 With their soulful ballads and up-tempo funk hits, the O'Jays were one of the most popular vocal groups of the '70s. The group was originally formed as the Mascots in Canton, Ohio in 1958 by gospel duo Eddie Levert (b. June 16, 1942) and Walter Williams (b. August 25, 1942). Also featuring William Powell, Bobby Massey and Bill Isles, the Mascots made their recording debut in 1961 with "Miracles." The group made quite an impression on Cleveland DJ Eddie O'Jay, who played their single often and gave them career advice. In return, they paid tribute to him by renaming themselves the O'Jays. In the early '60s, the O'Jays recorded several singles with producer Don Davis for Apollo Records before moving to Imperial where they would record with producer/writer H.B. Barnum from 1963 to 1967. In 1965 Isles left the group, leaving them a quartet. After moving to Bell Records in 1967 and recording the No. 8 R&B hit, "I'll Be Sweeter Tomorrow," the band started to become discouraged and considered retirement, but the following year they were signed to Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff's label, Neptune. The combination of the O'Jay's vocal skills and the production talents of Gamble and Huff proved to be a successful one and they would continue to collaborate well into the 1980s. At Neptune, the group recorded four hits, including "One Night Affair" and "Looky Looky (Look at Me, Girl)," before the label folded in 1971. By the time they signed to Gamble and Huff's new Philadelphia International label, Massey had left the group. The 1970s found the O'Jays at their peak. Between 1972 and 1978 they scored eight No. 1 R&B singles including "Back Stabbers," (1972), "Love Train" (1973), "Give the People What They Want" (1974) and "Message in Our Music" (1976). They also had five albums that went gold and three that attained platinum status. Unfortunately, there were dark spots in this successful era: in 1975, overwhelmed by terminal cancer, Powell was forced to leave the band; he died in Canton two years later. Sammy Strain (b. December 9, 1941), a 12-year veteran of Little Anthony and the Imperials, became his replacement. With a staying power that outlasted fellow Ohio funk outfit the Ohio Players, the O'Jays continued to release hits all the way through the '80s and into the '90s including Love Fever (1985), Let Me Touch You (1987), Serious (1989) and Emotionally Yours (1991). Strain left the band in 1993 and was replaced by Nathaniel Best (b. December 13, 1960) before the release of yet another R&B Top 10 album, Heartbreaker (1993). Joe Hauler
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