On this day in music history: March 25, 1972 - “In The Rain” by The Dramatics hits #1 on the Billboard R&B singles chart for 4 weeks, also peaking at #5 on the Hot 100 on April 22, 1972. Written and produced by Tony Hester, it is the biggest hit for the Detroit based R&B vocal group fronted by lead singers Ron Banks and William “Wee Gee” Howard. The track is cut at United Sound in Detroit, MI in mid 1971, and features a number of prominent Detroit musicians such as Michael Henderson (bass), and Funk Brothers Dennis Coffey (guitar), Johnny Griffith (piano), and Uriel Jones (drums) playing on the rhythm track. For the songs’ distinctive echoed guitar, Coffey will use a Maestro Echoplex pedal between his guitar and amplifier. The unit which creates the effect by recording the sounds put through it on a magnetic tape loop. A control knob allows the speed of the delay to be manipulated by varying the speed of the loop and distance of the playback head. Released on Memphis based Stax Records’ Volt subsidiary in February of 1972 as the third single from their debut album “Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get”, it will be another smash. Like title track, “In The Rain” will quickly become a pop radio hit on the heels of its R&B chart success. “In The Rain” is certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.
Posted on: Tue, 25 Mar 2014 23:16:03 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015