 Co-lead vocalist of The Dramatics speaking on the untimely
death of founder and co- lead vocalist Ron Banks"
Ron Banks, husband, father, son, brother and friend died Thursday March 4,
2010 from a massive heart attack in his home of Detroit Michigan. I won't go
into a bio, suffice to say that Ron not only an original member of The
Dramatics, but also he was the founder of the group. He began singing at a
very young age in family groups, grew up in a musical home, his mother sang
in white supper clubs; his dad was a big band musician. He formed the
Dramatics in 1962, and the rest as they say, "is history"
I was blessed to have become close to Ron, traveling with him and the
Dramatics, taking photos for the Dramatics fan club, myspace, during these
times I had many in-depth conversations with Ron. He worked with local inner
city school districts, hoping to get computer training to inner city youth.
Never one to shy away from fans, Ron would engage in deep conversations with
fans after shows, pose for photos, and sign autographs.
He was the ultimate
performer, giving his all with each performance. I have many fond memories
of Ron, having been a fan for over 40 years; my most favorite memory was
very recent, 2008. We were in Atlanta, leaving the hotel heading to the
venue, when I asked Ron about one of my favorite songs, which of course he
sings leads. "You're Best Thing in My Life" I ask him why it wasn't a part
of the show, he smiled and said, "um, I don't know" I said, "that's my
favorite" he looked at me and right in the middle of the hotel lobby, begin
singing, he sang " You're the Best Thing in My Life" in its entirety, I was
grinning from ear to ear, people stopped in their tracks to listen as he
sang. When he was done, he asked me "How was that?"
I was crying, he
laughed, and we walked out of the hotel. Now I'm sure there are many more
fans who can tell these kind of memorable stories about Ron, I'm also sure
that there are many, many people who never had a chance to hear or see him
perform. Our music legends are leaving us at such a fast rate, Levi
Stubbs(Four Tops) Johnny Carter (The Dells) Robert (Squirrel) Lester
(Chi-Lites) Malia Franklin (Queen of Funk) just to name a few.
With each passing of one of our musical legends, we hear plenty of "Oh My
Gods, how sad, and most of all, I never had a chance to see them" I say to
all who will read this, "GO SEE THEM NOW!" time is "NOT" on our side, drag
your children, grandchildren, any youth and take them to see, hear and
experience true music, true artistry, real show stoppers! Do this before
it's too late, before we have none.
To the family of Ron Banks, The Dramatics, his friends, know that Ron was
loved and his passing is heart wrenching, but we will keep him alive,
whenever we "go outside in the rain" he gave us The Dramatics, which to me
was "The Best thing in My Life"
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