L. J Reynolds: An Unforgettable Baritone

L. J Reynolds is best known as the lead singer for the Dramatics, a role that has engaged him for the past three decades.
However, he also has an independent repertoire as a solo artiste, covering both R&B and gospel.

Reynolds was born and raised in Saginaw, Michigan. He was drawn to show business while still a child though his forte at that time was dance. As the only male dancer in a troupe with 30 other children, Reynolds would perform all over Michigan, winning several awards for his tap dancing prowess.

Around the same time Reynolds’ powerful voice was also getting noticed. While still in high school he became the lead singer of the Relations and fronted the band for a while.

The early years of Reynolds’ professional career were marked by his solo recordings. He recorded with Tri-Spin as Larry “Chubby” Reynolds and then went on to join Mainstream in 1969. One of the few notable tracks from this period was the Law-ton single
Let One Hurt Do, released in 1971. The track made it to the R&B Top 30 lists.

In 1973, Reynolds joined the Dramatics, replacing William Howard as the group’s lead singer. Thus started the most successful phase of his career. Reynolds remained with the Dramatics until 1980. The group’s signature sound was moulded to a large extent by the combination of Reynolds’ deep baritone voice and Ron Banks’ high falsetto vocals. The group scored several hits in this period including Be My Girl, Shake It Well and Fell for You, the last being one of Reynolds most notable top ten tracks.

In 1980 Reynolds left the Dramatics in search of a solo career. He signed to Capitol Records and had several releases on the label. These were much appreciated by critics but never proved to be very successful commercially. Only Touch Down broke into the R&B Top 30, though the mid-tempo Key to the World also made an impression.

In 1986, Reynolds returned to the Dramatics and since then has remained with the group. He occasionally performs as a solo artiste.

Early in the new millennium Reynolds started focusing on gospel. As he so aptly put it “R&B is my job, but Gospel is my passion.” In 2001 Reynolds released Through the Storm. A few years later in 2008 came The Message. The second was produced by Michael Powell, who had a Grammy award to his credit for his work with Anita Baker. The album focused on redemption through change with Reynolds drawing on his own life experiences. According to him, “I’ve been through a lot in my life, from drug to drinking to women. But you can’t live your life destroying yourself. I want to inspire people to make a change in their lives.”

And Reynolds is doing just that. With his instantly recognizable baritone and flawless renditions, he has kept a whole generation of soul fans mesmerized. Though many of the Dramatics stalwarts have passed away today Reynolds and the others, Ron Banks, Willie Ford, Winzell Kelly and Micahel Brock continue to tour as the Dramatics.