Born in Hamilton, Ohio, about 20 miles (32 km) north of Cincinnati in 1943, Bonner grew up poor, the oldest of 14 children. He ran away from home at 14, and eventually wound up in Dayton, where he connected with the musicians who would form the Ohio Players. The band's lineup changed over the years, but its instrumentation and sound remained basically the same: a solid, driving groove provided by guitar, keyboards, bass and drums, punctuated by staccato blasts from a horn section.
Assisted by Roger Troutman and his Zapp brethren, Sugarfoot went solo in 1985 with Sugar Kiss—the same year Zapp released The New Zapp IV U (featuring "Computer Love"), while Shirley Murdock was on the verge of scoring with the Troutman-produced "As We Lay".
Vocals were a secondary consideration. "We were players," Bonner told The Dayton Daily News in 2003. "We weren't trying to be lead singers." The core members of the band did not originally sing, he explained, but "we got so tired of having singers leave us that we decided we'd just do the singing ourselves. I used to play with my back to the audience in the old days,” he added. "I didn't want to see them because they were distracting. Then the first time I turned around and opened my mouth, we had a hit record with Skin Tight. That's amazing to me."
He died on January 26, 2013, from cancer in his hometown of Trotwood.[1]
^Weingarten, Christopher R. (January 28, 2013). "Ohio Players Frontman Leroy 'Sugarfoot' Bonner Dead at Age 69". Spin. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
External linksedit
New York Times obituary
NPR obituary
January 01, 1970
leroy, sugarfoot, bonner, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, j. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Leroy Sugarfoot Bonner news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2015 Learn how and when to remove this message Leroy Roosevelt Sugarfoot Bonner March 14 1943 January 26 2013 was a musician vocalist and producer Leroy Sugarfoot BonnerBackground informationBirth nameLeroy Roosevelt BonnerBorn 1943 03 14 March 14 1943Hamilton Ohio U S DiedJanuary 26 2013 2013 01 26 aged 69 Trotwood OhioGenresFunkOccupation s Musician producerInstrument s Electric guitar Born in Hamilton Ohio about 20 miles 32 km north of Cincinnati in 1943 Bonner grew up poor the oldest of 14 children He ran away from home at 14 and eventually wound up in Dayton where he connected with the musicians who would form the Ohio Players The band s lineup changed over the years but its instrumentation and sound remained basically the same a solid driving groove provided by guitar keyboards bass and drums punctuated by staccato blasts from a horn section Assisted by Roger Troutman and his Zapp brethren Sugarfoot went solo in 1985 with Sugar Kiss the same year Zapp released The New Zapp IV U featuring Computer Love while Shirley Murdock was on the verge of scoring with the Troutman produced As We Lay Vocals were a secondary consideration We were players Bonner told The Dayton Daily News in 2003 We weren t trying to be lead singers The core members of the band did not originally sing he explained but we got so tired of having singers leave us that we decided we d just do the singing ourselves I used to play with my back to the audience in the old days he added I didn t want to see them because they were distracting Then the first time I turned around and opened my mouth we had a hit record with Skin Tight That s amazing to me He died on January 26 2013 from cancer in his hometown of Trotwood 1 Contents 1 Discography 1 1 Solo albums 2 References 3 External linksDiscography editSolo albums edit Sugar Kiss 1985 References edit Weingarten Christopher R January 28 2013 Ohio Players Frontman Leroy Sugarfoot Bonner Dead at Age 69 Spin Retrieved June 2 2018 External links edit1988 interview with Maria Granditsky New York Times obituary NPR obituary Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Leroy 22Sugarfoot 22 Bonner amp oldid 1211994020, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
