Ohio Players give students, teachers lesson in perseverance

By DENISE DICK

denise_dick@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Choffin Career and Technical Center students, teachers and staff took a ride on the “Love Rollercoaster” to mark Black History Month.

Billy Beck’s Ohio Players presented “The History of Rhythm and Blues: How It Influenced Rock and Roll, Pop and Hip Hop” on Friday at the school. Beck and band mate Ricky Ward are city natives.

February is Black History Month, and programs are planned throughout the school district.

Though some Ohio Players hits such as “Fire,” “Love Rollercoaster” and “Heaven Must Be Like This” are more familiar to students’ parents and maybe grandparents than the students, the group’s hits have been sampled and remade by more-current artists.

Those include the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Snoop Dogg.

But a music career is about more than just talent.

“It takes discipline,” said Debor’ah Benton, who introduced the group. “You have to sacrifice, and you’re going to have to put away the distractions.”

Beck describes himself as a nerd growing up. He loved reading, and when other kids were outside playing, he was inside practicing on the piano.

“One of the reasons I don’t like bullying is because I was bullied,” he said. “Bullying isn’t cool.”

That changed in junior high, though. Other students needed him to provide the music for their school variety-show acts, so all of the athletes ensured no one bothered him.

“You have to have that type of discipline and determination and no one can stop you but you,” Beck said.

Ward excelled in football and track, but music was his passion. He earned a football scholarship to the University of Akron, where he studied music and business.

“Don’t ever look away from things that can help you in the future,” he told the students.

Ward also worked with the group Arrested Development.

Each musician went through difficulties, too.

Beck said he wrote the music that became “The Greatest Love of All,” a huge hit for both George Benson and Whitney Houston. He received only 1 percent of the song’s royalties.

Ward said he co-wrote the song made famous by Anita Baker, “Giving You the Best That I Got,” but didn’t get the credit or the pay.

It was their performance, though, that brought the filled cafeteria to its feet.

Even cafeteria workers emerged from the kitchen wearing hairnets to enjoy “Love Rollercoaster.”

Darryl Gullick, who is studying for his GED at Choffin, hit the cafeteria dance floor during one of the first songs and he kept going.

“I like them,” he explained. “I’ve got the whole collection. Some of their songs are good to dance to, and others are good to sit back and listen to and relax.”

It was “Fire,” though, that really brought down the house.

Cake, hot dogs and other treats added to the celebration. Suzie’s Dogs & Drafts downtown provided the hot-dog topping.

Students and a few faculty filled the middle aisle, dancing to the music.

Kayla Stokes, 16, and Destiny Richardson, 17, both juniors in the school’s cosmetology program, showed off their dance moves.

Makayla Phillips, 17, also a junior studying cosmetology, recognized a song or two, but she didn’t join her classmates on the dance floor.

“I know a lot of their songs,” Destiny said.

Kayla recognized both “Fire” and “Love Rollercoaster.”

“I’m just a fun person,” she said.