Love Rollercoaster 1/26/19

In January of 1976, the Top of the Hot 100 sounded pretty funky when The Ohio Players hit #1 (#2 in Canada) with "Love Rollercoaster."

The song was BIG in the discos...but there were some other reasons why the song caught the attention of the masses.

First of all, the cover of the album it came from ("Honey") was rated "X" and attracted men like..uhh...bees to honey. (Google it!)

Second of all, an urban legend attached to the song spread like wildfire---long before the internet was available to help it along. There were several different versions of the story, but they all included one shocking detail: during an instrumental break in the song, someone was either murdered, accidentally killed, or seriously injured in the studio. If you listen closely, you can hear what sounds like a loud scream in the background.

There was no truth in any of this--it was just band member Billy Beck hitting an incredibly high note (ala Mariah Carey). So why didn't the band clarify this right away? Jimmy Williams of the group explained it like this: "The band took a vow of silence. We sold more records that way."

With or without all the nonsense, "Love Rollercoaster" is still a "Great Song of the '70s!"

NOTE: In 1996, The Red Hot Chili Peppers covered the song and it went to #3 in Canada, and was a Top 10 hit in 4 other countries. In the U.S., it went to #22.