The Ohio Express
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| The Ohio Express | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Ohio, USA |
| Years active | 1960s |
| Website | marstalent.com |
The Ohio Express was a bubblegum pop/garage band that fronted for Kasenetz and Katz's Super K Productions studio musicians working out of New York, including singer/songwriter Joey Levine ("Yummy Yummy Yummy").
The band is strongly associated with the bubblegum group 1910 Fruitgum Company. Both groups were partially faceless studio assemblages, and partially a real group.
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[edit] Career
The real band behind The Ohio Express was originally named Sir Timothy & The Royals and hailed from Mansfield, Ohio. They hooked up with the men of Super K in 1966 and were renamed The Ohio Express. The lineup consisted of Doug Grassel (rhythm guitar), Dale Powers (lead guitar), Dean Kastran (bass), Jim Pfahler (keyboards), and Tim Corwin (drums). They released their first two singles and LP on Cameo-Parkway Records of Philadelphia in the autumn of 1967. Unfortunately, the record label went into bankruptcy shortly after that and was purchased by music business mogul Allen Klein, who still owns the masters to this day.
(It has been rumored that a young Joe Walsh, later of the James Gang & The Eagles, was part of this band but left after the "Beg Borrow & Steal" LP was recorded. A photograph on the cover of the sole Cameo-Parkway album shows a photo that bears a striking resemblance to Walsh.)
The group then moved to the home label of bubblegum pop, Buddah Records (purposely misspelled so as not to be sacrilegious), where they released four LPs and a multitude of singles. They charted several singles in the Top 40, most featuring the vocals of Levine, though their albums sold less well and none ever charted above #100 on the Billboard charts.
The New York studio musicians, augmented by the distinctive vocals of Joey Levine, were mostly heard on the tracks released as singles while the five lads from Ohio could be heard on some of the album tracks, as well as appearing at various concerts and making several television appearances. There are no known occasions of Levine ever performing with the actual Ohio quintet.
By the end of Ohio Express' career at Buddah, recordings made by various groups of musicians were released as singles under the Ohio Express name, including "Sausalito," recorded in England by future members of 10cc.
The song "Yummy Yummy Yummy" was featured in several popular television shows, including Monty Python's Flying Circus, The Simpsons, and Six Feet Under. It was also briefly played in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
Several Ohio Express songs have been used in television commercials in the ensuing years, most notably "Chewy Chewy" in a 2001 ad campaign for Quaker Oats Granola bars.
Today, a new Ohio Express lineup led by original drummer Tim Corwin (and featuring occasional appearances by original guitarist Doug Grassel) tours the oldies circuit with their bubblegum classics. Original keyboardist/vocalist/songwriter Jim Pfahler died in March 2003. Bassist Dean Kastran now plays bass for Ashland, Ohio based bluegrass band Faces Made for Radio.
[edit] Discography w/Billboard chart peak positions
[edit] Singles
- Beg, Borrow and Steal (#29) / Maybe -- Cameo 483 -- 10/67
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- A-side is the same exact recording as by The Rare Breed (Attack 1401, 1966). B-side is an instrumental alternate version of the group's Cameo LP track "And It's True"
- Try It (#83) / Soul Struttin' -- Cameo 2001 -- 2/68
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- A-side is a "clean" version of The Standells' "banned" version
- Yummy Yummy Yummy (#4) / Zig Zag -- Buddah 38 -- 5/68
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- B-side is the instrumental backing of 1910 Fruitgum Company's "(Poor Old) Mr. Jensen" recorded backwards, a common practice of producers Kasenetz & Katz to discourage double-sided hits
- Down At Lulu's (#33) / She's Not Comin' Home -- Buddah 56 -- 8/68
- Chewy Chewy (#15) / Firebird -- Buddah 70 -- 10/68
- Sweeter Than Sugar (#96) / Bitter Lemon -- Buddah 92 -- 3/69
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- B-side is the A-side recorded backwards
- Mercy (#30) / Roll It Up -- Buddah 102 -- 3/69
- Pinch Me (Baby, Convince Me) (#99) / Peanuts -- Buddah 117 -- 6/69
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- A-side lead vocal by Buddy Bengert
- Sausalito (Is The Place To Go) (#86) / Make Love Not War -- Buddah 129 -- 9/69
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- A-side lead vocal by Graham Gouldman of 10cc. B-side is the same exact recording as "Road Runner" by The Music Explosion (Laurie 3429, 1968)
- Cowboy Convention (#101) / The Race (That Took Place) -- Buddah 147 -- 11/69
- Love Equals Love / Peanuts -- Buddah 160 -- 1970
- Hot Dog / Ooh La La -- Super K 14 -- 1970
- Wham Bam / Slow and Steady -- Buddah 386 -- 1973
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- Shown as Ohio Ltd.
[edit] Albums
- Beg, Borrow and Steal -- Cameo C-20000 (Mono) / CS-20000 (Stereo) -- 1967
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- Beg, Borrow and Steal / And It's True / Had To Be Me / Let Go / Soul Struttin' / Try It / I Know We'll Be Together / I Find I Think Of You / Stop Take A Look Around / Hard Times / It's Too Groovy
- Ohio Express (#126) -- Buddah BDM-1018 (Mono, promotional release only) / BDS-5018 (Stereo) -- 7/68
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- Yummy Yummy Yummy / Winter Skies / Into This Time / First Grade Reader / Mary-Ann / Down At Lulu's / Turn To Straw / Vacation / She's Not Comin' Home / It's A Sad Day (It's A Sad Time) / The Time You Spent With Me
- Chewy Chewy (#191) -- Buddah BDS-5026 -- 2/69
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- Chewy Chewy / Nothing Sweeter Than My Baby / So Good, So Fine / 1, 2, 3, Red Light / Yes Sir / Let It Take You / Little Girl / Fun / Firebird / Simon Says / Down In Tennessee
- Mercy -- Buddah BDS-5037 -- 1969
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- Mercy / Lucky / Sha La La / Nighttime / Peanuts / Up Against The Wall / Sweeter Than Sugar / Jacksonville Station / Ooh La La / Come On Down Maryann / Gimme Gimme
[edit] Compilations
- The Very Best of The Ohio Express -- Buddah BDS-5058 -- 1970
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- Cowboy Convention / Yummy Yummy Yummy / Chewy Chewy / Sausalito (Is The Place To Go) / Sweeter Than Sugar / Mercy / Down At Lulu's / Pinch Me (Baby, Convince Me) / Down Tennessee / Shake
- Yummy Yummy Yummy--The Best of The Ohio Express -- Buddha 99800 -- 2001
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- Yummy Yummy Yummy / Nothing Sweeter Than My Baby / Lucky / Sweeter Than Sugar / Nighttime / Chewy Chewy / She's Not Comin' Home / Gimme Gimme / 1, 2, 3, Red Light / Down At Lulu's / Firebird / Sausalito (Is The Place To Go) / Pinch Me (Baby, Convince Me) / Mercy
