R&B music hall of famers blend of funk, soul, blues and disco
Initially formed in Dayton, Ohio as The Ohio Untouchables, this boisterous archetype in funk, soul and R&B has made an indelible mark on the fabric of American music. These stylistically-shifting R&B Music Hall of Famers got their start in the 1960s, backing the already established band The Falcons. Throughout the ‘60s the Ohio Players morphed, transformed and grew. Their first hit album came in ’73, Pain, which reached the Billboard R&B Top 40 and achieved US gold. Fully investigating the other end of the spectrum of human emotions, their follow-up albums were respectively titled Pleasure and Ecstasy. Perhaps their most well-known song would emerge during this period, the playful disco funkfest “Rollercoaster of Love” (which the Red Hot Chili Peppers would later cover). Other gold-certified singles from this era include “Funky Worm,””Skin Tight” and “Fire.” A highly industrious musical crew, between ’74 and ’76 the Ohio Players released three consecutive platinum albums with Skin Tight, Fire and Honey. Even as band dynamics continued to fluctuate (three members would form the group Shadow in the late ‘70s), the Players kept cranking out groovy records and touring with unabashed drive. Coming together for special performances, their live shows still pack quite the funky punch.
Brooklyn resident Felix Hernandez is a college radio-show host turned all-star DJ event and mega concert producer. He launched his career while still at school in the 80’s, with the creation of an independently produced radio series named BluesStage, which was so wildly popular, that NPR picked it up for a six-year run, with a whopping 200+ station distribution. The show gave a platform for both established and nascent R&B and rock artists to deliver live performances, to an ever-widening fan base. By 1986, Felix had carved out such a name for himself in the business, that he was invited to join WBGO in developing the now-famous classic soul & dance program Rhythm Revue. As the show took off to stratospheric heights, it would go on to air on New York’s WBLS, WRKS (“Kiss-FM”), WTJM (Jammin’ 105) and Sirius/XM. Rhythm Revue would metamorphose into a legendary live dance party, held at some of NYC’s most notable clubs. Now an indelible name in the world of party-throwing and concert crafting, Hernandez continues to coordinate acts that light up NYC’s premiere stages, and personally DJ some of the most exalted fests in the metropolitan area.