Artist · chart history · #301 in indie & aaa artist polls
The O'Jays
Band Canton United States Formed 1958
The O'Jays formed in 1958 in Canton, United States. The O'Jays has 8 chart appearances on 5 radio countdowns from 4 stations on RockLists, spanning 2006–2025. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Love Train”, which appears on 4 lists with a best position of #139. The station that charted The O'Jays most often is 90.9 The Bridge (Kansas City, MO), with 3 appearances.
The O'Jays started out in Canton, Ohio, in the summer of 1958, a five-man vocal group of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey and Bill Isles. They grazed the charts with "Lonely Drifter" in 1963, but it took more than a decade of hustling before Gamble & Huff signed them to Philadelphia International in 1971 and everything clicked.
By then they were a trio, with Isles and Massey gone, and the Philly sound suited them like a tailored suit. "Back Stabbers" in 1972 is paranoid soul at its slickest, sweeping strings and a nervous, prowling groove, and it put them at the front of the Philadelphia soul movement. "Love Train" went all the way to the top of the Billboard Hot 100, a joyous, chugging groove that rolls like its title.
More R&B hits followed, and the honors came later. They entered the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004, then the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame one year later, and finally the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2013.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by The O'Jays on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Love Train | 4 | #139 | – | – | |
| 2 | For the Love of Money | 1 | #587 | – | – | |
| 3 | Back Stabbers | 2 | #634 | – | – |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
Every countdown appearance
| Year | # | Song | Countdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 441 | Love Train | The Colorado Sound Top 800 Mood Booster Songs |
| 2022 | 273 | Love Train | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s |
| 2022 | 587 | For the Love of Money | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s |
| 2022 | 634 | Back Stabbers | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s |
| 2021 | 139 | Love Train | WYEP 2021 Labor Day Countdown |
| 2020 | 795 | Love Train | WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time |
| 2020 | 1963 | Back Stabbers | WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time |
| 2006 | 304 | Artist ranking | WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Artists (2006) |
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