Ohio Players, Skin Tight | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 17^th edition of Throwback Vibez (2023), we recollect and reflect on “Skin Tight” by Ohio Players.

Two words: “Skin tight!” The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace this column are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome. In the 17^th edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2023), we recollect and reflect on 🎵 “Skin Tight”, performed by 🎙 Ohio Players. 

“You are a bad, bad missus /In them skin tight britches,” 🎙 Ohio Players frontman, 🎙 Leroy ‘Sugarfoot’ Bonner, sings in the first verse of the funk/soul classic, 🎵 “Skin Tight”. He continues singing on the highlight from the band’s 1974 LP, also named 💿 Skin Tight, “Runnin’ folks into ditches / Baby you’re about to bust the stitches, yeah.” Woo! This surefire throwback vibe performed well on the Billboard Hot 100 peaking at no. 13.

Lyrically, “Skin Tight” is limited. Even so, the few, often repetitive lyrics served up by Bonner are sufficient.“You are a real fine lady / Though your walk’s a little shady,” he asserts in the second verse, adding, “Step on the strip on time / There’s money you’re bound to find, yeah.” Day-um! Besides being risqué (though tame by today’s standards), the music is absolutely electrifying. The bass line kicks serious butt – one of those must-hear, must-learn lines if you’re a bassist. Furthermore, the groove is lit, while those horns are the sugar honey iced tea. Beyond Bonner’s lead vocals, those backing vocals on the titular lyrics are also utterly sublime. Amazingly, this nearly 50-year-old joint remains relevant today – quite the VIBE!

🎙 Ohio Players • 💿 Skin Tight • 🏷 Mercury • 🗓 1974

Ohio Players, “Skin Tight”: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 17 (2023) [📷: Brent Faulkner/ The Musical Hype; Merucry; John Alan Sperry, PIRO via Pixabay]