The second annual Stone Soul Picnic was held at Fort Reno Park in Northwest Washington in August 1990. Is was a beautiful day for an outdoor concert. WOL and WMMJ were the host stations of the event. Listeners came with tents, blankets and grills (no longer allowed at Stone Soul). There was the seniors pavilion; children’s pavilion and the hand dance pavilion. A couple of local acts performed early in the day. By the afternoon, Clarence Carter was strokin’ on stage. Then it was time for The Dramatics, who came out in black and silver outfits. Like all the groups out of Detroit, The Dramatics had moves and harmony. They performed “Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get”, “In The Rain”, “Fall In Love, Lady Love”,”Me And Mrs. Jones” and others. They performed with a full band. The closing act was Glenn Jones, who in his own right was a great performer. However, Glenn Jones performed to track, and by that time he took the stage the audience was packing up and heading home. I had a chance to interview Ron Banks many years ago. He loved what he did and thanked Majic 102.3 for playing his music. The Stone Soul Picnic quickly outgrew Fort Reno Park but the concept never changed. There was always a place for “old school” artists like the Dramatics and a class act like Ron Banks. Today Ron Banks died of a heart attack at Detroit’s Sinai Hospital. He was 59, but his music lives on. Banks is survived by his wife, Sandy Banks, four daughters and two sons. He was preceded in death by Dramatics members Elbert Wilkins, William (Wee Gee) Howard and James Mack Brown.
