Love Rollercoaster

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For The Cleveland Show episode, see Love Rollercoaster (The Cleveland Show).
"Love Rollercoaster"
Love Rollercoaster - Ohio Players.jpg
Single by Ohio Players
from the album Honey
B-side"It's All Over"
ReleasedNovember 9, 1975
GenreFunk
Length
LabelMercury
Songwriter(s)
  • James Williams
  • Clarence Satchell
  • Leroy Bonner
  • Marshall Jones
  • Ralph Middlebrooks
  • Marvin Pierce
  • William Beck
Producer(s)Harry Weinger
Ohio Players singles chronology
"Sweet Sticky Thing"
(1975) 		"Love Rollercoaster"
(1975) 		"Fopp"
(1976)

"Love Rollercoaster" is a song by American funk/R&B band Ohio Players, originally featured on their 1975 album Honey.

It was composed by William Beck, Leroy Bonner, Marshall Jones, Ralph Middlebrooks, Marvin Pierce, Clarence Satchell, and James Williams.[1] It was a number-one U.S. hit in January 1976, and became a Gold record. In Canada, the song spent two weeks at number two.[2]

Urban legend[]

The song has a persistent urban legend, that during an instrumental portion of the song, a high-pitched scream is heard (between 1:24 and 1:28 on the single version, or between 2:32 and 2:36 on the album version). This was Billy Beck, but according to the most common legend, it was the voice of an individual being murdered live while the tape was rolling. The "victim's" identity varies greatly depending on the version.[3][4]

Another version says that a girl has fallen off the roller coaster and was screaming to her death. Another version tells of a rabbit being killed outside the studio whose scream was accidentally picked up by the band's recording equipment – highly implausible, as professional recording studios are soundproof. The most widespread version of the myth, however, tells that Ester Cordet, who appeared nude on the Honey album cover, had been badly burned by the super-heated honey used for the photo shoot, which occurred simultaneous with the recording session, and her agonized screams were inadvertently captured on tape.[3][4] Jimmy "Diamond" Williams explained that the scream was nothing eerie or disturbing:

There is a part in the song where there's a breakdown. It's guitars and it's right before the second verse and Billy Beck does one of those inhaling-type screeches like Minnie Riperton did to reach her high note or Mariah Carey does to go octaves above. The DJ made this crack and it swept the country. People were asking us, "Did you kill this girl in the studio?" The band took a vow of silence because you sell more records that way.[5]

Chart performance[]

Red Hot Chili Peppers version[]

"Love Rollercoaster"
Loverollercoaster.jpg
Single by Red Hot Chili Peppers
from the album Beavis and Butt-Head Do America: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
ReleasedNovember 1996
Recorded1996
GenreFunk rock
Length
  • 4:37 (album version)
  • 3:31 (single version)
Label
Songwriter(s)
  • James Williams
  • Clarence Satchell
  • Leroy Bonner
  • Marshall Jones
  • Ralph Middlebrooks
  • Marvin Pierce
  • William Beck
Producer(s)
Red Hot Chili Peppers singles chronology
"Coffee Shop"
(1996) 		"Love Rollercoaster"
(1996) 		"Scar Tissue"
(1999)

"Love Rollercaster" was covered by the American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers for the soundtrack of the 1996 animated movie Beavis and Butt-Head Do America, based on the iconic MTV adult animated series Beavis and Butt-Head, so it had a lot of diffusion on the channel in that time. It was released as a single in November 1996 through Geffen Records, being particularly successful in the UK.

For this version, an animated music video was made directed by Kevin Lofton. In the video the members of the band are shown performing the song, and riding together with other characters on a gigantic roller coaster, while play some scenes from the film.

Charts[]

Weekly charts[]

Chart (1996–1997) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[11] 19
Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[12] 10
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[13] 49
Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM)[14] 3
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[15] 3
Ireland (IRMA)[16] 24
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[17] 35
Scotland (OCC)[18] 6
UK Singles (OCC)[19] 7
US Radio Songs (Billboard)[20] 40
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[21] 14
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[22] 22

Year-end charts[]

Chart (1997) Position
Australia (ARIA)[23] 83
Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM)[24] 45
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[25] 94
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[26] 119

See also[]

  • Hot 100 number-one hits of 1976 (United States)

References[]

  1. ^ Alex Henderson. "Honey - Ohio Players | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
  2. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2015-02-27. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Snopes.com. "The Ohio Slayers". Urban Legends.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Amy Hanson. "Love Rollercoaster - Ohio Players | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
  5. ^ White, Adam & Bronson, Fred (1993). The Billboard Book of Number One Rhythm & Blues Hits. Billboard Books. p. 188. ISBN 0823082857.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ "RPM Top Singles" (PDF). RPM. February 21, 1976. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  7. ^ "Songs from the Year 1976". Tsort.info. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  8. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2015-02-27. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
  9. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1976/Top 100 Songs of 1976". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
  10. ^ "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  11. ^ "Australian-charts.com – Red Hot Chili Peppers / Engelbert Humperdinck – Love Rollercoaster / Lesbian Seagull". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  12. ^ "Ultratop.be – Red Hot Chili Peppers – Love Rollercoaster" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  13. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 9792." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  14. ^ "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 9795." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  15. ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (9.1. '97 – 15.1. '97)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). January 10, 1997. p. 16. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  16. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Love Rollercoaster". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  17. ^ "Charts.nz – Red Hot Chili Peppers / Engelbert Humperdinck – Love Rollercoaster / Lesbian Seagull". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  18. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  19. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  20. ^ "Red Hot Chili Peppers Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  21. ^ "Red Hot Chili Peppers Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  22. ^ "Red Hot Chili Peppers Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  23. ^ "1997 ARIA Singles Chart". ARIA. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  24. ^ "RPM '97 Year End Top 50 Alternative Tracks". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  25. ^ "Árslistinn 1997 – Íslenski Listinn – 100 Vinsælustu Lögin". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). January 2, 1998. p. 25. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  26. ^ "Najlepsze single na UK Top 40–1997" (in Polish). Archived from the original on June 4, 2015. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
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