Disbanded again

The group disbanded again in 1970. After again re-forming with a line-up including Bonner, Satchell, Middlebrooks, Jones, Webster, trumpeter Bruce Napier, vocalist Charles Dale Allen, trombonist Marvin Pierce and vocalist/ keyboardist Walter “Junie” Morrison , the Players had a minor hit on the Detroit-based Westbound label with “Pain” ( 1971 ), which reached the top 40 of the Billboard R&B chart . James Johnson joined the group at this time as vocalist and saxophonist. Dale Allen shared co-lead vocals on some of the early Westbound material, although he was not credited on their albums Pain and Pleasure . It was at Westbound Records where the group met George Clinton , who admired their music. The two albums’ avant-garde covers featured a spiked-black leather-bikini clad, bald model Pat “Running Bear” Evans, who would later grace additional Ohio Players albums, including Climax , Ecstasy , and Rattlesnake .