On this day in music history: December 27, 1975 - “Love Rollercoaster” by The Ohio Players hits #1 on the Billboard R&B singles chart for 1 week, also topping the Hot 100 for 1 week on January 31, 1976. Written and produced by James Williams, Clarence Satchell, Leroy Bonner, Marshall Jones, Ralph Middlebrooks, Marvin Pierce and William Beck, it is the second consecutive R&B chart topper and fourth number one single overall for the R&B/Funk septet from Dayton, OH. Written by the entire band during a jam session, the songs’ clever word play uses the amusement park ride as metaphor to describe a wildly unpredictable woman that the protagonist is involved with. “Rollercoaster” becomes controversial when a DJ in Berkeley, CA starts a rumor that a woman was killed in an adjoining recording studio while the band was recording the track, and is audible on the finished record. In truth, what sounds like a muffled scream is actually the voice of keyboardist Billy Beck. When asked about the rumor, the band take a vow of silence amongst themselves, refusing to discuss it publicly. Issued as the second single from their seventh studio album “Honey” in late October of 1975, “Rollercoaster” follows “Sweet Sticky Thing” into the number one spot on the R&B chart, also becoming their second and final number one pop single five weeks later. In 1996, The Red Hot Chili Peppers covers the song for the soundtrack and film “Beavis And Butt-head Do America”. “Love Rollercoaster” is certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.
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