In the rain

Highlights from my 10+ Albums: "In the Rain" by The Dramatics.

I debated whether this was the song or if the theme from Shaft by Isaac Hayes was the song, the song that started an interest/obsession in 1970s soul, particularly the Southern Soul that they used to play on AM radio back in the day. It could be either of them, or it could be another song, like something by Barry White heard on childhood car trips across the Southeastern US ("See Rock City!" "Stuckey's--7 Sticky Miles!"). Or even "Sideshow" ("Let the sideshow begin/step right on in...") by Blue Magic.

But "In the Rain" is pretty, well, dramatic and memorable all on its own. There was an AM station in Jacksonville, North Carolina, aka "Marineland," near where I grew up, that gave this heavy rotation at one point, so it's become one of my favorites over the years, a song that also seems to herald the "Quiet Storm" movement on FM radio a decade later (WHUR, Howard University Radio in Washington, DC, being one of the finer purveyors of the genre in the early 1980s).

Growing up in the South, growing up in the US, we listened to R&B/soul/black music constantly, but we weren't necessarily kind to or respectful of African-American performers. The choreographed dancing, the vibrant-colored suits, the emotional lovey-dovey nature of the songs all seemed "too much," worthy of ridicule, even a little camp, sometimes. And yet I find songs like "In the Rain" engaging, memorable, and poignant on a deep, meaningful level than I do songs by a whole host of rock performers with far more street cred.

I'll also point out that if you listen to early Beatles and early (and even later) Rolling Stones, who are they using for inspiration? Who are they trying to interpret and emulate? African-American performers from the 1950s and 1960s-- Think Chuck Berry, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the Isley Brothers, Little Richard, James Brown, Etta James, Aretha Franklin, and many others. Who were about as rock and roll as you can get.

So respect to The Dramatics and all the other '70s soul groups. They earned it just by being on the scene but continue to earn it with their enduring artistry.