It’s a family reunion of sorts for the mighty O’Jays.
The long-revered group hosts its seventh annual Celebration Weekend and Scholarship Fund on Friday, Aug. 12 through Monday, Aug. 15 in their hometown of Canton, Ohio. Joining them in the festivities will be a host of entertainers and celebrities, including former NBA star Magic Johnson, BET talk show hostess and actress Mo’Nique and singers Patti Labelle, Shirley Murdock, Eric Benet and Johnny Gill.
The weekend’s events will benefit the O’Jays Scholarship Foundation, which has raised over $600,000 for scholarships for Canton/Stark County students, including high school seniors and adults pursuing community college education.
On Friday night, attendees can ride a real, celebrity-laden “Love Train” from central Ohio to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland for the opening night dinner and celebration. Events include an “O’Jays and Friends” concert, a Magic Johnson 3-on-3 basketball tournament, a free Family Reunion event with Donna Richardson Joyner, Howard Hewett and Shirley Murdock and a scholarship banquet featuring Rose Rock, Chris Rock’s mother, as keynote speaker.
The O’Jays are in their fifth decade of recording and performing together as a group, with original members Eddie Levert and Walt Williams remaining from the original quintet.
The group started at Canton McKinley High School in the 1950s under another name, becoming the O’Jays as a tribute to Ohio deejay Eddie O’Jay. They experienced their creative and commercial heyday in the ’70s while signed to Philadelphia International Records with Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. Some of their most recognized hits – “I Love Music,” “Love Train,” “For the Love of Money,” “Backstabbers,” and “Cry Together” – were recorded during that period.
In 2009, the O’Jays were recipients of a Lifetime Achievement Award from BET, and in 2011, the Trumpet Awards recognized them with a Lifetime Achievement Award as well. Click here to watch the tribute with Kelly Price, Angie Stone, Silk and Kandi Burruss.
For more information on the O’Jays Celebrity Weekend or contributing to their foundation, please visit www.ojaysfoundation.org.
