Dramatics watcha see is what you get poll

While I appreciate Squirrel's approach to the microphone, no one sounds quite like William Wee Gee Howard, and i love his grinning self awareness

uh that should say but 'baby' i'm for real, not 'maybe'

No brrrAAAAA-ta-HA!-chk-chk-HUH!, no credibility.

i seriously love wee gee's expressions throughout this tape, so brimming w/knowing enthusiasm. A true bro

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Can't knock da Squirrel.

man what a great tune, great vid too

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poor elbert :(

i tend to hear it as maybe too. much better that way, i think.

the basso profundo dude always makes me laugh. same happens with the guy from tok actually

also as GREAT as the opening lines are there's still <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlXr9Vw3PRQ";>"but his heart is made of cellophane... and you see through that"</a> to consider

also i don't think there's been a tune that wouldntve been improved by stopping dead for a salsa stab break.

so anyways listening to the album this song is off, and find myself morbidly obsessed with 'HOT PANTS IN THE SUMMERTIME'. oh man! it sounds like it should be something flighty and fanciful, and i guess it is, but musically it is so slow and opulent and looming with pregnant dark clouds, building and building to... what? i guess it glimpses the moment when dusk falls and silly summer flirting gradually turns to a desire to fuck someone, anyone

i need more tunes like this! think of some! main ingredient's awesome version of 'summer breeze' is all that comes to mind right now, though it shares none of the hotpants lust as such

i tend to hear it as maybe too. much better that way, i think.

-- r|t|c, Tuesday, November 20, 2007 8:10 AM (8 months ago) Bookmark Link

this is a good call

http://www.freep.com/article/20100304/ENT04/100304043/1320/Dramatics-founder-Ron-Banks-dead

Ron Banks, whose silky falsetto helped give the Dramatics one of the most enduring careers in R&B, has died at home in Detroit. He was 58.

Banks died at about noon today, possibly of a massive heart attack, said Billy Wilson, president of the Motown Alumni Association.

The Northern High School graduate was the founder of the Detroit vocal group, which made a name in the mid-'60s and went on to play for avid audiences around the country. Aside from a short break in the mid-1980s, the group has worked continuously since its early days playing Chene Street nightclubs, and has been a staple of the annual '70s Soul Jam revue tours.

Banks' last hometown gig with the Dramatics was a November show at MotorCity Casino's Sound Board venue.

Banks, thought to be in normal health, was at home with his family when he abruptly passed out, said fellow Dramatics singer L.J. Reynolds, who had spoken with Banks by phone just minutes earlier.

"He seemed just like himself -- very upbeat," Reynolds said.

Banks' sweet voice and smooth choreography helped distinguish the Dramatics, particularly on Detroit's post-Motown scene of the 1970s, when the group enjoyed crossover pop success with songs such as "Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get" and "In the Rain."

"They stayed true to what they did," said Cliff Green, 59, a Detroit fan of the group. "They didn’t try to keep up with the times, even after the rappers and techno artists came out and took music a different way. Ron Banks and the Dramatics stayed true to what they did. You could still fall in love while listening to their music. They put you in that groove.”

Tall and strapping, with a vocal delivery inspired by the Temptations' Eddie Kendricks, Banks was well-liked among fellow musicians and industry personnel. He was a partner in Hitsville Ventures with Wilson and Detroit entrepreneur Herb Strather.

"He really was a wonderful person," said Wilson. "You know, people who have been in the business awhile can be cocky and arrogant. But he stayed beautiful, always. Even during the tense moments in the group's career, he just remained cool and calm.

"The Dramatics are one of the few groups that can pull a crowd of 5,000 people doing traditional R&B music. A lot of the older groups have a difficult time doing that by themselves. They have a very, very loyal following, particularly here. We're just devastated by this news."

Banks is survived by his wife, Sandy Banks, four daughters and two sons. He was preceded in death by Dramatics members Elbert Wilkins, William (Wee Gee) Howard and James Mack Brown.

only 58? damn, r.i.p :(

When I was at the University of Maryland radio station I discovered "In the Rain" and sometimes used to play it with a whole set of soul songs involving rain. What a great voice, so sad that a heart attack claimed him. I saw the recent touring versions of the Dramatics.

I really wish there was video for this. The sound is massive!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIRAG2Ac2iA

picked up the reissue a few months back. it has the entirety of the great follow-up "a dramatic experience" appended as bonus tracks.

I'm as Real

with the way he sings the word "real", it absolutely does need to be capitalized.