Biography by
Steve Huey
The Fifth Dimension's unique sound lay
somewhere between smooth, elegant soul and straightforward,
adult-oriented pop, often with a distinct flower-power vibe.
Although they appealed more to mainstream listeners than to
a hip, hardcore R&B audience, they had a definite ear
for contemporary trends; their selection of material helped
kickstart the notable songwriting careers of Jimmy Webb and
Laura Nyro, and their biggest hit was a medley from the
hippie musical Hair, "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In." The
group's soaring, seamless harmonies were given appropriately
sweeping, orchestrated period production by Bones Howe,
which often placed their records closer to California-style
sunshine pop. That's actually part of the reason why the
best singles from the Fifth Dimension's heyday of the late
'60s and early '70s still evoke their era with uncanny
precision.
The Fifth Dimension began life in Los
Angeles in 1965 as the Versatiles. Lamonte McLemore, Ron
Townson, and Billy Davis, Jr. all grew up in St. Louis, and
moved to Los Angeles independently of one another; each was
trained in a different area -- jazz, opera, and
gospel/R&B, respectively. Marilyn McCoo was the first
female singer to join, and she was soon augmented by
Florence LaRue; both were ex-beauty pageant winners who'd
attended college in the L.A. area. Their demo tape was
rejected by Motown, but after a one-off single for Bronco,
they caught the attention of singer Johnny Rivers, who'd
just set up his own label, Soul City. Rivers signed the
group in 1966 on the condition that they update their name
and image, and thus the Fifth Dimension was born. Their
first Soul City single, "I'll Be Lovin' You Forever," was a
flop, but a cover of the Mamas & the Papas' "Go Where
You Wanna Go" climbed into the Top 20.
Budding
young songwriter Jimmy Webb ("Macarthur Park," "By the Time
I Get to Phoenix," etc.) supplied the Fifth Dimension with
their breakthrough hit, 1967's "Up, Up and Away." An ode to
the pleasures of flying in a beautiful balloon, the song
became the group's first Top Ten hit, peaking at number
seven, and went on to sweep the Grammy Awards, taking home
five total (including Record of the Year and Song of the
Year). Its success pushed the Fifth Dimension's first album,
also titled Up, Up and Away, to gold sales status. The group
stuck with Webb for its second album, The Magic Garden,
which featured only one non-Webb composition; it produced a
couple of minor hits in "Paper Cup" and "Carpet Man," but
nothing on the level of "Up, Up and Away." Their third LP
was thus more diverse, featuring several compositions by
another up-and-coming songwriter, Laura Nyro. The title cut,
Nyro's "Stoned Soul Picnic," went all the way to number
three in the spring of 1968, selling over a million copies
and putting Nyro on the map. The Nyro-penned follow-up
single, "Sweet Blindness," also reached the Top 20.
The
Fifth Dimension's success peaked in 1969 when the group
caught a Broadway production of Hair, and immediately
decided to cut a medley of two songs from the show.
"Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" was a monster hit and grew to
become one of the era's defining pop records; it spent six
weeks at number one, sold a whopping three million copies,
and won the group its second Record of the Year Grammy.
Accompanying LP The Age of Aquarius went gold and nearly hit
number one, and their Nyro-penned follow-up single, "Wedding
Bell Blues," followed its predecessor to number one as well.
The song was something of a mirror of real life; Billy Davis
and Marilyn McCoo were married that year, and Florence LaRue
also married group manager Marc Gordon.
Johnny
Rivers sold Soul City to the Bell label in 1970, and the
first Fifth Dimension LP on Bell was that year's Portrait,
which spawned several minor hits and the Top Five smash "One
Less Bell to Answer," a Burt Bacharach composition. 1970
also brought a controversial performance at the White House;
although the group sang "The Declaration," a socially
conscious critique, the simple act of appearing before
President Nixon further alienated the Fifth Dimension from
the black wing of their fan base, at a time when their
releases had already begun to peak higher on the pop charts
than on the R&B side. Indeed, their Bell recordings
moved farther into soft pop and away from R&B and the
gently trippy vibes of their late-'60s material. Their album
sales began to taper off, and their vocal arrangements now
tended to spotlight soloists rather than unified harmonies.
McCoo emerged as a focal point, singing lead on the 1972 Top
Ten hits "(Last Night) I Didn't Get to Sleep at All" and "If
I Could Reach You." They proved to be the group's last major
successes; another Bacharach tune, 1973's "Living Together,
Growing Together," barely made the Top 40, and the following
year's Soul & Inspiration LP marked the end of their
relationship with producer Bones Howe. 1975's Earthbound was
another full-length collaboration with Jimmy Webb, and much
like The Magic Garden, its thematic unity failed to produce
a significant hit single. It was also the last album by the
original lineup; McCoo and Davis left the group to form a
duo, and scored a big hit in 1976 with "You Don't Have to Be
a Star."
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 proved far more popular. Strangely enough,
the Fifth Dimension signed with Motown not long after,
releasing two albums in 1978. Townson briefly left the group
to try a solo career, but soon returned, as the group
resigned itself to the nostalgia circuit; meanwhile, McCoo
served a stint as the host of Solid Gold. Phyllis Battle
joined in the mid-'80s, and the original quintet reunited in
1990 for a tour. In 1995, the quintet of LaRue, Townson,
McLemore, Battle, and Greg Walker recorded a new album, In
the House, for Click Records. In 1998, Willie Williams
replaced Townson, who passed away in 2001 due to kidney
failure. Battle departed in 2002, to be replaced by Van
Jewel.Content provided All Music Guide. Copyright 2008
All Media Guide, LLC.
