The O'Jays at Hotburrito's Soulencyclopedia

The O'Jays

Formed: 1958, Canton, Ohio

Members:
Eddie Levert (born: June 16, 1942 in Canton, Ohio) 1958 -
Walter Williams (born: August 25, 1942) 1958 -
Bill Isles 1958 - 1967
Bobby Massey 1958 - 1970
William Powell 1958 - 1975 (born: December 9, 1941 in Canton, Ohio; died: May 26, 1977 in Canton, Ohio)
Sammy Strain (born: December 9, 1940, formerly Little Anthony & the Imperials) 1975 - 1989
Nathaniel Best 1989 - 1997
Eric Nolan Grant (born: July 20, 19??) 1997 -

Eddy Levert and Walter Williams sang together as a gospel duo before they formed a doo- wop quintet called the Triumphs in 1958. The other members were Bill Isles, William Powell and Bobby Massey. They became very popular in their hometown (Canton, Ohio). They later changed their name to The Mascots.

Performing at a nightclub they impressed Eddie O'Jay, a DJ from Cleveland. He took it on him to train them and got them a record deal at the Imperial label. As an hommage to him they changed their name to The O'Jays. With Imperial they scored a few hits and even entered the R&B Top 10 with "I'll Be Sweeter Tomorrow". Soon after that Bill Isles left and they became a quartet. In the following years they were busy backing other artists (Nat King Cole, The Ronettes, etc.).

The O'Jays moved to producers duo Kenny Gamble and Leonn Huff's Neptune label where they did some recordings without much success. All that changed when Gamble and Huff signed them to Philadelphia International Records. There they scored big hits worldwide with "Backstabber", "Love Train" to start with. By that time Bobby Massey had left the group.

In 1975 Sammy Strain (Little Anthony & The Imperials) joined them to replace William Powell, who couldn't do life performances due to health problems. William stayed with the group on their recordings until his death in 1976.

The O'Jays remained at the top of the soul scene, allthough there were periods that the style was not so popular.

Singles:
Do The Wiggle
Lonely Drifter [Imperial, 1963]
Lipstick Traces [Imperial, 1965]
Stand In For Love [Imperial, 1966]
I'll Be Sweeter Tomorrow (Than I Was Today) [Imperial, 1967]
I Dig Your Act [1967]
Look Over Your Shoulder
One Night Afair [Neptune, 1970]
Looky, Looky [Neptune, 1970]
Backstabbers [PIR, 1971]
Love Train [PIR, 1973]
For The Love Of Money [PIR, 1973]
Now That We Found Love [PIR, 1975]
I Love Music [PIR, 1976]
Darlin' Darlin' Baby (Sweet Tender Love) [PIR, 1977]
Used To Be My Girl [PIR, 1978]
Brandy [PIR, 1978]
Sing A Happy Song [PIR, 1979]
I Just Want To Satisfy You [PIR, 1982]
Put Our Hands Together [PIR, 1983]
Summer Fling [PIR, 1984]
Just Another Lonely Night [PIR, 1985]
I Love America [PIR, 1985]
Lovin' You [PIR, 1987]
Fading [EMI, 1989]
Soul Singles [Capitol, January 2004]

Essential O'Jays album: The O'Jays Collectors Item

Albums:
- Comin' Through [Imperial LP-9290/LP-12290, 1965]
- Soul Sounds [Minit, 1966]
- The O'Jays [Bell 6014, 1967] reissued in 1973 [Bell 6082]
- Back On Top [Bell 6014, 1968]
- The O'Jays In Philadelphia [Neptune, 1970]
- Peace [AP, 1970]
- Backstabbers [Philadelphia International KZ-31712, 1972] with Bunny Sigler, Earl Young
- Ship Ahoy [PIR, 1973]
- Live In London [PIR, 1974] [reissued: Sony, June 1998] [Japanese version January 1999]
- Survival [PIR, 1975]
- Family Reunion [PIR, 1975]
- The O'Jays [Springboard/DJM, 1975]
- * Message In The Music [PIR, 1976] with Bunny Sigler
- * Travellin' At The Speed Of Thought [PIR, 1977]
- The O'Jays Collectors Item [Sony, 1977]
- So Full Of Love [PIR, 1978] with Bunny Sigler
- * Identify Yourself [PIR, 1979]
- The Year 2000 [PIR, 1980] with Bunny Sigler
- My Favourite Person [PIR, 1982]
- When Will I see You Again [PIR, 1983]
- Greatest Hits [Sony, 1984]
- Love And More [PIR, 1984]
- From The Beginning [MCA, 1984]
- Love Fever [PIR, 1985]
- Let Me Touch You [PIR, 1987]
- Reflections In Gold [Charly CDX-28, 1988]
- Serious [EMI, 1989]
- Emotionally Yours [EMI, January 1991] with Cissie Houston, Will Downing, Evelyn Champagne King
- Home For Christmas [EMD/Capitol, July 1991]
- Love Train: The Best of the O'Jays [Epic/Legacy 66114, August 1994] with Bunny Sigler, Earl Young
- Greatest Hits [Sony, January 1995]
- Let Me Make Love To You [Epic/Legacy 66116, January 1995] with Bunny Sigler, Earl Young
- Give the People What They Want [Epic/Legacy 66112, February 1995] with Bunny Sigler, Earl Young
- In Bed with the O'Jays: Greatest Love Songs [Capitol 38306, August 1996] with Bunny Sigler, Earl Young
- Love You To Tears [BMG, July 1997]
- Super Hits [Sony, January 1998]
- Respect [Disky, February 1998]
- The Classic Philadelphia Years [MCI, March 1998]
- Significant Singles [Westside 306, November 1998] 3 CD set with Bunny Sigler
- The Best Of The O'Jays 1976 - 1991 [EMD/Right Stuff, February 1999]
- Smooth Love [American Music, February 1999]
- The Best Of Old School [American Music, February 1999]
- My Favorite Person/The Year 2000 [Capitol 21507 August 1999] with Cecil Womack
- The Ultimate O'Jays [Columbia/Legacy 85100, April 2001]
- For The Love [Universal/MCA, October 2001]
- When the World's at Peace [Sony 58143, April 2002]
- Love Songs [Epic/Legacy 86998, January 2003] with Bunny Sigler
- Anthology [Capitol 43667, July 2003]
- Imagination [Sanctuary, September 2004]

- * released as a 3 Albums On 2 CD set Message In The Music / Travellin' At The Speed Of Thought / Identify Yourself [March 1999]

They appear on the following albums:
Various Artists - Soul Hits of the 70s: Didn't It Blow Your Mind!, Vol. 12 [Rhino 70552, July 1991]
Various Artists - Soul Hits of the 70s: Didn't It Blow Your Mind!, Vol. 14 [Rhino 70554, July 1991]
Bob Dylan - The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration [Columbia 53230, August 1993] 2 CD set
The Three Degrees - The Three Degrees and Friends [Alex 5289, July 1995]
Various Artists - Philadelphia: Underground Anthems of Philadelphia Soul, 1973-1981 [Harmless 8, 1998] 2 CD Set
Various Artists - R&B: From Doo Wop to Hip Hop [Sony 65801, October 1999] 2 CD Set
Various Artists - Silent Night, Soulful Night [Hip-O 64622, October 1999]
Various Artists - The Greatest Slow Jams [Capitol 23523, February 2000]
Various Artists - Body and Soul: Sweet Seduction [Time Life 18515, February 2000] 2 CD Set
Various Artists - Body and Soul: Christmas [Time Life 18740, September 2001]
Various Artists - The Sound of Philadelphia [Double Platinum 102017, October 2001] 2 CD Set
Various Artists - Can You Dig It? The '70s Soul Experience [Rhino 74346, October 2001] 6 CD Box Set
Various Artists - The In Crowd, Vol. 2: Empire Made [RPM 235, January 2002]
Various Artists - Soul Spectacular! The Greatest Soul Hits of All Time [Rhino 78300, February 2002] 4 CD Box Set
Various Artists - East Side Story, Vol. 1-12 [East Side 1000, July 2002] 12 CD Box set
Various Artists - Superstars of Seventies Soul [Sony 34027, March 2004] 3 CD Box Set

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