Ohio Players und The Bar-Kays

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.

‘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.