Ohio Players

The Ohio Players are a funk and R&B; band. They are best known for their hit songs "Fire" and "Love Rollercoaster". The band 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 lea... more

The Ohio Players are a funk and R&B; band. They are best known for their hit songs "Fire" and "Love Rollercoaster". The band 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 Gregory 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 1970s. 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,... less