Capturing an Era, Evoking a Scene, Making Playlists: What Do Dayton and Athens Have in Common but Nothing?
These scans (presumably all from microfilm copies rather than originals, as tends to be the case with digitized newspapers) come from Ancestry's Newspapers database. If the images are too small to allow reading, click on the links to view them at the Newspapers site.
The Dayton Daily News:
The Ohio Players: 
'Dayton Combo Hits Top, Wants to Share Success' by Dale Huffman, June 1st, 1975
The Ohio Players: 
'Local Rock Group Big Enough to Fill Superdome' by Jonathan Miller, October 5th, 1975
The Ohio Players: 
'Ohio Players: After a Litigation Gig in Chicago, a Money-Making Session in New Orleans and Then Back to Good, Old O-HI-O' by John Morthland, October 26th, 1975
The Ohio Players: 
'Ol' Dullsville Just Fine for City's Ohio Players' by Vince Staten, May 12th, 1977
Sun: 
'Music Stardom Always Possible, Even Here' by Vince Staten, February 5th, 1978
Heatwave: 
'Heatwave: The Transcontinental Connection' by Abe Peck, May 14th, 1978
Heatwave: 
'Heatwave's Smoke Lights Up Garage' by Hal Lipper, September 29th, 1978
Sun: 
'A Place in the Sun: Dayton Band Strikes Gold with Its Third Album, Expects Big Things from TV, Las Vegas Concerts' by Hal Lipper, October 29th, 1978
Faze-O: 
'Faze-O Hopes It Has a "Good Thing" in Star-Studded Clothes, Soulful Funk' by Hal Lipper, November 30th, 1978
Slave: 
'Dayton-Based Group, Slave, to Take Its Music on the Road', December 28th, 1979
The Ohio Players, Sun, Platypus, Lakeside, Shadow, Dayton, Slave, Faze-O, Heatwave: 
'9 Local Bands Gain Success by Recording' by Hal Lipper, March 16th, 1980
Heatwave: 
Heatwave: 'Heatwave's Leader Keeping Group Hot' by Don Reynolds, November 16th, 1980; accompanied by a review, 'Heatwave's "Candles" Likely to Take Off, Too', also by Reynolds
Zapp, Heatwave: 
'New Wave, Heavy Metal Brought New Life, Diversity to Rock Scene' by Don Reynolds, January 4th, 1981
Zapp: 
'Project Gives Houses New Life' by Kim Christensen, August 21st, 1981
Zapp: 
'Roger: It's Fans Make the Man' by Don Reynolds, September 26th, 1982
Zapp: 
'Recording Firm Turns to Houses' by Darwin Sator, March 6th, 1983
Zapp: 
'For Troutmans, "Success Comes When You Provide Them with Something Good"' by Carol Cancila, May 1st, 1983
'Dayton: A Hit Band with a Hit Sound Makes Dayton a Hit Town' by Terry Lawson, January 29th, 1984
The Ohio Players: 'By Any Name, They'll Always Be Known as the Ohio Players' by Steve Rabey, April 22nd, 1984 [poorly photographed for microfilm and reproduced as such at the Newspapers database, portions of this article are not legible]
The Ohio Players: 
'Ohio Players Pass School of Hard Knocks' by Don Reynolds, June 17th, 1984
The Journal Herald:
Heatwave: 
'Super Group from Dayton' by Clay Collins, July 2nd, 1977
Heatwave: 
'Heatwave: A Super Album' by Clay Collins, April 1st, 1978
Heatwave: 
'Heatwave's on Its Way: And for Johnnie Wilder It'll Be "Nice to Be Home"' by Terry Lawson, April 15th, 1978
Bootsy's Rubber Band: 
'Bootsy's Sound May Be Silly—But It Sells' by Lee More, June 1st, 1978
Slave: 
'Slave: "Music Doesn't Have Any Color, at Least Not Our Music"' by Terry Lawson, July 29th, 1978
Lakeside: 
'Band Hits the Road with a Hit under Its Belt' by Terry Lawson, February 2nd, 1979
Zapp: 
'Their Music's a Kind of 'Unclassifiable' Body Language' by Terry Lawson, January 17th, 1980
Heatwave: 
'The Beat Goes On: Paralysis Hasn't Silence Johnnie Wilder's Music' by Terry Lawson, November 20th, 1980
The Ohio Players: 
'"Satch" Comes Back with a Funky Sound' by Jim Collins, May 30th, 1981
The Ohio Players: 
'Ohio Players: "All the Way Up and All the Way Down and Trying to Get Up Again"' by Terry Lawson, June 20th, 1981
Zapp: 
'Crack in the Wall: Black Music May Be Overcoming Rock Stations' Color Barrier' by Terry Lawson, January 1st, 1983
The Ohio Players, Shadow: 
'Dayton Music Famous' by Nick Welser, February 24th, 1984
Zapp: 
'Coming Home: Roger Troutman and Brothers Ready to Zapp Dayton' by Nick Welser, December 22nd, 1984