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The Dramatics recorded “Ocean Of Thoughts And Dreams” for their 1977 Shake It Well album. The song was co-written by Don Davis and Eddie Robinson and was the second single from the album with “Shake It Well” being the first.The lineup for the Detroit based group at the time included L.J. Reynolds, Lenny Mayes, Ron Banks, Larry Demps and Willie Ford. The ’70’s was a peak time for The Dramatics as they released many songs that entered R&B’s sacred catalog, including “Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get,” “In The Rain,” “Hey You! Get Off My Mountain,” “Me And Mrs. Jones,” “Get Up Get Down,” “Be My Girl” and others racking up more than 30 hits. The group broke-up in 1982 so that L.J.Reynolds and Ron Banks could pursue their solo careers. They recorded their 1982 New Dimension album without Reynolds or Banks. Original member William “Wee Gee” Howard returned and worked with the full group in 1986 and 1989 before leaving again for good. The Dramatics re-introduced to pop culture when they appeared in Snoop Dogg’s “Doggy Dogg World” video in 1993. Their last recording was the 2002 Look Inside album. Members Lenny Mayes, William Howard, Ron Banks, James Mack Brown and Elbert Wilkins have all passed. “Ocean Of Thoughts And Dreams” was famously reincarnated on the Destiny Child’s song, “Girl.” The group is still touring and the Concord Music Group just released a compilation of their songs and called it Greatest Slow Jams.
