Beck, Ward will stroll on Walk of Fame
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After a month-long delay, a couple of Players will join Youngstown's Walk of Fame this weekend.
Musicians Billy Beck and Rick Ward are this year's selections, joining Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell of Kool & the Gang and former boxing champions Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini, Kelly "The Ghost" Pavlik, Harry Arroyo, Jeff Lampkin and Greg Richardson on the Walk of Fame in Wean Park.
The ceremony recognizing their talents originally was scheduled July 5 as part of the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra's Ignite the Night concert. Due to inclement weather, that concert was rescheduled for this Saturday at the Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre, but the Walk of Fame ceremony will take place at 7 p.m. Friday on a stage at West Federal Street as part of First Fridays Youngstown.
Beck, who now lives in Warren, is best known as a member of the Ohio Players.
He joined the Dayton-based band in 1974, just before the group had its first hit with "Funky Worm." He co-wrote and performed on the soul / funk hits "Love Rollercoaster," "Fire," "Skin Tight," "Jive Turkey" and many others.
He carries on the band's legacy today, playing to a sold out crowd in Cleveland last weekend for the Tri-C Jazz Fest.
Ward played guitar in Beck's Ohio Players for more than a decade and has played in many other bands over the years.
When he was notified about the Walk of Fame recognition, Beck said, "At first I was shocked, and then I kind of said to myself, 'Well, it’s about time' ... It kind of felt like I have been overlooked a little bit, but I'm not a person that gets stuck on attitudes or anything like that. I love music."
Ward described his reaction as surprised and happy.
"A lot of great people came from this city that did a lot of good out in the world," Ward said.
Beck could have followed a very different musical path than soul and funk. He played music at the church where his father was a deacon. He accompanied a friend who was singing at a different church and was heard by George Bretz, who taught at Dana School of Music.
"He took me under his wing, never charged my mom a cent," Beck said. "He saw how fast I was getting through the lessons, so he started teaching me theory and composition, and by the time I was in the 11th grade, I was on the level of a junior in college as far as music theory was concerned, and that was a real big up. Oh my God, it put me light years ahead of everyone that I knew."
Gospel remains an important part of his musical life, but Beck might have pursued a career in classical music had it not been for another moment in his childhood had a profound impact -- seeing the "Godfather of Soul" James Brown at Stambaugh Auditorium.
"It just totally changed my whole course," Beck said.
Ward's father played guitar, and he started playing around on one of his dad's instruments when he was 7 or 8 years old. By the time he was 13, he was playing in local bands at clubs and parties in Youngstown.
Beck and Ward met as kids through their parents.
"My father was a minister here in Youngstown, and Billy’s father was a deacon at another church," Ward said. "They were real close friends. My father was a Baptist preacher. They really didn’t play guitars and stuff, but I sure sang in the choirs. I met Billy through church, and then eventually, when we got old enough to play out in public, I played with him until he left and went with the Players."
When Ohio Players' guitarist and frontman Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner died in 2013, and Beck decided he wanted to continue the band's legacy, he knew just who he wanted on guitar.
"He was always in one band and I was always in another, but we had that mutual respect for each other’s positions," Beck said. "When that spot became open, I said, 'I know a guy,' and being an original member, I had the power to hire him."
In addition to playing Ohio Players' gigs featuring those '70s hits, the duo formed the Beck Ward Project to do new music and showcase the work they'd done with others. The Beck Ward Project originally was booked to open for the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra for its Ignite the Night concert. Due to a scheduling conflict for Beck, the Rick Ward Project will perform at 7 p.m. Saturday before the orchestra.