January 31, 1976 –
Ohio Players’ single from their album Honey, Love Rollercoaster climbed up the No. 1 on the Billboard Charts, on this date.
This song is the subject of an urban myth. During an instrumental break, there is a scream that sounds a little out of place. It was rumored that the scream was the sound of a woman being murdered in the studio. According to the story, which was started by a DJ in California, this woman was the model who appeared on the album cover. She was kneeling on glass and pouring honey in her mouth. While she was doing it, she found out that the glass was actually fiber glass and the honey reacted with the fiber glass by sticking to her legs and ripping all the skin off. She went in the manager’s studio while the band was still recording and threatened to sue the band, which is when the manager stabbed her to death. The band left in the scream as a cruel joke. The scream was actually keyboard player Billy Beck. Instead of telling the truth, the band agreed to coyly answer “no comment” when asked about the rumor, claiming they took a vow of silence. The ploy worked, as the urban legend gave the song a buzz and helped sell records.
The Haus of Dcaligari 