Biography: O'Bryan, Orlons, Ortheia Barnes, Ocean, Oscar Perry, Oscar Toney, Jr., Osiris, Ospreys, Othar Turner, Otis Blackwell,

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Multi-instrumentalist O’Bryan got into the business after a friend (who was in the choir he sang in as a young adult in Southern California) married Ron Kersey, who had worked in Philadelphia with groups like the Trammps in the 1970s

A predominantly female group from Philadelphia, the Orlons had some dance and novelty gems in the early ’60s for Cameo-Parkway Lead vocalist Rossetta Hightower, Marlena Davis, Steve Caldwell, and Shirley Brickley scored with “The Wah Watusi” in 1962; it was a number five R&B and number two pop hit, while the follow-ups, “Don’t Hang Up” and “South Street,” were also Top Ten R&B and pop successes

Ortheia Barnes Biography, Photos, Pictures

Despite never having a hit record, Ortheia Barnes is one of Detroit, MI’s most beloved singers She started singing in church, made some solo singles, and toured with Motown artists, though she never signed with the label

Ocean
View:Biography
Genre:R & B

Ocean’s first single, “Put Your Hand in the Hand” (from the album of the same name) sold over one million copies in 1971 in both America and the band’s native Canada

Oscar Perry was a Houston-based singer and guitarist with a feel for the blues (especially ballads) and the sweeter side of Southern soul Perry made his first recording in 1957 with “Just Above a Whisper” on Spinner, and recorded for Lee J over the remainder of the decade

Oscar Toney, Jr. Biography, Photos, Pictures

Oscar Toney, Jr recorded some soulful sides for Bell Records in the late ’60s that will forever etch him into soul music lovers’ memories The emotive singer born May 26, 1939, in Selma, AL, was raised in Columbus, GA

Led by singer Osiris Marsh, Osiris was a fine but obscure soul/funk outfit that was active in Washington, DC, in the late ’70s The band’s influences included Sly & the Family Stone and Funkadelic, and like Earth, Wind & Fire, Osiris was interested in the culture of ancient Egypt

East Harlem, NY-based R&B group the Ospreys formed in 1955 According to Marv Goldberg’s profile in the December 1977 issue of Yesterday’s Memories, their lineup — lead Robert Council, first tenor Maurice Williams, second tenor Jackson Thompson, and bass John Miro — represented a kind of neighborhood supergroup assembling the best voices from four other combos

Othar Turner Biography, Photos, Pictures

Veteran bluesman Othar Turner was the last surviving master of the Mississippi back-country fife-and-drum tradition He was born in 1908, spending his adult life as a sharecropper in the city of Como, an area several miles northeast of the Delta region which also gave rise to musicians including Fred McDowell, R

Otis Blackwell Biography, Photos, Pictures

Few 1950s rock & roll tunesmiths were as prolifically talented as Otis Blackwell His immortal compositions include Little Willie John’s “Fever,” Elvis Presley’s “Don’t Be Cruel” and “All Shook Up,” Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Great Balls of Fire” and “Breathless,” and Jimmy Jones’ “Handy Man” (just for starters)

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