TV One’s longest-running and award-winning series Unsung, now in its 11th season, airs its latest episode featuring The Dramatics at 10 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 30.
After initially being turned down by Motown and surviving the tumultuous environment of the Detroit Riots, the R&B quintet from Detroit known as The Dramatics went on to record some of the most catchy hits of the 1970’s – starting with “Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get,” a Top Ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100. They continued producing chart-toppers though the decade, including “Hey You! Get Off My Mountain” and “In The Rain,” making them one of the most distinct R&B groups of all time.
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A pivotal moment for the group came early in their career during the summer of 1967. After performing a concert at the Fox Theater, they found themselves witness to the Detroit Riots, a violent racial upheaval occurring during the wake of the Civil Rights Movement, and is the subject of the highly anticipated summer film “Detroit.” While being sheltered at the Algiers Motel, Dramatics members Rod Davis and Larry Reed were terrorized and bloodied by police, and the group’s friend and valet Fred Temple was shot to death along with two other teenagers.
“The effect on us was tremendous,” said Larry “Squirrel” Demps. “It brought us closer together, first of all, and we started to take much more seriously what we were doing.”
insights from family and friends are provided by members Willie Ford, Larry “Squirrel” Demps, and L.J. Reynolds; Al Bell, Marcus Chapman, Tony Green, Gerald McBride, David Washington, Cedric The Entertainer, and Snoop Dogg.
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