It's true. I lent The Dramatics every formal prom tuxedo I ever rented for their Soul Train appearance. OK. Maybe it's not true.
In the early-70's the R&B world seemed tickled by the sounds of the Caribbean. The promises of good times in the sunshine proved irrestible to AM radio.
The Bahamian pop band Beginning of the End gave us the #15 hit "Funky Nassau" in 1971. Johnny Nash took "I Can See Clearly Now" to #1 in 1972 and introduced a lot of people to the reggae music of Bob Marley with his #12 hit cover of "Stir It Up".
In 1971, after nearly ten years without a hit, the long suffering Detroit vocal group, The Dramatics, combined that sunshine vibe with some fuzztone guitar and a killer horn section for song #38 of 1001.
"Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get" peaked at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #3 on the R&B charts. The band would hit even bigger in 1972 with their dramatic single "In The Rain", which topped the R&B charts for four weeks and hit #5 in the pop charts. Personnel changes and legal quarrels soon followed but for one glorious year The Dramatics ruled the R&B roost.
By the way, I am a contributing blogger to Star Maker Machine. This week's topic: Drums. Thought you'd might like to see what I picked.
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