O'Jays
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The O'Jays are an American R&B group from
Canton, Ohio Canton () is a city in Stark County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, eighth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 70,872 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Canton–Massillo ...
, formed in summer 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appearance with the minor hit "Lonely Drifter" in 1963, but reached their greatest level of success once the producers Gamble & Huff signed them to their Philadelphia International label in 1972. With Gamble & Huff, the O'Jays (now a trio after the departure of Isles and Massey) emerged at the forefront of Philadelphia soul with ''Back Stabbers'' (1972), and topped the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 the following year with " Love Train". Several other US R&B hits followed, and the O'Jays were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004,
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and th ...
in 2005, and the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2013.


History

The group was formed in
Canton, Ohio Canton () is a city in Stark County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, eighth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 70,872 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Canton–Massillo ...
, in 1958 while its members were attending Canton McKinley High School. Originally known as The Mascots, and then The Triumphs, the friends began recording with "Miracles" in 1961, which was a moderate hit in the
Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...
area. In 1963, they took the name 'The O'Jays', in tribute to Cleveland radio disc jockey Eddie O'Jay, who was part of the powerful management team of Frankie Crocker, Herb Hamlett, and O'Jay. In 1963, the group saw the release of their song "Lonely Drifter," their first entry on the US '' Billboard'' Hot 100. The single peaked at number 93. Their debut album, ''Comin' Through'', was released shortly thereafter. In the early 1960s, member Frank "Frankie" Little, Jr. joined the group as a guitarist and songwriter. He worked with lead vocalist Eddie Levert, assisting with some of the writing for the group, including 1964's "Do the Jerk" (recorded by Frank Polk), 1964's "Oh, How You Hurt Me" and 1966's "Pretty Words". He is also credited with vocals on 1962's "Down at the Corner." According to Walter Williams, "Frankie was a guitarist and songwriter in the very early O’Jays. He came with us when we first ventured out of Cleveland and traveled to Los Angeles, but he also was in love with a woman in Cleveland that he missed so much that he soon returned back to Cleveland after a short amount of time." In 2021, human remains discovered in 1982 at Twinsburg, Ohio, were identified as those of Frankie Little. Throughout the 1960s, the group continued to
chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphics, graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can repres ...
with minor hits such as " Lipstick Traces" (which they performed nationally on the ABC television program '' Shivaree''), "Stand In for Love," "Stand Tall," "Let It All Out," "I'll Be Sweeter Tomorrow," "Look Over Your Shoulder," "Deeper in Love with You," and " One Night Affair." However, while they issued dozens of singles throughout the decade, they never hit the US top 40 (although "Lipstick Traces" made it to number 19 in Canada). On the R&B chart, the O'Jays were somewhat more prominent, but their only top 10 R&B single prior to 1972 was 1968's "I'll Be Sweeter Tomorrow." In spite of their success as a touring group and on the R&B chart, the group had been considering quitting the
music industry The music industry are individuals and organizations that earn money by Songwriter, writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music and sheet music, presenting live music, concerts, ...
in 1972. Around that time, original members Bill Isles and Bobby Massey departed, leaving the group a trio. The remaining three original members, Eddie Levert, William Powell, and Walter Williams, continued recording together, and Gamble & Huff, a team of producers and songwriters with whom the O'Jays had been working for several years, signed them to their Philadelphia International label. Suddenly, the O'Jays released their first million-seller, " Back Stabbers," from the album of the same name. This album produced several more hit singles, including "992 Arguments," "Sunshine," "Time to Get Down," and the number 1 pop smash, " Love Train." During the remainder of the 1970s, the O'Jays continued releasing hit singles, including "Put Your Hands Together" (Pop number 10), " For the Love of Money" (Pop number 9), " Give the People What They Want," "Let Me Make Love to You," " I Love Music" (Pop number 5), " Livin' for the Weekend," " Message in Our Music," and " Darlin' Darlin' Baby (Sweet Tender Love)." Original member William Powell died of
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
in 1977 at age 35. After adding Sammy Strain (of Little Anthony and the Imperials), the O'Jays continued recording, though with limited success. In 1978, the group released " Use ta Be My Girl," which was their final top-five hit, though they continued placing songs on the R&B charts throughout the 1980s. The O'Jays also saw some success in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, where they scored nine singles on the UK Singles Chart between 1972 and 1983, including four of which became major hits, reaching the top 20 on that chart. Their 1987 album, ''Let Me Touch You'', included the number one R&B hit "Lovin' You." The O'Jays never again achieved pop success. In 1992, Sammy Strain left the group and returned to the Imperials. Later in the 1990s, the group did little recording. On October 30, 2010, the group performed at Jon Stewart and
Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program ''The Colbert Report'' from 2005 to ...
's Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
In Cleveland, Ohio, on August 17, 2013, the O'Jays were inducted into the
National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame The National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame is an independent organization whose mission is to educate and to celebrate, preserve, promote, and present rhythm and blues music globally. History The National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame was founde ...
. The O'Jays are also two-time Grammy Hall of Fame Inductees for their songs " Love Train" (inducted 2006) and " For the Love of Money" (inducted 2016). Bill Isles (born William Carvan Isles II in McAdenville, North Carolina) died on March 25, 2019, in Oceanside, California, at the age of 78.


Original members

* Eddie Levert (born Edward Willis Levert, June 16, 1942, Bessemer, Alabama, USA) * Walter Lee Williams (born August 25, 1943, Canton, Ohio, USA) * William Powell (born January 20, 1942, Canton, Oho, USA died May 26, 1977, Canton, Ohio, USA) * Bobby Massey (born 9 March 1942, Detroit, Michigan, USA) * Bill Isles (born January 4, 1941, McAdenville, North Carolina, USA died March 25, 2019, Oceanside, California, USA)


Discography


Top twenty albums

The following albums reached the top twenty on the United States ''Billboard'' 200 pop albums chart. *1972: '' Back Stabbers'' (US number 10) *1973: '' Ship Ahoy'' (US number 11) *1974: ''The O'Jays Live in London'' (US number 17) *1975: ''
Survival Survival or survivorship, the act of surviving, is the propensity of something to continue existing, particularly when this is done despite conditions that might kill or destroy it. The concept can be applied to humans and other living things ...
'' (US number 11) *1975: ''
Family Reunion A family reunion is an occasion when many members of an extended family congregate. Sometimes reunions are held regularly, for example on the same date of every year. A typical family reunion will assemble for a meal, some recreation and discuss ...
'' (US number 7) *1976: '' Message in the Music'' (US number 20) *1978: '' So Full of Love'' (US number 6) *1979: '' Identify Yourself'' (US number 16)


Top twenty singles

The following singles reached the top twenty on either the United States ''Billboard'' Hot 100 or the United Kingdom's UK Singles Chart. *1972: " Back Stabbers" (US number 3; UK number 14; Canada number 39) *1973: " Love Train" (US number 1; UK number 9; Canada number 15) *1973: " Put Your Hands Together" (US number 10) *1974: " For the Love of Money" (US number 9) *1975: " I Love Music" (US number 5; UK number 13) *1976: " Livin' For The Weekend" (US number 20) *1978: " Use ta Be My Girl" (US number 4; UK number 12)


DVDs

*''The O'Jays Live in Concert'' (2010)


Gold and platinum records

Gold discs, signifying sales in excess of five hundred thousand copies (USA), were awarded by the RIAA for their singles " Back Stabbers", " Love Train", " For the Love of Money", " I Love Music", and " Use ta Be My Girl"; plus for the albums '' Back Stabbers'', '' Ship Ahoy'', ''The O'Jays Live in London'', ''
Survival Survival or survivorship, the act of surviving, is the propensity of something to continue existing, particularly when this is done despite conditions that might kill or destroy it. The concept can be applied to humans and other living things ...
'', '' Travelin' at the Speed of Thought'', '' Message in the Music'', '' Emotionally Yours'', and ''
Family Reunion A family reunion is an occasion when many members of an extended family congregate. Sometimes reunions are held regularly, for example on the same date of every year. A typical family reunion will assemble for a meal, some recreation and discuss ...
''. "For the Love of Money" was used as the theme for the two reality shows '' The Apprentice'' and '' The Celebrity Apprentice'' on NBC-TV. The following albums by the O'Jays have received
RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
platinum status indicating sales in excess of one million copies: '' Ship Ahoy'', ''
Family Reunion A family reunion is an occasion when many members of an extended family congregate. Sometimes reunions are held regularly, for example on the same date of every year. A typical family reunion will assemble for a meal, some recreation and discuss ...
'', '' Identify Yourself'', and '' So Full of Love''.


Other awards

* Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (inducted 2005) National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame 2013 * Vocal Group Hall of Fame (inducted 2004) * Grammy Hall of Fame (two-time inductees) for songs "Love Train" (inducted 2006) and "For The Love Of Money" (inducted 2016) * Numerous
RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
Gold and Platinum Awards (see above) * National Rhythm & Blues Foundation Pioneer Award (awarded 1998) * BET Awards Lifetime Achievement Award (awarded 2009)


See also

* List of number-one hits (United States) * List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.) *
List of number-one dance hits (United States) ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine has published Billboard charts, charts ranking the top-performing dance music songs in the United States since 1974. Originally a top-ten list of tracks that garnered the largest audience response in N ...
*
List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart This is a list of recording artists who have reached number one on ''Billboard magazine's'' Dance Club Songs chart. ''Billboard'' began ranking dance music on the week ending October 26, 1974, and this is the standard music popularity chart in ...


References


External links

* * * *
Detailed biography of Sammy Strain in PDF format "Lawsuit comes between members of O'Jays: Sammy Strain says Eddie and Walter "conspired" to rob him of royalties."
Accessed 3-14-08. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ojays, The 1958 establishments in Ohio American funk musical groups American soul musical groups African-American musical groups Bell Records artists Imperial Records artists Musical groups established in 1958 Musical groups from Ohio Musicians from Canton, Ohio Philadelphia International Records artists Progressive soul music groups