Honey (Ohio Players album)
| Honey | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Ohio Players | ||||
| Released | August 1975 | |||
| Recorded |
Paragon Recording Studios (Chicago, Illinois) | |||
| Genre | Soul/Funk | |||
| Length | 31:47 | |||
| Label | Mercury | |||
| Producer | Ohio Players | |||
| Ohio Players chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Honey | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Robert Christgau | B+[2] |
Honey is the seventh studio album by the Ohio Players and the third released through the Mercury label.
History
Like previous albums by the band, Honey is known for a cover photo that was very racy by the standards of the day, in this case depicting a nude woman holding a sticky jar of honey in one hand while lasciviously swallowing a spoonful of it with the other. The model was Playboy magazine's October 1974 Playmate of the Month, Ester Cordet.
The album was recorded and remixed at Paragon Recording Studios in Chicago, with Barry Mraz as their recording engineer. Marty Link, Steve Kusiciel, Rob Kingsland, and Paul Johnson are credited as tape operators. Gilbert Kong mastered the final mix at Masterdisk in New York City.
It is the fourth of five Ohio Players albums that were also available in quadraphonic (4-channel stereo), released in the 8-track tape format. The quad mix was available on 8-track tape in the U.S., and on vinyl in Japan. It was released digitally as a DTS Audio CD by DTS Entertainment in 2001.
Honey peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 during the week of September 27, 1975, kept out of the top spot by Jefferson Starship's Red Octopus.[3] In addition, it was the second album from the band to top the Soul/Black Albums chart where it spent two weeks.
Urban legend
An urban legend surrounded the song "Love Rollercoaster", claiming that the girl on the album cover was stabbed in the studio - when she threatened to sue in connection with supposed skin damages caused by the fake honey used - and that her screams are heard on the song. However, the scream is actually that of keyboardist Billy Beck.[4]
Track listing
All songs written and composed by James Williams, Clarence Satchell, Leroy Bonner, Marshall Jones, Ralph Middlebrooks, Marvin Pierce, William Beck.
| Side one | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | ||||||||
| 1. | "Honey" | 4:15 | ||||||||
| 2. | "Fopp" | 3:45 | ||||||||
| 3. | "Let's Love" | 5:15 | ||||||||
| 4. | "Ain't Givin' Up No Ground" | 1:45 | ||||||||
| Side two | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | ||||||||
| 5. | "Sweet Sticky Thing" | 6:13 | ||||||||
| 6. | "Love Rollercoaster" | 4:52 | ||||||||
| 7. | "Alone" | 4:40 | ||||||||
Personnel
- James "Diamond" Williams – drums, timbales, congas, percussion, lead & background vocals
- William "Billy" Beck – piano, Hammond organ, Fender Rhodes piano, RMI electric piano, clavinet, ARP Odyssey, ARP string ensemble, percussion, lead & background vocals
- Marvin "Merv" Pierce – trumpets, flugelhorn
- Marshall Jones – electric bass
- Leroy "Sugar" Bonner – guitars, lead & background vocals
- Ralph "Pee Wee" Middlebrooks – trumpets
- Clarence "Satch" Satchell – tenor saxes, bariton sax, flute
Production
- Ohio Players – producers
- Barry Mraz, Gilbert Kong – engineers
- Marty Linke, Steve Kusiciel, Rob Kingsland, Paul Johnson – tape operators
- Richard Fegley – photography
- Jim Ladwig – art direction
- Joe Kotleba – design
Cover versions
- "Fopp" by Soundgarden, from the 1988 EP Fopp
- "Love Rollercoaster" by Red Hot Chili Peppers, from the 1996 soundtrack to Beavis and Butt-head Do America
- "Let's Love" was covered by Vanessa Williams, on her covers album Everlasting Love
Charts
| Chart (1975) | Peak [5] |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Top LPs | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Soul LPs | 1 |
- Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US [5] |
US R&B [5] | ||
| 1975 | "Sweet Sticky Thing" | 33 | 1 |
| "Love Rollercoaster" | 1 | 1 | |
| 1976 | "Fopp" | 30 | 9 |
See also
- List of number-one R&B albums of 1975 (U.S.)
References
- ↑ Henderson, Alex. Honey review at AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
- ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Honey review". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
- ↑ "Billboard 200: Week of September 27, 1975". Billboard.com. Retrieved April 24, 2011.
- ↑ "The Ohio Slayers". Snopes.com. Retrieved April 24, 2011.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "US Charts > Ohio Players". Allmusic. Retrieved 2013-03-30.
External links
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