THE DRAMATICS & YOUR FINAL MOMENTS UP CLOSE WITH RON BANKS, WILLIE FORD, & LENNY MAYS. L.J.R, LIVE.

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The Dramatics
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The Dramatics are an American soul music vocal group, formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1964. They are best known for their 1970s hit songs "In the Rain" and "Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get", both of which were Top 10 Pop hits,[1] as well as their later 1993 collaboration "Doggy Dogg World" with Snoop Dogg, a top 20 hit on the Billboard Rhythmic Top 40.
The Dramatics
OriginDetroit, Michigan, U.S.Genres
R&B
pop
soul
Years active1964–presentLabels
Volt
ABC
Members
L.J. Reynolds
Winzell Kelly
Leon Franklin
Donald Albert
Levell Thompson
Ricky Littleton
Past members
Ron Banks
Larry "Squirrel" Demps
Willie Ford
William "Wee Gee" Howard
Elbert Wilkins
Lenny Mayes
Barrington "Bo" Henderson
Michael Brock
Larry Reed
Roderick Davis
Craig Jones
Steven Boyd
Harley K. Brown
Robert Ellington
James "JB" Mack Brown
Paul Hill
Websitehttps://staxrecords.com/artist/the-dr...
CareerEdit
The Dramatics, founded by Ron Banks (May 10, 1951 – March 4, 2010),[2][3] Larry Demps, Rod Davis, Elbert Wilkins and Larry Reed, originally formed in 1964.[4][5][6] They were originally known as the Sensations, but changed their billing to the Dramatics in 1965.[7] Their first release in 1965 entitled "Bingo" was recorded for Wingate, a division of Golden World Records in Detroit, Michigan. By 1967, Motown had absorbed the entire Golden World Records operation. The Dramatics then moved to another local Detroit label, Sport Records, where they garnered their first minor hit single, "All Because of You".[7] After becoming a victim in the July 1967 Algiers Motel incident, including the police killing of the group's valet Fred Temple, Reed and Davis eventually left the group, and were replaced by William Wee Gee Howard and Willie Ford (July 10, 1950 – May 28, 2019)[8] in 1969.[9]
The Dramatics signed with Stax Records of Memphis, Tennessee in 1968, but moved on after one unsuccessful release, the 1969 Temptations-inspired tune "Your Love Was Strange" (Volt VOA 4029), written by group members Ron Banks, William "Wee Gee" Howard, and Elbert "Al" Wilkins, which got regional airplay, but never charted nationally.[10] This song was re-released as the "B" side to the hit, "Toast to the Fool" (Volt VOA 4082) three years later.[11] However, producer Don Davis re-signed them to Volt, a Stax subsidiary, in 1971 after the group teamed up with Detroit writer-producer, Tony Hester.[7] They broke through with their first release recorded with Hester, "Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get",[7] which Hester offered them after seeing the group perform in a Detroit nightclub. The song went into the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 9 and climbing to number 3 in the R&B chart.[1] "Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get" was awarded gold disc status by the R.I.A.A. in December 1971.[1]
Their members at this time were Ron Banks,[12] William "Wee Gee" Howard, Elbert Wilkins, Willie Ford, and Larry Demps. These five members are often thought of as the original Dramatics, though it is more accurate to call them "the Classic Five", as only Ron Banks, Larry Demps and Elbert Wilkins were part of the original line-up. This quartet are the five singers that the general public first got to know as the Dramatics.
Shortly after the success of their first album, Howard and Wilkins left the group,[7] and formed their own version of the Dramatics, recording the single "No Rebate On Love" on Mainstream Records. They were replaced by Larry James "L.J." Reynolds and Leonard "Lenny" Mayes (who died of lung cancer on November 8, 2004, at the age of 53).[7] At the urging of Don Davis and Stax Records, the original group changed its billing to "Ron Banks and the Dramatics". These two groups toured the concert circuit for four years before Banks' group won a court battle, when they bought Howard and Wilkins out and gained full access to the name.[13] Howard and Wilkins were forced to change the name of their group to "A Dramatic Experience". Banks, Demps and Ford then had the trademark rights to the name, and then extended that right to Mayes and Reynolds.[14]
Through the 1970s, the group continued to have successful songs, including the Top 10 Pop, number 1 R&B hit, "In the Rain" in 1972, "Hey You! Get Off My Mountain" (number 5 R&B), "Me and Mrs Jones" (number 4 R&B), originally recorded by Billy Paul three years earlier, "Be My Girl" (number 3 R&B), and "Shake It Well" (number 4 R&B).[7] "In the Rain" also reached number 5 on the Hot 100 pop chart and was their second million-seller.[1