You know the image. Even if you aren't a crate-digger or a funk obsessive, you’ve seen it. A bald, striking woman in spiked leather. Or perhaps the one with the honey—thick, golden, and dripping. These weren't just record sleeves; they were cultural flashpoints. The Ohio Players album cover defined an era of "aesthetic protest" and became the stuff of urban legends that literally refused to die for fifty years.
Honestly, it's kinda wild how much these covers overshadowed the music sometimes. People forget that the Ohio Players were absolute monsters of the Dayton funk scene before they ever put a nude model on a jacket. But once they teamed up with photographer Joel Brodsky, the game changed. They didn't just sell funk; they sold a specific brand of high-gloss, kinky, and occasionally terrifying Black eroticism that made middle America clutch its pearls.
The Bald Icon: Pat Evans and the Westbound Years
Before the group hit the "Honey" era, they were on Westbound Records. This is where the truly gritty stuff happened. If you look at the covers for Pain, Pleasure, and Ecstasy, you’ll see the same woman: Pat "Running Bear" Evans.
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She wasn't just some random model they found at a casting call. Pat Evans was a revolutionary. She was one of the highest-paid models at Stewart Models—the same agency that repped Twiggy—but she was sick of the industry's obsession with "European" beauty standards. She was tired of wearing wigs to hide her natural hair. So, she shaved her head. Total boss move.
Her bald head became a symbol of defiance. On the cover of Pain, she’s standing over a man, looking completely dominant. It was a 180-degree turn from the "Aunt Jemima" stereotypes that had plagued Black women in media for decades. Brodsky, the photographer, knew exactly what he was doing. He used gatefold sleeves to hide the "rest" of the story. You’d look at the front and see a beautiful woman, but you’d open the fold and see her bound in chains or holding a whip. It was kinky, sure, but for Pat, it was also about power.
That Knife in the Back
There’s a legendary bit of pettiness hidden in the Climax cover. When the band decided to leave Westbound for Mercury Records, the label wasn't happy. At all. If you look at the gatefold for Climax, you see Pat Evans again, but this time, she has a literal knife in her back. It was a blatant middle finger from the label to the band for "betraying" them. Talk about a messy breakup.
The Honey Myth: Did Someone Actually Die?
If you grew up in the 70s or 80s, you heard the story. It’s basically the "Paul is Dead" of funk music. The rumor goes like this: Ester Cordet, the model on the Honey album cover, was horribly burned because the honey was heated up to make it flow better. Or, in the darker version, it wasn't honey at all—it was a toxic acrylic substance that fused to her skin, and they had to rip it off, ending her career.
The story usually ends with a claim that during the recording of "Love Rollercoaster," Ester burst into the studio to sue the band, and the manager stabbed her to death right there. The "scream" you hear in the middle of the song? People swore for years it was her actual death rattle.
Here is the reality:
- The Scream: It was Billy Beck. The band’s keyboardist. He just let out a high-pitched wail during a break in the music. No murder, just a guy with a great vocal range.
- The Model: Ester Cordet was a Playboy Playmate (October 1974). She was perfectly fine after the shoot. No burns, no skin grafts, and definitely no studio stabbings.
- The Marketing: The band and their manager, Jerry Greenberg, knew the rumor was fake. But did they stop it? Nope. They let it run. It sold records. It made people talk. It’s one of the greatest accidental marketing campaigns in music history.
Why These Covers Still Matter
It’s easy to look back and call these covers "objectification." Some feminist groups in the 70s did exactly that. They saw the bondage and the nudity and felt it was just more of the same. But there's a counter-argument that's pretty compelling.
At a time when Black beauty was often marginalized or forced to fit into a very narrow box, the Ohio Players album cover series showcased Black skin as the ultimate object of desire. These were high-production, high-art photos. They weren't grainy or cheap. They looked like Vogue if Vogue had a leather fetish and a sense of humor.
The Shift to Mercury
When the band moved to Mercury Records, the covers softened a bit. They went from "underground kinky" to "Playboy chic." Think Skin Tight or Fire. The imagery was still incredibly sexy, but it lost some of that raw, experimental edge that Pat Evans and Joel Brodsky had brought to the Westbound era.
Still, the impact was huge. You can see the DNA of these covers in everything from Grace Jones’s early 80s aesthetic to modern-day videos by artists like Janelle Monáe or Rihanna. They proved that you could be "too much" and still hit Number 1 on the Billboard charts.
Actionable Insights for Collectors and Fans
If you’re looking to dive into this world, don't just stream the music. You’re missing half the experience.
- Hunt for the Gatefolds: If you're buying vinyl, make sure you get the original gatefold versions. The "story" of the cover is often hidden inside the fold. Reissues sometimes skip the elaborate packaging, which is a tragedy.
- Check the Credits: Look for Joel Brodsky’s name. He’s the same guy who shot the famous "Young Lion" photos of Jim Morrison. His lighting techniques are why those Ohio Players covers look so three-dimensional and "wet."
- Listen Beyond the Hits: While "Fire" and "Love Rollercoaster" are the big ones, the music on Pain and Pleasure is much more experimental. It’s "slap-you-in-the-face" funk that matches the intensity of the art.
The Ohio Players didn't just give us a soundtrack for the 70s; they gave us a visual language for Black confidence and sexuality. They were bold, they were weird, and they were definitely loud. Whether it was a bald woman with a snake or a Playmate covered in honey, they knew that to be remembered, you had to be impossible to ignore.