From a Canton high school to the Philadelphia sound

Five students at Canton McKinley High School in Ohio formed the group in 1958: Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey and Bill Isles. They were first the Mascots, then the Triumphs, before a 1963 renaming honored Cleveland radio disc jockey Eddie O’Jay and gave the world the O’Jays. That same year “Lonely Drifter” became their first Billboard Hot 100 entry, peaking at number 93.

The 1960s were a patient decade. They put out dozens of singles and had minor chart hits such as “Lipstick Traces”, which made number 19 in Canada, but never reached the US top 40. Their only top 10 R&B single before 1972 was “I’ll Be Sweeter Tomorrow” in 1968. By 1972 they had even considered quitting the music business.

Instead Isles and Massey left, and the remaining trio of Levert, Powell and Williams signed with Gamble & Huff’s Philadelphia International label. Almost at once they had their first million-seller, “Back Stabbers”, and the album of the same name brought “992 Arguments”, “Sunshine”, “Time to Get Down” and the number one pop hit “Love Train”. The rest of the decade added “Put Your Hands Together”, “For the Love of Money”, “I Love Music” and “Livin’ for the Weekend”, among others. Other songs from the group’s catalogue, such as “Now That We Found Love”, keep that sound in circulation.

The period had a loss. William Powell died of cancer in 1977 at age 35, and Sammy Strain of Little Anthony and the Imperials joined. In 1978 “Use ta Be My Girl” became their last top-five hit, and the group also placed nine singles on the UK chart between 1972 and 1983. The 1987 album Let Me Touch You included the number one R&B hit “Lovin’ You”. Honors followed: the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005 and the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2013.