Line-up

Venue

Country club Hills Amphitheater

4150 183rd Street, 60478, Country Club Hills, IL, US

View upcoming concerts

Additional details

Doors open: 19:00

Concert in your area for Funk & Soul, Jazz, and Electronic.

Find out more about Electronic.

Ohio Players biography

Ohio Players (formed in 1959) is an acclaimed American funk and R&B group who enjoyed their greatest success in the 1970s, notably with their No. 1 album “Fire”, hailing from Dayton, Ohio, U.S.

Originally comprised of vocalist/guitarist Robert Ward, bassist Marshall Jones, saxophonist/guitarist Clarence Satchell, drummer Cornelius Johnson, and trumpet/trombone player Ralph Middlebrooks in 1959, at this time the group was the backing band for the R&B group Falcons. Disappointed with Ward’s unreliable leadership, the band moved back to Dayton, Ohio, found a replacement in singer Leroy “Sugarfoot” Bonner, and changed their name to the Ohio Players.

With the addition of trumpeter Bruce Napier, vocalist Charles Dale Allen, and trombonist Marvin Pierce, the group found modest success with their 1971 single “Pain”. The accompanyng LP “Pain” arrived shortly afterwards, followed a year later by the full-length “Pleasure”. Spawning their biggest hit to date, “Funky Worm”, “Pleasure” was influenced by the funk of Sly & the Family Stone, and made way for “Ecstasy” in 1973.

Following the release of 1974’s “Climax” the band signed with Mercury Records, and underwent a number of lineup changes. The Ohio Players subsequently became known for their sexually alluring LP covers, beginning with 1974’s “Skin Tight”, which spawned their most quintessential track to date “Jive Turkey”. The following year the Ohio Players enjoyed their greatest success with their No. 1 album “Fire”, led by the No. 1 title track and subsequent No. 1, “I Want to Be Free”. Heralded as the Ohio Players’ masterpiece, the record combined seductive soulful vocals, the groove and beat of funk, and the alluring poetry of R&B to create something timeless.

The band’s subsequent release, 1975’s “Honey” also found favour among fans and critics alike, aided by the instantly-recognisable smash hit single “Love Rollercoaster”. As the seventies marched on so did the Ohio Players, achieving their last R&B No. 1 in 1976 with the single “Who’d She Coo?”, taken from the full-length “Contradiction”. 1978’s full-length “Jass-Ay-Lay-Dee” proved to be the last release on Mercury Records, and after signing with Arista, released the studio album “Everybody Up” in 1979. Undeterred by falling sales, the band released a series of albums in the 1980s on the labels Boardwalk, Century Vista, and Track Record, including “Tenderness”, “Ouch”, and “Back”.

Live reviews

Never mind the long-since-debunked urban legend that suggests, along various different lines depending on who you ask, that a scream at the song’s midpoint is actually the genuine sound of somebody being murdered whilst the tape was rolling - ‘Love Rollercoaster’ by Ohio Players is one of the greatest funk tracks of all time. Drummer Jimmy ‘Diamond’ Williams suggested that the band stayed silent over the urban legend “because you sell more records that way”, but the sheer quality of the irresistibly danceable track should have been enough in itself to propel it in the stratosphere; that the Ohio Players are now most commonly associated with this myth in the popular imagination suggests that they might have been ill-advised not to have nipped it in the bud. They had plenty of other big hitters of course, with ‘Fire’ also topping the U.S. charts, and the Players did enough to ensure that they were part of the inaugural group to be accepted into the R&B Hall of Fame last year. They didn’t perform, though, having played live for the last time - with a significantly different lineup to the classic one - in 2002. Don’t expect to see their famously lavish, irresistibly funky live show any time soon, either; the death of frontman Leroy ‘Sugarfoot’ Bonner last year will sadly have put paid to that.

Report

Joeg_67

‘Soul finger, soul finger, hoo ha’… just one of many hits from the Bar-Kays, their first stint of success from the 60s until the 80s was a time of great success for the original band. But even after their hiatus and their reformation with various different band members, they have still got that smooth soul R&B sound that they were so famous for back in the day.
Something that you can guarantee from Bar-Kays, regardless of their point in history, is that they will give a high energy performance every time. They are so dedicated and invested in their music that it encourages the audience to dance and sing along with them too. The guys are in their late 60s, early 70s now but you wouldn’t know they were a day past 50. Jimmie’s voice was powerful as ever, granted he couldn’t hold onto the high notes as long as he used to, but apart from that they sounded just like their recordings.
It was fantastic to gain an insight to their tremendous journey over the years, and the snippets of stories they told the audience were really eye opening to the industry 40 years ago. They brought a fun, enthusiastic, and musically impressive show for us. If you’re into their music I would definitely recommend catching them live whilst you still have the chance.

Report