Honey (Ohio Players album)

Honey is the seventh studio album by American band the Ohio Players. Released on August 16, 1975, by Mercury Records. 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.

For the 1958 LP, see Honey (Sonny James album).
Honey
Studio album by
Ohio Players
ReleasedAugust 16, 1975
RecordedFebruary–June, 1975
StudioParagon Recording Studios
(Chicago, Illinois)
GenreSoul, funk, R&B
Length31:45
LabelMercury
ProducerOhio Players
Ohio Players chronology
Fire
(1974)		 Honey
(1975)		 Contradiction
(1976)
Singles from Honey
  1. "Sweet Sticky Thing"
    Released: August 9, 1975
  2. "Love Rollercoaster"
    Released: November 9, 1975
  3. "Fopp"
    Released: February 1976
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Christgau's Record GuideB+[2]

The cover image gained mild notoriety from urban legends involving one of the singles, "Love Rollercoaster", one to the effect that the honey injured Ester Cordet’s skin, ruining her career as a model, and another claiming that she was stabbed to death in the recording booth, with her scream captured on the song. These stories are false.[3]

The album was recorded and mixed at Paragon Recording Studios in Chicago, with Barry Mraz as the 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.

The album 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.[4] In addition, it was the third album from the band to top the Soul/Black Albums chart, where it spent three weeks.

Release history

In addition to the standard 2 channel stereo version the album was also released in a 4 channel quadraphonic version in 1975. This version appeared on 8-track tape in the US and was the fourth of five Ohio Players albums available in this format. The quad version was re-issued on DTS Audio CD in 2001.

Track listing

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

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Honey"5:15
2."Fopp"3:45
3."Let's Love"5:15
4."Ain't Givin' Up No Ground"1:45
Total length:16:00
Side two
No.TitleLength
5."Sweet Sticky Thing"6:13
6."Love Rollercoaster"4:52
7."Alone"4:40
Total length:15:45

Personnel

Production
  • Ohio Players – producers
  • Barry Mraz, Gilbert Kong & Tom Hanson; engineers
  • Marty Linke, Steve Kusiciel, Rob Kingsland, Paul Johnson – tape operators
  • Richard Fegley – photography
  • Jim Ladwig – art direction
  • Joe Kotleba – design

Cover versions

Charts

Singles
Year Single Peak chart positions
US
[10]		 US
R&B
[10]
1975 "Sweet Sticky Thing" 33 1
"Love Rollercoaster" 1 1
1976 "Fopp" 30 9

See also

References
  1. Henderson, Alex. Honey review at AllMusic. Retrieved January 15, 2012.
  2. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: O". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 10, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  3. Mikkelson, David (May 23, 2007). "Ohio Players Love Rollercoaster". Snopes. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  4. "Billboard 200: Week of September 27, 1975". Billboard.com. Retrieved April 24, 2011.
  5. "Ohio Players Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  6. "Ohio Players Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  7. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1975". Billboard. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  8. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1976". Billboard. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  9. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1976". Billboard. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  10. "US Charts > Ohio Players". Allmusic. Retrieved 2013-03-30.
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