Ohio Players, The

The Ohio Players started life in the 1960s as The Ohio Untouchables and their first real claim to fame was that they were featured vocalists behind Wilson Pickett on I Found A Love, whilst he was lead singer with The Falcons, which lead to the quintet being signed to the Detroit based Lu Pine label.

The original group consisted of Andrew Noland, Ralph Middlebrooks, Marshall Jones, Leroy Bonner and Greg Webster, all of whom came from Dayton in Ohio, where they formed their group, originally called simply The Untouchables.

By 1968, the group had become an octet, changed its name to The Ohio Players and left Detroit. They had also forsaken their gospel upbringing and devoted their energies to straight Soul music.

The three newcomers were Joe Harris (who went on to The Undisputed Truth and was replaced as lead vocalist by Bobby Fears), Dutch Robinson and Satch Satchell.

The group signed with Compass Records in New York and set about building their own career. In all, they enjoyed three fairly successful singles with the label before it folded but they had done enough to justify Capitol spending enough money to record an album for The Ohio Players.

In 1971, the group joined Westbound Records, again in Detroit and a label renowned for its policy of letting its acts have their ‘head’. They saw the unusual attitudes adopted by other Westbound acts – such as Funkadelic and The Detroit Emeralds – and decided to set a path of their own to follow.

Leroy “Sugarfoot” Bonner
Vocals, guitar
Charles Dale Allen
Vocals
Bobby Lee Fears
Vocals, piano
Dutch Robinson
Vocals
Marshall “Rock” Jones
Bass
Clarence “Satch” Satchell
Saxophone, guitar
Ralph “Pee Wee” Middlebrooks
Trumpet, trombone
Andrew Noland
Saxophone, flute, vocals
Bruce Napier
Trumpet, vocals
Billy Beck
Keyboards
Walter “Junie” Morrison
Piano
Clarence “Chet” Willis
Guitar, vocals
James Johnson
Saxophone
Jimmy “Diamond” Williams
Drums
Gregory Webster
Drums
Robert “Rumba” Jones
Percussion

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