The Ohio Players — the internationally known funk act from Dayton — crossed paths with Prince many times through the years. In fact, they performed several times at Prince’s Minneapolis venue Glam Slam in the ’80s and early ’90s, said James “Diamond” Williams, drummer and leader of the Ohio Players.
Prince in particular had a connection with the late Ohio Players frontman Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner.
“He used to hang around Sugarfoot,” Williams recalled. “We like to think he had some influence on Prince’s music.”
Williams remembers Prince as shy and not very talkative. But when he and his band mates would be around the artist, they definitely talked music, he added.
“We would often talk about how we admired each other’s songs,” he said. “He loved ‘Love Rollercoaster’ and would cover it. There was such back-and-forth admiration.”
“We will miss him greatly,” he added.
Daytonian Keith Harrison, the Grammy award-winning keyboardist, songwriter and singer best known for his work with the funk bands Faze-O and Dazz Band, also crossed paths with the famous artist.
Harrison recalled a time when he was touring with Morris Day and the Time in the mid-90s and had a special opportunity to jam with Prince while in Las Vegas. That was a moment he will never forget.
“After shows, he would go to a club and jam with musicians,” Harrison, a keyboardist, explained. “He happened to jam with us one night at the Boulder Station Casino in Vegas.”
Watching Prince perform on stage was equally exciting, said Harrison, who also played for The Ohio Players and Heatwave.
“He was one of a few trendsetters,” said Harrison, who was inducted into Dayton’s Walk of Fame just last year and is a member of the R&B Hall of Fame. “We all got something from his music. We’ve lost another icon in the music industry — a huge icon. He changed the world with his music. His spirit and music will live on.”
The Funk Music Hall of Fame & Exhibition Center will be partnering with the Dayton Metro Libraries Northwest Branch to host rotating displays and programs related to Dayton’s funk legacy and the history of funk music starting tomorrow through fall 2016. Plans are already in the works to feature Prince as work of that exhibition later this year, David R. Webb, president and CEO of the nonprofit The Funk Music Hall of Fame & Exhibition Center.
“Prince is known worldwide as the funkmaster,” Webb said. “His music brought people together and was a huge influence.”
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