In 1974, the Ohio Players created a song that became an iconic pop culture classic and has been used for decades in movies, TV shows, commercials, and even as the theme song of Gordon Ramsay‘s long-running Fox reality cooking show Hell’s Kitchen for Seasons 1 through 18. Fifty-two years after its release, “Fire” remains one of those instantly recognizable hits that has never lost its sizzle.
Recorded at Paragon Studios Chicago on a whim, the funk band—which originally formed in Dayton, Ohio, in 1967—wasn’t even trying to make the hit. “We were in the studio making tracks and all of a sudden, it leaped out,” lead singer Leroy “Sugarfoot” Bonner admitted to Fred Bronson, author of The Billboard Book Of #1 R&B Hits. After his bandmates came up with the name “Fire,” he rolled with it, writing the lyrics about getting hot for a smokin’ woman. “They come with the names, and I have to write to them. If the music is good, it doesn’t take long to get inspired,” he explained.
At the time, the group reportedly played it for another heavy-hitter musician in the industry, who immediately dubbed it a hit: Stevie Wonder. “He heard it and knew it was a smash,” drummer Jimmy “Diamond” Williams told Bronson. “Just like before we even said any words on the track, we knew it was a smash. There was nothing that was going to stop this hit.”…