Honey (Ohio Players album)

Updated on Oct 03, 2024

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Released August 16, 1975 Label Mercury Artist Ohio Players Producer Ohio Players		Length 31:47 Honey(1975) Contradiction(1976) Release date 16 August 1975

Recorded February–June, 1975 at Paragon Recording Studios(Chicago, Illinois) Genres funk, Soul music, Rhythm and blues Awards Grammy Award for Best Recording Package Similar Skin Tight (album) , Pleasure (Ohio Players album) , Fire (Ohio Players album)

Honey is the seventh studio album by American band the Ohio Players. Released on August 16, 1975, This album is the band's third release through the Mercury Label. It is generally regarded as a classic, the band's best album, and the last great full-length release of their dominant era in the mid-1970s.

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 inside cover photo is even more famous. It shows the nude woman laying on her back with honey poured all over her body, and the Players looking at her with sheer delight and amazement. The model was Playboy magazine's October 1974 Playmate of the Month, Ester Cordet. The album won a Grammy Award for Best Album Cover Art. It 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. In addition, it was the third album from the band to top the Soul/Black Albums chart where it spent three 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.

Track listing

All tracks written by James Williams, Clarence Satchell, Leroy Bonner, Marshall Jones, Ralph Middlebrooks, Marvin Pierce, William Beck.

Personnel

James "Diamond" Williams – drums, timbales, congas, percussion, lead & background vocals

Billy Beck – piano, Hammond organ, Fender Rhodes piano, RMI electric piano, clavinet, ARP Odyssey, ARP string ensemble, percussion, lead & background vocals, source of the "mysterious scream" on Love Rollercoaster

Marvin "Merv" Pierce – trumpets, flugelhorn

Marshall "Rock" Jones – electric bass

Leroy "Sugarfoot" 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

Singles

Songs

1Honey5:20
2Fopp3:52
3Let's Love5:14

References

Honey (Ohio Players album) Wikipedia

(Text) CC BY-SA

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