The O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert (born June 16, 1942), Walter Williams (born August 25, 1943), William Powell (January 20, 1942 – May 26, 1977), Bobby Massey and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appearance with "Lonely Drifter" in 1963, but reached their greatest level of success once Gamble & Huff, a team of producers and songwriters, signed them to their Philadelphia International label in 1972. With Gamble & Huff, the O'Jays (now a trio after the departure of Isles and Massey) emerged at the forefront of Philadelphia soul with "Back Stabbers" (1972), and topped the Billboard Hot 100 the following year with "Love Train". Numerous other hits followed through the 1970s and into the 80s and 90s, and The O'Jays were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004, and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.
Rb/Redferns Biography
This entry is from Wikipedia, the user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. If you find the biography content factually incorrect, defamatory or highly offensive you can edit this article at Wikipedia. Find out more about our use of this data.
Links & Information
Links
- Official homepage at theojayshomepage.com
- Biography at phillysoulclassics.com/artists/the-ojays
- Wikipedia article on The O'Jays
- IMDb at imdb.com/name/nm2079329
- Last.fm page on The O'Jays
- Discogs at discogs.com/artist/O'Jays, The
- MusicBrainz entry on The O'Jays
Members
-
Links & information come from MusicBrainz. You can add or edit information about The O'Jays at musicbrainz.org. Find out more about our use of this data. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
BBC Reviews
-
Ship Ahoy 1973
Reviewed by Daryl Easlea
Never has an album so angry sounded so sweet.
