By Nathan Paige, cleveland.com
Walter “Junie” Morrison, founder of the Dayton, Ohio funk band Ohio Players, has died at age 62, according to Okayplayer. A cause of death has yet to be released.
The Ohio Players was one of the premier funk bands of the 1970s – known for their unique album covers, as well as their music – with hits such as “Skin Tight,” “Fire,” “Funky Worm,” “Sweet Sticky Thing,” and “Love Rollercoaster,” which enjoyed a resurgence to a new generation of listeners when a remake by the Red Hot Chili Peppers was included on the soundtrack of the 1996 feature film “Beavis and Butthead Do America.”
In the late ’70s, Morrison would become a part of the Parliament/Funkadelic family, and was the driving force behind one of the group’s biggest hits, “Not Just Knee Deep,” as well as “Motor Booty Affair” and “Gloryhallastoopid.” He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997 as part of the Parliament/Funkadelic clan.
In 2014, he released his last solo album, entitled “When the City.”