The Fifth Dimension were best-known during the late 1960s and early 1970s for popularizing the hits "Up, Up and Away" and "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" is an American popular music vocal group, whose repertoire also includes R&B, soul, and jazz.
The five original members were Billy Davis, Jr., Florence LaRue, Marilyn McCoo, Lamonte McLemore, and Ron Townson. They have recorded for several different labels over their long career. Their first work appeared on the Soul City label, which was started by Imperial Records/United Artists Records recording artist Johnny Rivers.
The members began rehearsing in early 1966 and took the name of the Versatiles. They auditioned for Marc Gordon, who headed Motown's Los Angeles office. Although their demo tape was rejected by Motown, he agreed to manage them and brought them to the attention of Johnny Rivers, who had just started his own label, Soul City Records. Their first Soul City single, "I'll Be Lovin' You Forever", was a flop, but a cover of the Mamas and the Papas' "Go Where You Wanna Go" climbed into the top 20 on both R & B and pop stations.
Budding young songwriter Jimmy Webb supplied the group with their breakthrough hit, "Up, Up and Away", a top 10 hit in mid-1967, which won five Grammy Awards. The following year, the group scored major hit singles with Laura Nyro's "Stoned Soul Picnic" and "Sweet Blindness" and received a gold record for their album Stoned Soul Picnic, which also included the Ashford & Simpson written "California Soul". In 1969, they had two number one singles: "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" from the musical Hair and the Nyro composition "Wedding Bell Blues." Later hits included "One Less Bell to Answer" (1970), "Love's Lines, Angles and Rhymes", "Never My Love" (1971) and "(Last Night) I Didn't Get to Sleep at All" (1972).
In 1975, McCoo and Davis, who became husband and wife while with the group, left the group to do both collective and individual projects. The remaining trio carried on with new members, and nearly had a hit in 1976 with the LaRue-sung "Love Hangover"; unfortunately, Motown issued Diana Ross' own version shortly after the Fifth Dimension's hit the charts, and hers soared to the top of the charts. Strangely enough, the group signed with Motown not long after, releasing two albums in 1978. The original quintet reunited in 1990 for a tour. The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2002. Find out more about them at: www.vocalgroup.org/inductees/fifth_dimension.html
Research info gathered at: www.wikipedia.org
Visit my ezine: http://www.concelebratory.blogspot.com/
and personal blog: http://www.copyat5.blogspot.com/
The five original members were Billy Davis, Jr., Florence LaRue, Marilyn McCoo, Lamonte McLemore, and Ron Townson. They have recorded for several different labels over their long career. Their first work appeared on the Soul City label, which was started by Imperial Records/United Artists Records recording artist Johnny Rivers.
The members began rehearsing in early 1966 and took the name of the Versatiles. They auditioned for Marc Gordon, who headed Motown's Los Angeles office. Although their demo tape was rejected by Motown, he agreed to manage them and brought them to the attention of Johnny Rivers, who had just started his own label, Soul City Records. Their first Soul City single, "I'll Be Lovin' You Forever", was a flop, but a cover of the Mamas and the Papas' "Go Where You Wanna Go" climbed into the top 20 on both R & B and pop stations.
Budding young songwriter Jimmy Webb supplied the group with their breakthrough hit, "Up, Up and Away", a top 10 hit in mid-1967, which won five Grammy Awards. The following year, the group scored major hit singles with Laura Nyro's "Stoned Soul Picnic" and "Sweet Blindness" and received a gold record for their album Stoned Soul Picnic, which also included the Ashford & Simpson written "California Soul". In 1969, they had two number one singles: "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" from the musical Hair and the Nyro composition "Wedding Bell Blues." Later hits included "One Less Bell to Answer" (1970), "Love's Lines, Angles and Rhymes", "Never My Love" (1971) and "(Last Night) I Didn't Get to Sleep at All" (1972).
In 1975, McCoo and Davis, who became husband and wife while with the group, left the group to do both collective and individual projects. The remaining trio carried on with new members, and nearly had a hit in 1976 with the LaRue-sung "Love Hangover"; unfortunately, Motown issued Diana Ross' own version shortly after the Fifth Dimension's hit the charts, and hers soared to the top of the charts. Strangely enough, the group signed with Motown not long after, releasing two albums in 1978. The original quintet reunited in 1990 for a tour. The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2002. Find out more about them at: www.vocalgroup.org/inductees/fifth_dimension.html
Research info gathered at: www.wikipedia.org
Visit my ezine: http://www.concelebratory.blogspot.com/
and personal blog: http://www.copyat5.blogspot.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment