Biography
Guitarist Robert Ward came into the world on October 15, 1938, in Luthersville, Georgia. Before relocating to Dayton he performed with various Southern ensembles and completed a period of military service. In Dayton, Ohio, during 1960 he assembled the Ohio Untouchables, whose steadiest roster consisted of Ward himself on guitar and vocals, Clarence “Satch” Satchell on saxophone, Ralph “Pee Wee” Middlebrooks on saxophone and trumpet, Marshall “Rock” Jones on bass, and Cornelius Johnson on drums. The group served as the house band at Club 51 on Germantown Road, where fifteen-year-old David Thomas from nearby Hamilton, Ohio, frequently appeared as a guest vocalist. Ward’s brother occasionally substituted on drums after moving to Dayton, yet their volatile relationship ultimately prompted the younger sibling to depart.
Ward produced his signature trembling tone by routing his instrument through a Magnatone amplifier while applying generous vibrato and tremolo; coins affixed to the guitar body may also have shaped those distinctive notes. A relative named Robert West operated Lupine Records in Detroit, prompting the band to travel there and secure a contract with the label in 1962. Their initial assignment involved backing nineteen-year-old Wilson Pickett, then the lead singer of the Falcons. When the remaining Falcons failed to attend the session, the Ohio Untouchables supplied both instrumental and vocal support. David Thomas, who had accompanied the group, added vocals to the tracks “I Found a Love” and “Swim.”
Under the Ohio Untouchables name the musicians cut three blues-inflected singles for Lupine—“Forgive Me Darling,” “I’m Tired,” and “Your Love Is Amazing”—all marked by a soulful sensibility. Two further singles appeared on Thelma Records credited to Robert Ward & the Ohio Untouchables: “Your Love Is Real” and “I’m Gonna Cry Me a River.” Additional sides issued on smaller imprints included “You’re on Top,” the same composition later recorded by the O’Jays for Imperial Records. Ward departed the ensemble in 1965; Leroy “Sugarfoot” Bonner assumed the guitar chair, and the revised lineup comprised Sugarfoot, Pee Wee on trumpet, Rock on bass, Satch on saxophone, Gary Webster on drums, Joe Harris on vocals, Bobby Lee Fears on vocals, and Dutch Robinson on vocals. Harris, formerly of the Fabulous Peps, settled into the role of lead singer with Undisputed Truth.
A relocation to New York enabled the group to obtain steady work as the house band for Compass Records. In 1968 the Untouchables adopted the name the Players and released the albums First Impressions and Observations in Time. They subsequently recorded several well-regarded LPs for Westbound Records before attaining international recognition on the Mercury label. Ward exerted a formative influence on numerous Detroit vocalists, among them Steve Mancha, Joe Stubbs, Darrell Banks, Melvin Davis, and J.J. Barnes. Presenting himself in the guise of a pimp, Ward cultivated a reputation as a disreputable figure whose extended withdrawal from music stemmed from a prolonged prison term. He later issued a modest number of solo albums on Black Top Records, two of which—Man from Twigg County and Fear No Evil—revisit many of the Ohio Untouchables’ Lupine, Thelma, and Groove City recordings.
Ward produced his signature trembling tone by routing his instrument through a Magnatone amplifier while applying generous vibrato and tremolo; coins affixed to the guitar body may also have shaped those distinctive notes. A relative named Robert West operated Lupine Records in Detroit, prompting the band to travel there and secure a contract with the label in 1962. Their initial assignment involved backing nineteen-year-old Wilson Pickett, then the lead singer of the Falcons. When the remaining Falcons failed to attend the session, the Ohio Untouchables supplied both instrumental and vocal support. David Thomas, who had accompanied the group, added vocals to the tracks “I Found a Love” and “Swim.”
Under the Ohio Untouchables name the musicians cut three blues-inflected singles for Lupine—“Forgive Me Darling,” “I’m Tired,” and “Your Love Is Amazing”—all marked by a soulful sensibility. Two further singles appeared on Thelma Records credited to Robert Ward & the Ohio Untouchables: “Your Love Is Real” and “I’m Gonna Cry Me a River.” Additional sides issued on smaller imprints included “You’re on Top,” the same composition later recorded by the O’Jays for Imperial Records. Ward departed the ensemble in 1965; Leroy “Sugarfoot” Bonner assumed the guitar chair, and the revised lineup comprised Sugarfoot, Pee Wee on trumpet, Rock on bass, Satch on saxophone, Gary Webster on drums, Joe Harris on vocals, Bobby Lee Fears on vocals, and Dutch Robinson on vocals. Harris, formerly of the Fabulous Peps, settled into the role of lead singer with Undisputed Truth.
A relocation to New York enabled the group to obtain steady work as the house band for Compass Records. In 1968 the Untouchables adopted the name the Players and released the albums First Impressions and Observations in Time. They subsequently recorded several well-regarded LPs for Westbound Records before attaining international recognition on the Mercury label. Ward exerted a formative influence on numerous Detroit vocalists, among them Steve Mancha, Joe Stubbs, Darrell Banks, Melvin Davis, and J.J. Barnes. Presenting himself in the guise of a pimp, Ward cultivated a reputation as a disreputable figure whose extended withdrawal from music stemmed from a prolonged prison term. He later issued a modest number of solo albums on Black Top Records, two of which—Man from Twigg County and Fear No Evil—revisit many of the Ohio Untouchables’ Lupine, Thelma, and Groove City recordings.
Albums
