The 5th Dimension

Lore & Background

The group's origins trace to 1963, when Lamonte McLemore and Marilyn McCoo formed a jazz-oriented vocal group called The Hi-Fi's with three other vocalists. After that group disbanded, McLemore and McCoo teamed with Ron Townson, Billy Davis Jr., and Florence LaRue. Rehearsing as The Versatiles in late 1965, they were signed by Johnny Rivers' Soul City label after Rivers insisted on a new name; Townson and his wife suggested 'The 5th Dimension.' Their first single as The 5th Dimension, 'I'll Be Lovin' You Forever,' failed to chart, but 1967's 'Go Where You Wanna Go' was a minor chart entry (No. 74 on the Hot 100), not a breakthrough hit. The group's first major hit was 'Up, Up and Away' (No. 7).

Major hits followed, including 'Up, Up and Away' (No. 7, 1967), 'Stoned Soul Picnic' (No. 3), 'Wedding Bell Blues' (No. 1), 'One Less Bell to Answer' (No. 2), and the 1969 No. 1 'Medley: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In.' The group performed at the White House twice, which was controversial during that era of social upheaval. They appeared on numerous television shows, including The Ed Sullivan Show, Soul Train, and American Bandstand, and were the featured act of a 1969 CBS broadcast from the Harlem Cultural Festival.

In 1975, McCoo and Davis left the group for solo and duo projects. As of April 2009, the group was actively touring as 'The 5th Dimension featuring Florence LaRue.' In November 2017, they appeared for 18 performances at the Andy Williams Performing Arts Center in Branson, Missouri.

Reader's Guide

The 5th Dimension's significance lies in their role as a crossover act that blended sunshine pop, pop soul, and psychedelic soul, achieving broad commercial success while navigating the social upheaval of the 1960s and 1970s. Their music—a mélange of middle-of-the-road pop, show tunes, folk, jazz, soul, and gospel—raised questions about what it meant to 'sound Black' in music. For a brief period, they fully realized the post-racial crossover success that Motown's Berry Gordy had imagined for his stars. Their two Grammy Record of the Year wins and 20 Top 40 hits underscore their impact, yet their mass appeal also drew both praise and derision. The group's White House performances were controversial, reflecting the tensions of the era. Their legacy includes influencing later pop and soul acts and demonstrating the commercial viability of genre-blending vocal harmony. The departure of McCoo and Davis in 1975 marked a shift, but the group continued touring into the 21st century, with LaRue leading the lineup.

Did You Know?

• The group changed its name from The Versatiles to The 5th Dimension in 1966.
• Two of their singles—'Up, Up and Away' (1967) and 'Medley: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In' (1969)—won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year.
• In 1975, Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. left the group; they later won a Grammy for 'You Don't Have to Be a Star (To Be in My Show).'

From The Versatiles to a New Name

In late 1965, five Los Angeles vocalists began rehearsing under the working title The Versatiles. The core pair, Lamonte McLemore and Marilyn McCoo, had previously performed in a jazz-oriented act called The Hi-Fi's back in 1963, before reuniting with Ron Townson, Billy Davis Jr., and Florence LaRue to form this new ensemble. McLemore, who had briefly worked as a staff photographer at Motown West, used that connection to arrange a demo session with Motown's senior vice president Marc Gordon. Gordon permitted the group to record existing Motown material as an audition tape, which McLemore then personally flew to Detroit to present to Berry Gordy. The Motown chief's verdict was lukewarm—he praised their sound but claimed he heard no hit. Yet Gordon remained convinced of their potential and stepped in as their manager, eventually introducing them to Johnny Rivers, who had just launched his own Soul City Records label. Rivers signed them on the spot but demanded a new identity. Townson and his wife proposed 'The 5th Dimension,' a name that, as Davis later recalled, won unanimous approval immediately. Their debut single, 'I'll Be Lovin' You Forever,' dropped in November 1966 but failed to chart.

A Run of Chart-Toppers and Grammys

Between 1967 and 1973, The 5th Dimension amassed twenty Top 40 singles on the Billboard Hot 100, a remarkable streak for a vocal group navigating multiple genres. Their breakthrough came with 'Go Where You Wanna Go' in 1967, a John Phillips composition that climbed to No. 16. That same year, 'Up, Up and Away' reached No. 7 and went on to collect five Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year. The following two years produced an extraordinary run: 'Stoned Soul Picnic' hit No. 3, while 1969 delivered two No. 1 singles—'Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures),' which held the top spot for six consecutive weeks, and 'Wedding Bell Blues,' which did the same for three full weeks in November. Those four singles kept the group on the Hot 100 for all but four weeks of 1969. By some accounts, 'Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In' was the year's biggest hit single. The group also earned a gold record for their Stoned Soul Picnic album, an award Frank Sinatra personally presented at Caesars Palace. On the Easy Listening chart, five of their nineteen Top 20 entries reached No. 1.

Crossover Success in a Turbulent Decade

The 5th Dimension occupied a unique and often contentious space in American popular music. Blending sunshine pop, pop soul, and psychedelic soul into a polished, accessible package, they became one of the defining crossover acts of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Their approach drew both praise and criticism; some celebrated their ability to bridge racial and stylistic divides, while others derided what they saw as a diluted, mass-market sound. The group's political visibility was equally fraught. During an era of intense social upheaval, they were twice invited to perform at the White House, and simply accepting those invitations sparked controversy among segments of the Black community and the broader counterculture. Their presence at the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival—dubbed 'Black Woodstock' and drawing 300,000 attendees over six shows—underscored their significance to Black audiences, with their individual set reportedly drawing 60,000 people. A CBS broadcast of that performance aired on July 28, 1969.

Television, Film, and the Global Stage

The 5th Dimension's reach extended well beyond the recording studio into the living rooms of millions. They made multiple appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, including a notable February 21, 1971, episode in which Sullivan dedicated the entire broadcast to the group's fifth anniversary. In 1968, they shared the stage with Frank Sinatra on his Francis Albert Sinatra Does His Thing television special, performing 'Stoned Soul Picnic' and 'Sweet Blindness' before joining Sinatra for a final number. Their international profile grew through four separate appearances on the British show Top of the Pops between 1969 and 1972. They also made a guest appearance on Robert Wagner's adventure series It Takes a Thief in 1970. On the film front, their 1973 single 'Living Together, Growing Together' was featured in the movie Lost Horizon, marking their final Top 40 hit. These varied screen appearances cemented the group's image as versatile entertainers who could command any stage, from a Hollywood studio lot to a London television studio.

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