Long before their 1970s hits like “Fire” and “Skin Tight,” the Ohio Players formed their internationally-renowned funk/R&B band in 1959.

More than 60 years later, the legendary soul-funk group from the Buckeye State continues to perform and record — and their two surviving members are aiming for music’s  pinnacle: induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.

Fifty-two years since joining the Ohio Players, William “Billy” Beck said he believes it’s “past time that OP should’ve been inducted into the Hall of Fame. It should’ve happened long before several of the guys passed away.”

Beck, who joined the band in 1973, added, “They should have inducted us probably ten years ago.”

Drummer James “Diamond” Williams and keyboardist William “Billy” Beck initially honed their musical talents as a couple of church kids on Sunday mornings. They are now the sole Ohio Players carrying the OP mantle. Though neither are original members, they’ve been a part of the group for over 50 years.

In a recent interview from his home in Dayton in western Ohio, Jimmy Williams, aka “Diamond,” reflected on his time with the hit-making, legendary R&B unit.

“Sure, I’m still hopeful we’ll get that call from the Rock Hall of Fame sometime soon,” Williams said.

“I joined the band in 1972. I was 22,” said Williams, now 75, whose initially played drums as a child at Bethesda Temple Apostolic Church in Dayton. 

“My mother, Thelma Rodgers Williams, played oboe and bassoon, so my musical influences were very strong,” he said. 

His father, Jack Ronald Williams, was Dayton’s first Black (city) bus driver, he said. “And, he was a jazz aficionado.” 

Although he dabbled with keyboards and some guitar, young Williams was already convinced – drums would be his lifelong calling.

By the time he enrolled at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in Dayton, Williams had already established himself as one of the city’s premier teenage percussionists. He joined Dayton’s Red Berets drum and bugle corps faction of the local Masons and Shriners organizations. He eventually became president of the Red Berets touring unit that participated in competitions throughout Ohio.

Williams credits that experience with having a lasting impact on his match-grip drum approach which he often applied during his OP gigs. He also took private lessons and was an all-city junior high and high school band member.

Williams said he favored the match-grip drum technique. 

“It provided me with more power,” he said. “It’s just something about the power of the match-grip style.”

The more traditional sticking approach characterizes straight-ahead jazz drumming ala Max Roach or Philly Joe Jones. Conversely, “Diamond” said he often mimicked the power drumming technique of Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich, and Art Blakey.

His experience with the Red Berets was beneficial in a couple different ways. It was at those rehearsals where he met the head majorette of the Red Berets and his high school band. Her name was LaDon Crutcher and she is now his wife of 54 years.

Prior to joining OP, Williams played with a successful local group, the Overnight Low Band.

Williams said he earned his nickname after playing with the Ohio Players a few years. 

“The fellas thought it was funny that they had diamonds, but I was the only one without any diamonds. Well, I knew I was on the verge of someday getting some and eventually I got several,” he laughed. 

“Diamond” joined the band just in time to record the hit song “Ecstasy,” which helped spur OP as one of the premier R&B bands of the early 1970s. 

Meanwhile, about 240 miles up the highway in northeastern Ohio, a young keyboard prodigy named William Beck was playing piano at Tabernacle Baptist Church, in Youngstown. His father was a deacon there.

After taking private keyboard lessons and studying classical piano, Beck eventually became one of the top musical students at Youngstown South High School. As a teenager, he played nightclubs with some of the city’s premier soul bands.

“We played spots on the east side of town, and we often opened up for the top bands that toured Youngstown,” he recalled.

During the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, Youngstown was a small-but-hot entertainment city, known for good-paying steel and auto factory jobs as well as the presence of the mob. 

For musicians of varying levels, Y-town was an attractive booking spot for live music. The Idora Park Ballroom was a haven for top-notch soul acts, including James Brown & The Famous Flames, who played the amusement park venue on several occasions. The Agora Ballrooms of Cleveland and Youngstown, were also hot live music venues for aspiring national acts.

Beck, now 72, fondly recalls meeting up with the Ohio Players, then the Ohio untouchables, when he was young.

“They knew me because I had played with so many opening acts with them,” Beck said. “That’s the period when I met ‘Diamond.’ I had heard that their keyboardist, 

Walter ‘Junie’ Morrison, had quit and they were looking for a new keyboardist. ‘Diamond’ had just replaced drummer Greg Webster.”

According to Williams and Billy Beck, the hit-making years with Ohio Players occurred after those two joined the band, between 1972 and 1976.

“Remember, we were about 10 years younger than the other members: Marshall ‘Rock’ Jones, Clarence ‘Satch’ Satchell, Marvin ‘Merv’ Pierce, and Ralph ‘Pee Wee’ Middlebrooks,” Beck recalled. “So, when we came in, ‘Diamond’ and I hooked up with Leroy ‘Sugarfoot’ Bonner, and we wrote several songs.” 

“On paper, it looked like all the members contributed as writers, but, on the real, it was mainly us three,” Williams saiid.

Beck agreed.

“When we got into the group, we brought a whole new flavor,” Beck said.

“Fortunately, I knew all of Junie’s parts and I could fit his uniforms. Remember, this was my favorite group so, I had studied all his keyboard parts,” Beck said.

The band enjoyed a string of hits: “Skin Tight,” “Fire,” “Rollercoaster,” “Jive Turkey” and “Heaven Must Be Like This.” 

In fact, when NBA superstar Isiah Thomas won his first NBA title with the Detroit Pistons in 1989, a video celebration captures him inside the champagne-filled locker room, singing the Ohio Players’ classic ballad ‘Heaven Must Be Like This.” 

Williams said most of their classic hits were recorded at the now-closed Paragon Studios in downtown Chicago. 

When it came to school, Williams was recognized on a regular basis with music awards at his secondary schools. He earned a full scholarship to Kentucky State University and later attended the University of Dayton.

Beck was accepted to the prestigious Dana School of Music at Youngstown State University.

Today, Beck, who grew up as an only child, is a father of 15 children, in a blended family with his wife, Gail. 

One son, Brandon Beck, is a budding music producer in Cleveland, he said.

Williams, father of three daughters and a son, has a granddaughter following his percussion legacy, and he teaches her virtually via FaceTime, he said.

Beck and Williams said they appreciate the fact that they are considered the foundation that inspired so many bands from the Dayton area or with ties toOhio, including Lakeside, Bootsy’s Rubber Band, the Dazz Band, Heatwave, Slave, L.A. Reid and Babyface, Midnight Star, Howard Hewett, John Legend, Switch, Zapp, Gerald Levert, The O’Jays, Levert, and so many more. 

On Sunday mornings, when he’s not on tour, Beck plays organ as music minister at Friendship Baptist Church in Warren, Ohio. He’s served in that role since 2000.

Next year, the Ohio Players are scheduled to play several soul music cruises, Beck said.