Music
Ron Banks
1951–2010 · singer, songwriter, producer
Founder and lead voice of the Dramatics, the Detroit soul group behind "Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get" and "In the Rain".
- Born
- Died
aged 58- Also known as
- Ron Banks and the Dramatics
- Detroit years
- 1951–2010
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Banks founded the group that became the Dramatics in Detroit in 1964, as a teenager, with Larry Demps, Rod Davis, Elbert Wilkins and Larry Reed. Their first single, "Bingo" (1965), came out on Wingate, a division of Detroit's Golden World Records, and after Motown absorbed Golden World they moved to the local Sport label. In 1971, produced by Don Davis and teamed with Detroit writer-producer Tony Hester, they broke through on Stax's Volt label with "Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get" and then "In the Rain" (1972), an R&B number one and their second million seller. When two members left and toured as rival Dramatics, the group was billed as Ron Banks and the Dramatics until Banks won the legal fight over the name. He later produced the group himself, recorded solo, and sang with the Dramatics on Snoop Dogg's "Doggy Dogg World" (1993). The group entered the R&B Music Hall of Fame in 2013.
Highlights
- Founded the Dramatics in Detroit (1964)
- "Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get" (1971) and "In the Rain" (1972): Top 10 pop
- Won the right to the Dramatics name
- Featured on Snoop Dogg's "Doggy Dogg World" (1993)
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Recorded here · 1965
Golden World studio (Motown Studio B)
Closed
The Dramatics' first single appeared on Golden World's Wingate label.