The O'Jays

History

The group formed in Canton, Ohio, in 1958 while members attended Canton McKinley High School. Originally called The Mascots and then The Triumphs, they recorded "Miracles" in 1961, a moderate hit in Cleveland. In 1963 they adopted the name The O'Jays, honoring Cleveland disc jockey Eddie O'Jay. That year "Lonely Drifter" became their first Billboard Hot 100 entry, peaking at number 93, and their debut album Comin' Through followed.

Throughout the 1960s they released minor hits including "Lipstick Traces" (which reached number 19 in Canada), "Stand In for Love," "Stand Tall," "Let It All Out," "I'll Be Sweeter Tomorrow," "Look Over Your Shoulder," "Deeper in Love with You," and "One Night Affair." None of these reached the U.S. top 40, though "I'll Be Sweeter Tomorrow" became their only top 10 R&B single before 1972. By 1972 the group considered quitting; original members Bill Isles and Bobby Massey departed, leaving a trio of Eddie Levert, William Powell, and Walter Williams.

Gamble & Huff signed them to Philadelphia International, and the O'Jays released their first million-seller, "Back Stabbers," from the album of the same name. The album also produced "992 Arguments," "Sunshine," "Time to Get Down," and the number one pop hit "Love Train."

Frank Little, Jr.

Frank "Frankie" Little Jr., nicknamed Brother Rabbit, was a guitarist and songwriter. He was born in August 1943 to Frankie Little Sr. and La Verda Stone, both entertainers. After his mother died when he was young, his father, aunt, and sister raised him. He had one full brother, Johnny, and many half-siblings.

In the early 1960s, he joined the O'Jays and worked with lead singer Eddie Levert on songwriting. Little contributed to songs like "Do the Jerk" (recorded by Frank Polk) in 1964, "Oh, How You Hurt Me" in 1964, and "Pretty Words" in 1966. He also sang on the 1962 track "Down at the Corner." According to fellow O'Jay Walter Williams, Little was a guitarist and songwriter in the group's early days.

He traveled with them when they first left Cleveland for Los Angeles, but he missed a woman back home and soon returned. Little married Precious P. Henderson in California on June 16, 1965, and they had a daughter. Homesick, he moved back to Cleveland in 1967, but on the day he arrived he was drafted to Vietnam. He could not attend his recently deceased father's funeral.

After two years in Vietnam, he returned and opened a store next to his brother's. He had two children: a daughter born in the mid-1960s who died in 2012, and a son born in 1974.

Little was last seen in the late 1970s in Cleveland. His son said he vanished from their East Cleveland apartment when the boy was five, and Little was about thirty-six. At the time, he lived with a girlfriend.

On February 18, 1982, a sixteen-year-old boy found a bag of human remains buried under snow behind his mother's roofing-material factory in Twinsburg, Ohio. The boy said he saw a car pull up and dump the bag. In December 2021, the remains were identified as Frankie Little. His death was ruled a homicide, but as of 2021, no one has been held responsible.

Discography

The following albums reached the top twenty on the Billboard 200: Back Stabbers (1972, number 10), Ship Ahoy (1973, number 11), The O'Jays Live in London (1974, number 17), Survival (1975, number 11), Family Reunion (1975, number 7), Message in the Music (1976, number 20), So Full of Love (1978, number 6), and Identify Yourself (1979, number 16). Singles reaching the top twenty on the Billboard Hot 100 or UK Singles Chart include "Back Stabbers" (US number 3, UK number 14), "Love Train" (US number 1, UK number 9), "Put Your Hands Together" (US number 10), "For the Love of Money" (US number 9), "I Love Music" (US number 5, UK number 13), "Livin' For The Weekend" (US number 20), and "Use ta Be My Girl" (US number 4, UK number 12). The O'Jays Live in Concert was released in 2010.