For The Cleveland Show episode, see Love Rollercoaster (The Cleveland Show).
Love Rollercoaster
single
CoverLove Rollercoaster - Ohio Players.jpg
ArtistOhio Players
AlbumHoney
B-sideIt's All Over
ReleasedNovember 9, 1975
GenreFunk[1][2] · disco[3]
Length
LabelMercury
WriterJames Williams · Clarence Satchell · Leroy Bonner · Marshall Jones · Ralph Middlebrooks · Marvin Pierce · William Beck
ProducerOhio Players
Prev year1975
Next year1976

"Love Rollercoaster", sometimes rendered as "Love Roller Coaster",[5] is a song by American funk/R&B band Ohio Players, originally featured on their 1975 album Honey. It was composed by William Beck, Leroy Bonner, Marshall Jones, Ralph Middlebrooks, Marvin Pierce, Clarence Satchell, and James Williams.[6] It was a number-one U.S. hit in January 1976, and was certified gold. In Canada, the song spent two weeks at number two.[7] "Love Rollercoaster" was covered by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers for the soundtrack of the 1996 animated movie Beavis and Butt-Head Do America.

Urban legend

The song has been the subject of a persistent urban legend since its release. A scream is heard in the background fairly early in the song (between 1:24 and 1:28 on the single version, or between 2:32 and 2:36 on the album version). According to the most common legend, it was the voice of an individual being murdered live while the tape was rolling. Jimmy "Diamond" Williams described the innocent nature of the scream:

There is a part in the song where there's a breakdown. It's guitars and it's right before the second verse and Billy Beck does one of those inhaling-type screeches like Minnie Riperton did to reach her high note or Mariah Carey does to go octaves above. The DJ made this crack and it swept the country. People were asking us, "Did you kill this girl in the studio?" The band took a vow of silence because you sell more records that way.[8]

The legend appears to have evolved from an incidental comment made by an unidentified Berkeley, California disc jockey during a radio broadcast, probably in late 1975 or early 1976.[9][10] It spread and mutated in several variations, probably as a result of Casey Kasem having repeated it on the nationally syndicated radio show American Top 40 in early 1976.[11] The most common version of the legend was that the scream was from Ester Cordet, a model who appeared on the cover of the album (Honey) purportedly stabbed by a band member, manager or engineer during the recording sessions.[11] Subsequent variations included an elaborate backstory involving the artwork on the album cover as a motive for the stabbing.[11] Less common variations identified the "victim" as a band member's girlfriend or cleaning woman.[11]

The 1998 film Urban Legend mentions the legend of this song.

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1975–1976)Peak
position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[5]2
US Billboard Hot 100[12]1
US Hot Soul Singles (Billboard)[12]1

Year-end charts

Chart (1976)Rank
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[13]39
US Billboard Hot 100[14]30

Red Hot Chili Peppers version

Love Rollercoaster
single
CoverLoverollercoaster.jpg
ArtistRed Hot Chili Peppers
AlbumBeavis and Butt-Head Do America: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
A-side"Lesbian Seagull" (by Engelbert Humperdinck)
ReleasedJanuary 12, 1997
Genre
Length
  • 4:37 (album version)
  • 3:31 (single version)
LabelGeffen
Writer
Producer
Prev year1996
TitleLove Rollercoaster
Next year1999

"Love Rollercoaster" was covered by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers for the soundtrack of the 1996 animated movie Beavis and Butt-Head Do America, based on the iconic MTV adult animated series Beavis and Butt-Head, so it had a lot of diffusion on the channel in that time. It was released to US radio in November 1996 through Geffen Records, being particularly successful in the UK when it was released as a single.

For this version, an animated music video was made directed by Kevin Lofton. In the video, the members of the band are shown performing the song and riding together with other characters on a gigantic roller coaster, while playing some scenes from the film.

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1996–1997)Peak
position
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[15]3

Year-end charts

Chart (1997)Position
Australia (ARIA)[16]83
Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM)[17]45
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[18]94
UK Singles (OCC)[19]119
US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)[20]74
US Top 40/Mainstream (Billboard)[21]72

Release history

RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)Ref.
United StatesNovember 12, 1996Contemporary hit radioGeffen[22]
AustraliaJanuary 12, 1997CD[23]
United KingdomJune 2, 19977-inch vinyl · CD · cassette[24]

In other media

The song was used, amongst other uses, in an advert for the Suzuki Jimny mini-SUV automobile,[25] in the 2020 film Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey, and in a promo for the Disney Epcot ride Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind ahead of its opening in 2022; the song, although not played outright, is also referenced to on The Cleveland Show, serving as the title for the show's 11th episode of its pilot season. It was also used in the 2006 horror movie Final Destination 3, and was also used in 2004 action-adventure video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas as song for radio station Bounce FM. The Red Hot Chili Peppers version is used heavily in a scene from Beavis and Butthead Do America, where they are in a casino.

See also

References

  1. ^ "100 Greatest Funk Songs". Digital Dream Door. August 7, 2008. Archived September 25, 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
  2. ^ Echols, Alice (March 29, 2010). "I Hear a Symphony: Black Masculinity and the Disco Turn". Hot Stuff: Disco and the Remaking of American Culture. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 22. ISBN 978-0-393-06675-3. Archived December 24, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
  3. ^ Molanphy, Chris (October 15, 2022). "Give Up the Funk Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia. Slate. Archived October 31, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
  4. ^ "The 96 Best Alternative Rock Songs Of 1996". Spin. August 31, 2016. Archived May 20, 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  5. ^ "RPM Top Singles". RPM. February 21, 1976. Archived March 13, 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  6. ^ Henderson, Alex. "Honey - Ohio Players | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Archived March 9, 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
  7. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on February 27, 2015. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
  8. ^ White, Adam & Bronson, Fred (1993). The Billboard Book of Number One Rhythm & Blues Hits. Billboard Books. p. 188. ISBN 0823082857.
  9. ^ "Years after its '70s heyday, band still riding a 'Love Rollercoaster'". May 18, 2003. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  10. ^ "Ohio Players recount career roller coaster". May 25, 2003. Archived June 23, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  11. ^ Graff, Gary, and Durchholz, Daniel. Rock 'n' Roll Myths: The True Stories Behind the Most Infamous Legends, p. 50-51. United States, Voyageur Press, 2012.
  12. ^ "Love Rollercoaster (song by Ohio Players)". MusicVF.com. Retrieved 2 April 2026.
  13. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on February 27, 2015. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
  14. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1976/Top 100 Songs of 1976". Musicoutfitters.com. Archived March 7, 2004 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
  15. ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (9.1. '97 – 15.1. '97)" (in Icelandic). Dagblaðið Vísir. January 10, 1997. p. 16. Archived June 4, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  16. ^ "1997 ARIA Singles Chart". ARIA. Archived February 24, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  17. ^ "RPM '97 Year End Top 50 Alternative Tracks". RPM. Archived May 19, 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 2, 2019. – via Library and Archives Canada
  18. ^ "Árslistinn 1997 �� Íslenski Listinn – 100 Vinsælustu Lögin" (in Icelandic). Dagblaðið Vísir. January 2, 1998. p. 25. Archived December 4, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  19. ^ "Najlepsze single na UK Top 40–1997" (in Polish). Archived from the original on June 4, 2015. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  20. ^ "Best of '97: Modern Rock Tracks". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 5, no. 52. December 26, 1997. p. 30.
  21. ^ "Best of '97: Top 40/Mainstream Singles". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 5, no. 52. December 26, 1997. p. 38.
  22. ^ "New Releases". Radio & Records. No. 1171. November 8, 1996. p. 37.
  23. ^ Australian chart
  24. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. May 31, 1997. p. 33.
  25. ^ TV Ad https://www.tvadmusic.co.uk/2007/10/archive-q-to-z/