Ronnie Dyson

Ronnie Dyson, a vocalist born in Washington, D.C., built a career that spanned stage roles and R&B hits. He starred as the lead in the Broadway run of the musical Hair, while his first charting single came from the off-Broadway production Salvation. The 1970 release “(If You Let Me Make Love to You Then) Why Can’t I Touch You” climbed into the Top Ten on both the R&B and pop surveys, and “I Don’t Wanna Cry” matched that R&B placement the same year. Dyson remained with Columbia through 1978 and added one further hit in 1976, the upbeat “The More You Do It (The More I Like It Done to Me),” a sharp contrast to the vulnerable, anguished material that had earlier marked his style. He later signed with Cotillion in the 1980s, though the move produced little commercial return. Dyson also appeared in the film Putney Swope. His final recording, “See the Clown,” arrived in 1990, the year he died of a heart attack.