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Leroy “Sugarfoot” Bonner, the colorful and flamboyant lead singer for the Ohio Players, passed away Saturday at the age of 69. No other details are currently available, but an official family announcement says he passed away quietly in his hometown of Trotwood-Dayton, Ohio.

The Ohio Players were originally formed in Dayton, Ohio in 1959, and were known as the Ohio Untouchables. After a brief breakup the band regrouped in 1963 adding Leroy “Sugarfoot” Bonner on lead guitar and eventually he went on to front the band.

The band’s first big hit single was “Funky Worm”, reaching #1 on the Billboard R&B chart and made the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the spring of 1973, selling over one million copies.

The band had seven Top 40 hits between 1973 and 1976 including, “Fire,” “Love Rollercoaster” and “Who’d She Coo?”

Recently the master of funk brought the Ohio Players to Thunder Valley Casino Resort. Sugarfoot was helped onstage and appeared frail. However, backstage he was jovial and very friendly to the staff and fans as they lined up to meet the ‘70s icon.

(source-examiner.com)