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Ohio Players ~ Fire 1974 Funky Purrfection Version

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The Ohio Players had their first #1 R&B hit with "Funky Worm" and continued on without the voice of the worm, Walter "Junie" Morrison when they left Westbound Records for Mercury Records. Morrison joined Parliament/Funkadelic on Westbound and carved himself a niche under the George Clinton created group. Adding a new drummer, the group began their assault on the funk by jamming in the studio combining riffs when they fell upon this smokin' hot groove and decided to name the song "Fire". While working in LA, they stayed at a motel owned by Stevie Wonder. Wonder played the rhythm tracks he was putting down for what would end up being his magnum opus, "Songs In The Key Of Life" for the Players and the Players played back their instrumental track of "Fire" for Wonder. Stevie told them that it was going to be a smash hit even before they had lyrics for the tune, and this drove the band to complete the song and add the fire engine siren sound effect to bring excitement to the track. Two weeks after the November 1974 release date of the "Fire" album, it was certified gold. The LP cover continued their sexy female motif in that the model was naked except for a provocatively placed clear fire hose and a fire helmet. "Fire" the centerpiece single was an out of the box smash and hit #1 pop and R&B in early 1975.
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Funky