineteen years ago)

Circa 1975 total classic. And sort of overlooked. Simon Reynolds has something about the reasons for this overkookedness on his blog.

― rollercoaster, Monday, 6 March 2006 07:04 (nineteen years ago)

They are not overlooked. They are sort of de rigeur if you live in America and like funk. Maybe a guy like Simon Reynolds -- some transplanted Englishman -- might have some warped view of their stature.... but no, everybody mildly into funk is down with the Ohio Players. fuck their up there w/ EWF and Funkadelic as like the totally obvious shit. i mean you can't go into a vinyl store without stumbling across twenty copies of the Mercury albums.

But yeah, completely totally classic obv. And startrekman you seriously need some "Funky Worm" in your life

― Stormy Davis (diamond), Monday, 6 March 2006 07:08 (nineteen years ago)

I know what you mean, Stormy. But I guess what I mean by overlooked is that it's a relative term. One hears less of/about OP nowadays maybe precisely b/c in the day they were not overlooked, but quite popular. They're not as relatively 'rare'.

― rollercoaster, Monday, 6 March 2006 07:18 (nineteen years ago)

You seriously need to hear the westbound albums. Fantastic stuff.

― Last Of The Famous International Pfunkboys (Kerr), Monday, 6 March 2006 10:28 (nineteen years ago)

Is this a joke? EVERY band from Ohio was making stunning music circa 1975!

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Monday, 6 March 2006 14:11 (nineteen years ago)

every black band from Ohio

― m coleman (lovebug starski), Monday, 6 March 2006 14:16 (nineteen years ago)

What?! No love for the Ubus and the Devos and etc., Mark? What kind of Buckeye are you? (Surely you don't think that the English invented punk?)

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Monday, 6 March 2006 14:25 (nineteen years ago)

aha I remembered CLE right after pushing submit, always had a major jones for DEVO/Ubu/Laughner et al. Saw Ubu live in 78-79 etc. Still need to get that Numbers Band album tho. I was thinking of the bands in southern Ohio, Cinci/Dayton area where funk way outclassed rock.

― m coleman (lovebug starski), Monday, 6 March 2006 14:33 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah, calling them "overlooked" is totally nuts. I bet "Love Rollercoaster" and "Fire" still get played at weddings! More people get married than write blogs, Simon! (And everything everybody says above about their early stuff and Ohio art-punk is OTM too. Though I think I'd still take their disco era over their Westbound era.)

― xhuxk, Monday, 6 March 2006 14:45 (nineteen years ago)

early Ohio Players were pretty good, tho I'd take both EWF and certainly Funkadelic first. They struck me as a band who had a lot of ideas they couldn't necessarily always pull off. They sounded a lot more together to me when they started having hits

― Dominique (dleone), Monday, 6 March 2006 14:48 (nineteen years ago)

It's pretty hard to choose between the Westbound and Mercury stuff. Some of the Mercury stuff is actually harder rocking than the early stuff, mixed in with sweet ballads.

― Last Of The Famous International Pfunkboys (Kerr), Monday, 6 March 2006 15:23 (nineteen years ago)

a note from me a few minutes ago on their first Mercury album (Martin's funk thread) - and down a few posts, their last Westbound, though it's a patchwork job. Their earlier westbound material is much better, probably as good as that first Mercury one.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Monday, 6 March 2006 16:05 (nineteen years ago)

Sugar!

― JB Young (JB Young), Monday, 6 March 2006 16:43 (nineteen years ago)

Is this a joke? EVERY band from Ohio was making stunning music circa 1975!
-- Myonga Von Bontee (scottyfield...), March 6th, 2006 6:11 AM. (Myonga Von Bontee)

where were you when my thread went down in flames?

The minneaplolis sound (midwest electro-funk-rock in the 80s): s/d

― team jaxon (jaxon), Monday, 6 March 2006 18:04 (nineteen years ago)

i guess i'm 5 yrs too late to get anyone on ILM to talk?

― team jaxon (jaxon), Monday, 6 March 2006 18:05 (nineteen years ago)

bro you're five years ahead of your time

when I started a Jam/Lewis thread it stiffed too :(

― m coleman (lovebug starski), Monday, 6 March 2006 18:23 (nineteen years ago)

Fair enough! (And I admit that I've never heard the Michael Stanley Band nor Head East - they were from OH, weren't they?)

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Monday, 6 March 2006 18:46 (nineteen years ago)

Head East were from Illinois! ANd you've totally heard them Myonga -- they do "Save My Life I'm Goin Down For the Last Time"

― Stormy Davis (diamond), Monday, 6 March 2006 18:52 (nineteen years ago)

Really? Hmm...now I'll have to find an audio clip somewhere to verify that!

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Monday, 6 March 2006 19:05 (nineteen years ago)

oh man I heard that song on the radio awhile back and went nuts when I couldn't place it.

there's a Michael Stanley band thread here. but they suck IMO.

one good Cincinnati band in the mid 70s was called PUNK. a lifelong friend of mine (a few years older) played drums. they were heavily Bowie-damaged, glam-glitter etc, shags & makeup, not really "punk."

would've loved to hear Bootsy & Catfish Collins' late 60s band w/future Spinner Phillipe Wynne on vocals.

Bootsy was interviewed on public radio awhile back here in NY and when the host confused Cinci w/CLE and then said "oh no wait it was Cleveland where the river caught fire" Bootsy went off on him.

"Cincinnatah Ohiuh is ON FIR-UH!!!!"

Dayton was funken town, though: the Players, Junie, Slave, Steve Arrington...

― m coleman (lovebug starski), Monday, 6 March 2006 19:08 (nineteen years ago)

(song's actually called "Never Been Any Reason" I wuz just being jokey with the title up there...)

― Stormy Davis (diamond), Monday, 6 March 2006 19:37 (nineteen years ago)

two years pass...

fopp is my favourite funk track ever <3 <3 <3

― ǝɟɟɐzǝɟ (☪), Tuesday, 16 December 2008 14:59 (sixteen years ago)

worth getting on vinyl too

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c0/Honey-(Ohio_Players_album).jpg

― craig sager (eman), Tuesday, 16 December 2008 15:29 (sixteen years ago)

recently found this one: http://www.discogs.com/release/1248199
from '68? there may be some different versions out there, cuz mine has a different cover and running order. it's fantastic. well, maybe skip "over the rainbow." but the cover of "summertime" is fierce, and "cold cold world" and "here today gone tomorrow" are too too good. i like better than the later stuff.

― andrew m., Tuesday, 16 December 2008 16:19 (sixteen years ago)

seven months pass...

FOPP.

just dug out my copy of "honey." would that all their other records were this good.

― call all destroyer, Thursday, 23 July 2009 18:41 (sixteen years ago)

I wonder how the current version of the group is? They're gonna be at Carter Barron Amphitheatre in DC Saturday night (although I'm off to the beach). They seem to play DC every summer.

― curmudgeon, Friday, 24 July 2009 14:38 (sixteen years ago)

three years pass...

:-(

http://www.soultracks.com/story-sugarfoot-dies

― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 27 January 2013 16:42 (twelve years ago)

rip and also why is the thread title even a question

― an eagle named "small government" (call all destroyer), Sunday, 27 January 2013 16:49 (twelve years ago)

You got me. But in the meantime:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y47G-Wa4qfs

― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 27 January 2013 16:51 (twelve years ago)

Oh no! RIP :(

― pfunkboy (Algerian Goalkeeper), Sunday, 27 January 2013 16:53 (twelve years ago)

Ah man that sucks. They have been my favorite band for the last year or so after really getting into their catalog. Rip

― queef ka queef (Spottie_Ottie_Dope), Sunday, 27 January 2013 17:35 (twelve years ago)

RIP Sugarfoot. (That was my mom's nickname for my older brother when we were kids. I'm not sure where she got that, but I am sure she's never heard of the Ohio Players.)

― henry s, Sunday, 27 January 2013 18:33 (twelve years ago)

(Also, since my mom is older and her memory ain't what it used to be, she often refers to me as Sugarfoot. I never correct her. I like being Sugarfoot.)

― henry s, Sunday, 27 January 2013 18:35 (twelve years ago)

I had some of their earlier stuff on vinyl way back. 1 or 2 of the first 3 records.
Should have some others.

Surprised me when I noticed there seemed to be 2 different versions of the cover on one of those with the bald black girl's head at 2 different angles while the rest of the photo seemed to be very similar. Wondered why they changed it.

― Stevolende, Sunday, 27 January 2013 19:08 (twelve years ago)

Watched the 'Unsung' doc about them on YouTube before...like most of those stories it ends in tears (coke, IRS probs) but they made some intoxicating grooves...also has an interview with the bald chick on their album covers...(she's grown some hair)....

― The Pastiche Liberation Front (sonnyboy), Sunday, 27 January 2013 21:16 (twelve years ago)

one of my favourite bands, really saddens me this.

― pfunkboy (Algerian Goalkeeper), Sunday, 27 January 2013 21:46 (twelve years ago)

RIP

― curmudgeon, Monday, 28 January 2013 02:25 (twelve years ago)

aw man RIP Sugarfoot

― Welcome to my world of proses (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 28 January 2013 18:57 (twelve years ago)

and yet Wookiefoot remains smh

― Zero Dark 33⅓: The Final Insult (Eric H.), Monday, 28 January 2013 19:03 (twelve years ago)

seven years pass...

Like nine cans of shaving powder, that's funky

― brimstead, Thursday, 16 July 2020 04:00 (five years ago)

two years pass...

Who's in the band now?

― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 15 February 2023 03:26 (two years ago)

two years pass...

Ohio Players Live In Chicago on the Midnight Special in 1975

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMUwjeRcxtg

― Lithium Just Madison (C. Grisso/McCain), Sunday, 8 June 2025 00:03 (two months ago)

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