As a kid of of 7 or 8 I can remember just about everybody singing "Let The SunSunshine In" when it came on the radio, and I do mean everybody - kids, hippies, regular people. It was a feel good song for everyone. So much great, inspiring music back then....
When music was music. No stupid auto tune, no naked dancers or gimmicks. Pure talent. Either you could perform or you couldn't. Something sadly missing in today's music.
A very out of this world reaction 🛸♒! Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In was released as the lead single from The 5th Dimension's 1969 album: The Age Of Aquarius. It was written by Galt MacDermot (composer), James Rado and Gerome Ragni. It was produced by Bones Howe. The song reached #1 on the Hot 100, #1 on the Cash Box 100, #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart and #6 on the R&B chart. The song won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1970. In 2023, we are currently in the age of Pisces but also on the border of Aquarius. Many people disagree on when the age of Aquarius begins and ends. No, they are not related. Billy Davis Jr and Marilyn McCoo did get married in 1975. Yes, they are takin' you to chuuurrrch ⛪! The group formed in Los Angeles, California but they are from: Marilyn McCoo (Jersey City, New Jersey), Florence LaRue (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), Billy Davis Jr (St Louis, Missouri), LaMonte McLemore ( St Louis, Missouri) and Ron "Sweets" Townson ( St Louis). Many who heard this song assumed The 5th Dimension were a white group, and they took some heat for that in the Black community. That's why it was so uplifting when they performed "Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In" at the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival to a predominantly Black crowd of about 50,000. This performance can be seen in the 2021 documentary: Summer Of Soul, with commentary from Billy Davis Jr and Marilyn McCoo. "That's one of the reasons why performing in Harlem was so important to us", said Marilyn McCoo. "We wanted our people to know what we were about, and we were hoping they would receive us. We were so happy to be there". The song was originally written for the stage play Rock Opera "Hair", where it became an anthem for young people who grew their hair out and protested the US government. A lost wallet led to the 5th Dimension recording the song: "Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In". After lead singer Billy Davis Jr left his wallet in a New York City cab, a member of Hair's production team found it. He invited the singers to the Broadway show, inspiring them to record the song: "Aquarius", producer Bones Howe then merged the tune with the repeated words "let the sunshine in" from another Hair song: "The Flesh Failures". In the book: "By The Time We Got To Woodstock: The Great Rock 'n' Roll Revolution Of 1969", Bruce Pollock writes: Among the many people calling the publisher in 1968 for a lock of Hair's mystique was the L.A. producer Bones Howe, who'd been working with The 5th Dimension since engineering "Up-Up And Away" for their first album in 1967. He'd produced hits for The Turtles ("It Ain't Me Babe") and The Association ("Windy"); he'd been a personal guest of Lou Adler at the Monterey Pop Festival where he was perhaps the only West Coast guy in attendance to appreciate Laura Nyro's gruesome performance. Later he delivered Laura's "Stoned Soul Picnic" to The 5th Dimension, for which it was their biggest R&B hit. He was shuttling back and forth between his home in L.A. and the studio in New York working on the vocals for the Stoned Soul Picnic album when the group told him they wanted to do "Aquarius". "The thing that bothered me about it was that there'd been other releases of 'Aquarius'," said Bones, "and none had done anything, so I was concerned about what we would do that would be any different. I went to see the show and there's a place where they do "The Flesh Failures" and at the end of the song is just a three bar repeated thing of 'Let the sunshine in' where Ragni was swinging across the stage on a chandelier and there was all kinds of craziness going on. That really stayed with me and I came out of the theater saying, I wonder if I could stick that on the end of 'Aquarius' and make that the ending. So I went back to the hotel and I called the publisher. I mean you don't mess with the music from a Broadway show. I started my professional career in 1956 and I knew a lot about what you can and what you can't do with songs. I said, look the 5th Dimension would like to record 'Aquarius,' but I'd like to make it a medley and I'd like to use the last three bars of 'The Flesh Failures' and I don't want to do it without permission. So he said okay, you can go ahead and do it". The next problem was to go ahead and do it. "The record was plotted in the fall of '68 and more or less finished in January of '69," Bones said. "I had to do a lot of work with my vocal arranger, Bob Alsivar. Because they couldn't sing both songs in the same key, we had to do a modulation; we figured out how I was going to do the instrumental arrangement so we could change keys. The record itself is the result of a conglomeration of things. I began as a Jazz musician and I know the standard repertoire pretty well. I kept thinking about a song called 'Lost in the Stars' and trying to find something to give you that kind of impression. I described it to Bill Holman and he wrote that beautiful woodwinds and strings part that's in the intro. We did the track in L.A. and the vocals in Las Vegas where The 5th Dimension were opening for Frank Sinatra. We were working in that studio in Las Vegas where you used to have to stop when the train went by. Once when we were doing practice runs while the train passed Billy started that riff at the end 'oh let the sunshine…' so I said, wait, let me put that on a separate track at the end. There were a lot of happy accidents making the record". That The Age Of Aquarius (harmony, understanding, sympathy, trust, mystic crystals, revelations) announced to mainstream America by the song had already irrevocably given way to Richard Nixon's vision of law and order troubled Bones Howe not in the least. "I was in my thirties then; I was never part of that culture", he said. "But I made records they liked. I spent my life in the studio. Sometimes I went to the Trip and the Crescendo and all of those places on Sunset Strip because I worked with so many of those people. I was the engineer on 'Eve Of Destruction' when The Mamas And Papas came to sing backup vocals. I was there the first night they were there and did their first three albums". The song has been featured in many television shows-movies including 📺: The Muppet Show (1978), Murphy Brown (1993), Sesame Street (1998), Warehouse 13 (2010), American Horror Story (2013), My Music: 50s & 60s Party Songs (2014), We Bare Bears: The Movie (2020), My Little Pony: Pony Life (2020), Search Party (2022) and more. The song has been featured in many films-documentaries including 📽: Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood (2022), Summer of Soul ...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised (2021), Alpha And Omega (2010), The Wrecking Crew! (2008), The Junction (2003), Recess: School's Out (2001), The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005), Forrest Gump (1994), 1969 (1988) and more. The 5th Dimension Info 📰: The 5th Dimension was a highly popular ensemble vocal group during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Their music encompasses Sunshine Pop, Pop Soul and Psychedelic Soul. It originally consisted of Billy Davis Jr, Marilyn McCoo, Lamonte McLemore and Ron "Sweets" Townson, who were quickly joined by Florence LaRue. They at first called themselves The Versatiles, and owed their rise to Motown Records and Johnny Rivers, who had just started his own record company. The song: "Aquarius/Let The Sunshine", turned out to be their biggest hit, staying at #1 for six weeks. Between 1967 and 1973 the group charted with 20 top 40 hits on Billboard's Hot 100, two of which: "Up, Up And Away" (no. 7, 1967) and the 1969 number one "Medley: Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)", won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year. Other big hit song by the group include: "Stoned Soul Picnic" (no. 3), "Wedding Bell Blues" (no. 1), "One Less Bell To Answer" (no. 2), a cover of "Never My Love" (Pop no. 12/Easy Listening no. 1), "(Last Night) I Didn't Get To Sleep At All" (no. 8) and "If I Could Reach You" (Pop no. 10/Easy Listening no. 1). Three of their records reached the top ten of Billboard's Rhythm & Blues/Soul chart. Five of their 19 top 20 hits on the Easy Listening chart reached number one. Some of the songwriters who worked with The 5th Dimension went on to careers of their own, especially Ashford & Simpson, who wrote the song: "California Soul". The group is also notable for having more success with the songs of Laura Nyro than Laura Nyro did herself, particularly with her songs: "Stoned Soul Picnic", "Sweet Blindness", "Wedding Bell Blues", "Blowin' Away" and "Save The Country". The group also recorded songs by well-known songwriters including Burt Bacharach and Hal David: "One Less Bell To Answer", and Jimmy Webb who wrote the song: "Up, Up And Away". The group's 1967 album: The Magic Garden, features all but one song composed by Jimmy Webb. In the early 1960s, Lamonte McLemore and Marilyn McCoo got together with three friends from Los Angeles: Harry Elston, Lawrence Summers and Fritz Baskett in order to form a group called "The Hi-Fis" (which later became "The Vocals"). In 1963, they sang at local clubs while taking lessons from a vocal coach. In 1964, they came to the attention of Ray Charles, who took them on tour with him the following year. He produced a single by the group: "Lonesome Mood", a Jazz-type song that gained local attention. However, internal disagreements caused Harry Elston to go his own way, eventually leading to his forming the singing group: The Friends Of Distinction, with latter day Hi-Fis member Floyd Butler. *****CONTINUE BELOW*****
Lamonte McLemore sought to form another group and started looking for members to join him and Marilyn McCoo. Marilyn McCoo, who had studied with the respected vocal coach Eddie Beal, had appeared in high school and college musical productions and was known for her ability to do torch songs. Lamonte McLemore found Florence LaRue, who had received training in singing, dancing, and violin; and who won the talent portion at the Miss Bronze California contest, which Lamonte McLemore was assigned to photograph. Marilyn McCoo had won the contest the prior year. About the same time Florence LaRue was approached to join the group, Lamonte McLemore recruited an old friend from St Louis, Missouri, Ron "Sweets" Townson, who had sung in his church choir previously. His grandmother had arranged for him to get voice and acting lessons as he grew up. In his teens, Ron "Sweets" Townson toured with Dorothy Dandridge and Nat King Cole, joined the Wings Over Jordan Choir, and played a small part in the 1959 film: Porgy And Bess. He demonstrated his skill as a classical artist by placing third in the Metropolitan Opera auditions held in St Louis. After finishing high school, he worked his way through Lincoln University by conducting the school and church choir. After graduating, he organized his own 25-member Gospel choir. Another of Lamonte McLemore's friends from St Louis was Billy Davis Jr, who also had sung in his church choir. Billy Davis Jr later saved enough money to buy a cocktail lounge in St Louis, which he used to experiment with musical groups. When asked to join Lamonte McLemore's new group, he agreed, while hoping for a solo contract from Motown Records as well. Soul City Records signed the group and in November 1966 released their first single as the 5th Dimension: "I'll Be Lovin' You Forever". However, the song failed to chart. In 1967 The 5th Dimension recorded the song: "Go Where You Wanna Go", which became a breakthrough hit for them. The song was a John Phillips tune and reached No. 16 on the US Hot 100 chart. The group followed this with the single: "Up, Up And Away", which reached No. 7 later that same year and went on to win five Grammy Awards. The following year, the group scored major hit singles with Laura Nyro's songs: "Stoned Soul Picnic" (US No. 3) and "Sweet Blindness" (US No. 13). The group received a Gold record for their 1968 album: Stoned Soul Picnic. That album included the single: "California Soul", which peaked at No. 25 in February 1969. Weeks later the group's success broke wide open, with the single: "Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In", from the musical stage play Rock Opera : Hair, topping the Hot 100 for six straight weeks in April and May and another Laura Nyro song: "Wedding Bell Blues", doing the same for the first three full weeks in November. Their cover of Neil Sedaka's song: "Workin' On A Groovy Thing", went to No. 20 in between. Those four singles kept the group on the Hot 100 for all but four weeks in 1969. By some reckonings the song: "Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In", was the biggest music industry hit single for 1969. Later top 20 hit songs from the group included: 1970's "One Less Bell To Answer" (U.S. No. 2), 1971's "Love's Lines, Angles And Rhymes" (U.S. No. 19), "Never My Love" (U.S. No. 12), 1972's "(Last Night) I Didn't Get To Sleep At All" (U.S. No. 8) and "If I Could Reach You" (U.S. No. 10). The group had seven other top 40 hits, the last being 1973's single: "Living Together, Growing Together" (U.S. No. 32) from the 1973 film: Lost Horizon. The 5th Dimension continued to record and perform together until 1975, when Billy Davis Jr and Marilyn McCoo got married and left the group. In 1975, Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr began performing as a duo. Landing a record contract with ABC Records, they recorded their 1976 debut album: I Hope We Get To Love In Time. As a duo, they were not as successful as The 5th Dimension, however, their first album did score two major hits, and three overall singles: "I Hope We Get To Love In Time" (#91, March 1978), "You Don't Have To Be A Star (To Be In My Show)" (#1, September 1976), and "Your Love" (#15, March 1977). Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for "You Don't Have To Be A Star (To Be In My Show)". They became the first African American married couple to host a network television series: The Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr Show, on CBS in summer 1977. The duo released their next album on ABC Records in 1977, titled: The Two Of Us. The album spawned the single: "Look What You've Done To My Heart" (#51, August 1977). The pair signed with CBS Records and released their next album: 1978's Marilyn + Billy, although it did not score any Hot 100 hits. This would be the duo's last album until thirty years later; in October 2008 the pair released the album: The Many Faces of Love, a collection of hit songs from the 1960s and 1970s. The original group members reunited in 1990 and 1991 capitalizing on the growing nostalgia for the music of their 1960s-1970s era. Later, Ron "Sweets" Townson left the group to try a solo career but soon returned to the group, as the group resigned itself to staying on the nostalgia tour-concert circuit. In 1995, the quintet of Florence LaRue, Ron "Sweets" Townson, Lamonte McLemore, Phyllis Battle and Greg Walker recorded a new album: In The House, for Click Records. The original group members once again joined forces again for selected private engagements in the late 1990s billed as "The Original 5th Dimension" under the management and direction of Jason Winters. During that time the re-grouped 5th Dimension continued to tour as well as Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr with a show they called "It Takes Two". Marilyn McCoo's 1991 album: The Me Nobody Knows, was nominated for a Grammy. She also released a Christmas album in 1994. After Ron "Sweets" Townson passed away in 2001 and Lamont McLemore retired from the music business, Florence Larue stepped up to continue the legacy of the group as the only original member. As of April 2009, the group was actively touring as "The 5th Dimension Featuring Florence LaRue", led by Florence LaRue, with Willie Williams, Leonard Tucker, Patrice Morris and Floyd Smith. Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr, who have been married for over 50 years, continue to tour as their own act titled "Marilyn McCoo And Billy Davis Jr". The 5th Dimension Featuring Florence LaRue still perform their music live on stage in 2023. Miscellaneous Info 🗃: Lamonte McLemore was the first African American athlete to try out for the St Louis Cardinals. After he moved to Los Angeles, he was a minor league strong-arm pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers for a short time. The group has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, inducted August 9, 1991. The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2002. In 2004, Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr released their autobiography titled: Up, Up And Away. The group has a star on the St Louis Walk of Fame, inducted on March 18, 2010. On February 14, 2015, Lamonte McLemore released an autobiographical memoir: "From Hobo Flats To Thee 5th Dimension: A Life Fulfilled in Baseball, Photography and Music". In 2021, Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr released the album: Blackbird Lennon-McCartney Icons, their first studio album in over 30 years. Marilyn McCoo has appeared in some films including 📽: My Mom's A Werewolf (1989), Grizzly Adams And The Legend Of Dark Mountain (1999) and Summer Of Soul (2021). She has also appeared in some television shows including 📺: It Takes A Thief (1 episode, 1970), The Love Boat (1 episode, 1978), The Fantastic World Of DC Collins (1984), New Love, American Style (1 episode, 1986), The Fall Guy (1 episode, 1986), Days Of Our Lives (1986-1987, 2019-2020), Punky Brewster (1 episode, 1988), Night Court (1 episode, 1990), The Kingdom Chums Original Top Ten (voice, 1990), The New Adventures Of Captain Planet (voice, 2 episodes, 1993), Women Of The House (1 episode, 1995) and The Jamie Foxx Show (2 episodes, 1999-2001). The 5th Dimension still perform live on stage in 2023. ****CONTINUE BELOW****
The 5th Dimension Group Members 👩🏽🎤👩🏾🎤👨🏾🎤👨🏾🎤👨🏼🎤: Marilyn McCoo (born September 30, 1943, Jersey City, New Jersey) Florence LaRue (born February 4, 1942 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) Billy Davis Jr (born June 26, 1938, St Louis, Missouri) LaMonte McLemore (born September 17, 1939, St Louis, Missouri) Ron "Sweets" Townson (born January 20, 1933, St Louis, Missouri, passed away August 2, 2001, of kidney failure, Las Vegas, Nevada) Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr left the group in November 1975. Since then, other members have included: Eloise Laws (McCoo replacement) 1975 Danny Beard (Davis replacement) 1975-1978 Marjorie Barnes (McCoo replacement) 1976-1977 Terri Bryant (McCoo replacement) 1978-1979 Mic Bell (Townson replacement) 1978-1979 Lou Courtney (Davis replacement) 1978-1979 Pat Bass (McCoo replacement) 1979 Tanya Boyd (McCoo replacement) 1979 Joyce Wright Pierce (McCoo replacement) 1979-1986 and 1987 Michael Procter (Davis replacement) 1979-1988 Ron "Sweets" Townson 1979-1997 Estrelita (McCoo replacement) 1986 Phyllis Battle (McCoo replacement) 1988-2001 Eugene Barry-Hill (Davis replacement) 1989-1992 Greg Walker (Davis replacement) 1993-2006 Cydney Davis (Larue replacement) Summer of 1996 Willie Williams (Townson replacement) 1998-2018 Van Jewell (McCoo replacement) 2002, 2005 Julie Delgado (McCoo replacement) 2002-2005 Jamila Ajibade (McCoo replacement) 2005-2006 and 2007-2008 Leonard Tucker (Davis replacement) 2006-present Valerie Davis (McCoo replacement) 2006-2007 Jennifer Leigh Warren (McCoo replacement) 2007 Gwyn Foxx (McCoo replacement) December 2007 Michael Mishaw (McLemore replacement) 2006-2008 Patrice Morris (McCoo replacement) 2008-present Floyd Smith (McLemore replacement) 2009-present Sidney Jacobs (Williams replacement) 2018-present The 5th Dimension Albums 📀: Up - Up And Away (1967) The Magic Garden (1968) Stoned Soul Picnic (1968) The Age Of Aquarius (1969) Portrait (1970) Love's Lines, Angles And Rhymes (1971) Individually & Collectively (1972) Living Together, Growing Together (1973) Soul & Inspiration (1974) Earthbound (1975) Star Dancing (1978) High On Sunshine (1979) In The House (1995) Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr Albums 📀: I Hope We Get To Love In Time (1976) The Two Of Us (1977) Marilyn & Billy (1978) The Many Faces Of Love (2008) Blackbird Lennon-McCartney Icons (2021) Marilyn McCoo Albums 📀: Solid Gold (1983) The Me Nobody Knows (1991) White Christmas (1994) Some more good songs by The 5th Dimension 🎶: Up Up And Away, Which Way To Nowhere, California My Way, Misty Roses, Another Day Another Heartache, Go Where You Wanna Go, Never Gonna Be The Same, Pattern People, Rosecrans Blvd., The Magic Garden, Summer's Daughter, Lovin' Stew, Dreams/Pax/Nepenthe, Sweet Blindness, It'll Never Be The Same Again, Good News, The Sailboat Song, It's A Great Life, Broken Wing Bird, Stoned Soul Picnic, California Soul, Bobbie's Blues (Who Do You Think Of?), The Eleventh Song (What A Groovy Day!), Carpet Man, Ticket To Ride, Poor Side Of Town, Orange Air, Requiem: 820 Latham, The Worst That Could Happen, Love's Lines, Angles And Rhymes, The Girls' Song, Guess Who, Time And Love, Viva Tirado, Light Sings, The Rainmaker, He's A Runner, The Singer, Every Night, Paper Cup, Learn How To Fly, Blowing Away, Puppet Man, One Less Bell To Answer, Feelin' Alright?, This Is Your Life, A Love Like Ours, Save The Country, Skinny Man, Wedding Bell Blues, Don'tcha Hear Me Callin' To Ya, The Hideaway, Workin' On A Groovy Thing, Let It Be Me, Dimension 5ive, Sunshine Of Your Love, The Winds Of Heaven, Those Were The Days, Band Of Gold, What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)?, Half Moon, Leave A Little Room, Black Patch, (Last Night) I Didn't Get To Sleep At All, Border Song, All Kinds Of People, Sky & Sea (From The Musical "Joy"), Tomorrow Belongs To The Children, Woyaya, Turn Around To Me, If I Could Reach You, Open Your Window, Ashes To Ashes, Changed, The Riverwitch, Harlem, Day By Day, Living Together, Growing Together, There's Nothin' Like Music, What Do I Need To Be Me, There Never Was A Day, Let Me Be Lonely, Soul & Inspiration, The Best Of My Love, My Song, Hard Core Poetry, No Love In The Room, House For Sale, I Don't Know How To Look For Love, Somebody Warm Like Me, Salty Tears, Earthbound / Prologue Be Here Now, Earthbound Epilogue, Don't Stop For Nothing, I've Got A Feeling, Magic In My Life, Speaking With My Heart, Walk Your Feet In The Sunshine, When Did I Lose Your Love, Lean On Me Always, Moonlight Mile, A Good Love, Hold Me, You Are The Reason I Feel Like Dancing, Going Through The Motions, You Are The Most Important Person In Your Life, Star Dancing, You're My Lifetime Opera, We Could Fly, Shining Star, High On Sunshine, Get Ready, Say (U Love Me), All You Do Is Dial, You Make Me Feel Brand New, All In Love Is Fair, You're Good Enough For Me, Slipping Into Something New, Respect Yourself, How Deep Is Your Love, Turn My Love Away, Everybody's Got To Give It Up, Magic Man, I'll Be Lovin' You Forever, On The Beach (In The Summertime), Train Keep On Movin', Sway, Children Of Tomorrow, Skyway, I Just Wanna Be Your Friend, Surrender, Fantasy, Diggin' For A Livin', Too Poor To Die, Can't Get You Out Of My Mind, Star Dancing, Love Hangover, This Is Your Life, Bye Bye Baby, Shake Your Tambourine, Flashback and You're My Star. Fun Fact 🕵🏾♀: Marilyn McCoo was the host of the popular 1980s syndicated music television show: Solid Gold (1981-1984, 1986-1988).
Honey I remember when that song came out. It was blowing up on the radio. Everybody fell in love with it. I love the surprised look on your face when you heard it. And that smile that came across it. My generation has some of the best music that was ever made that's why the bands are still around 40 and 50 years later.❤❤❤ I love your reaction
It starts you off in the heavens hearing the harmonies of an angelic choir. Then the baseline kicks in and you think you're coming back down to Earth but when you get there, you realize you've landed smack dab in the middle of church... I'm so happy that Billy Davis Jr and Marilyn McCoo are still performing!!!
Their harmonies are truly breath-taking, but they are not related; however, the lady with the lighter hair and the bangs (Marilyn McCoo) and the gentleman taking the solo on "Let the Sunshine In" (Billy Davis, Jr.) have been married since 1969.
This is a medley of two songs from the 1967 Broadway production called “Hair.” The song “…Sunsine…”was the finale, and audience members could join the cast onstage to sing and dance. The Fifth Dimension also recorded a lot of beautiful songs written by the incredibly talented Laura Nyro.
These two songs combined in this arrangement for the Fifth Dimension was phenomenal in 1969...the recording was once considered anthem to the end of the 1960's. Their first big hit was by songwriter Jimmy Webb in 1967 called "Up Up and Away" a very upbeat about the hot air balloons...it won a Grammy for song of the year for Webb and the group. Jimmy Webb wrote a lot of different kinds of hits for Glen Campbell and others. Didn't matter what background you were from as a 1960's kid in general, we all loved this group and many others from all backgrounds. Music was played mostly on AM stations, not FM, and not like all this separatism today with 80 zillion stations controlled by one or two corporations. You had to compete for a hit on a somewhat more level playing field. Even my mom liked the Fifth Dimension. Their talent was universal yet modern at the time, and they were were well liked by almost everyone.
Some reactions to consider 🤔: Roberta Flack- Killing Me Softly With His Song (Official Video), The Animals- Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood Live (The Ed Sullivan Show YT channel) or The Archies- Sugar Sugar Live (Classic Hits Studio YT channel).
They took everybody to Church.
Nobody got left behind.
The 5th Dimension was nothing but class. They were brimming over with talent and style. I can't think of a better musical group.
That's a part of my childhood right there.
As a kid of of 7 or 8 I can remember just about everybody singing "Let The SunSunshine In" when it came on the radio, and I do mean everybody - kids, hippies, regular people. It was a feel good song for everyone. So much great, inspiring music back then....
When music was music. No stupid auto tune, no naked dancers or gimmicks. Pure talent. Either you could perform or you couldn't. Something sadly missing in today's music.
What's wrong with the naked dancers ? 🤗🍺🍻✌️🤍
Mentioning naked dancers is funny because this song was made for the musical "Hair" and featured naked people in it. It's a hippie song 😂
A very out of this world reaction 🛸♒! Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In was released as the lead single from The 5th Dimension's 1969 album: The Age Of Aquarius. It was written by Galt MacDermot (composer), James Rado and Gerome Ragni. It was produced by Bones Howe. The song reached #1 on the Hot 100, #1 on the Cash Box 100, #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart and #6 on the R&B chart. The song won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1970. In 2023, we are currently in the age of Pisces but also on the border of Aquarius. Many people disagree on when the age of Aquarius begins and ends. No, they are not related. Billy Davis Jr and Marilyn McCoo did get married in 1975. Yes, they are takin' you to chuuurrrch ⛪!
The group formed in Los Angeles, California but they are from: Marilyn McCoo (Jersey City, New Jersey), Florence LaRue (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), Billy Davis Jr (St Louis, Missouri), LaMonte McLemore ( St Louis, Missouri) and Ron "Sweets" Townson ( St Louis).
Many who heard this song assumed The 5th Dimension were a white group, and they took some heat for that in the Black community. That's why it was so uplifting when they performed "Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In" at the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival to a predominantly Black crowd of about 50,000. This performance can be seen in the 2021 documentary: Summer Of Soul, with commentary from Billy Davis Jr and Marilyn McCoo. "That's one of the reasons why performing in Harlem was so important to us", said Marilyn McCoo. "We wanted our people to know what we were about, and we were hoping they would receive us. We were so happy to be there".
The song was originally written for the stage play Rock Opera "Hair", where it became an anthem for young people who grew their hair out and protested the US government. A lost wallet led to the 5th Dimension recording the song: "Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In". After lead singer Billy Davis Jr left his wallet in a New York City cab, a member of Hair's production team found it. He invited the singers to the Broadway show, inspiring them to record the song: "Aquarius", producer Bones Howe then merged the tune with the repeated words "let the sunshine in" from another Hair song: "The Flesh Failures".
In the book: "By The Time We Got To Woodstock: The Great Rock 'n' Roll Revolution Of 1969", Bruce Pollock writes: Among the many people calling the publisher in 1968 for a lock of Hair's mystique was the L.A. producer Bones Howe, who'd been working with The 5th Dimension since engineering "Up-Up And Away" for their first album in 1967. He'd produced hits for The Turtles ("It Ain't Me Babe") and The Association ("Windy"); he'd been a personal guest of Lou Adler at the Monterey Pop Festival where he was perhaps the only West Coast guy in attendance to appreciate Laura Nyro's gruesome performance. Later he delivered Laura's "Stoned Soul Picnic" to The 5th Dimension, for which it was their biggest R&B hit. He was shuttling back and forth between his home in L.A. and the studio in New York working on the vocals for the Stoned Soul Picnic album when the group told him they wanted to do "Aquarius".
"The thing that bothered me about it was that there'd been other releases of 'Aquarius'," said Bones, "and none had done anything, so I was concerned about what we would do that would be any different. I went to see the show and there's a place where they do "The Flesh Failures" and at the end of the song is just a three bar repeated thing of 'Let the sunshine in' where Ragni was swinging across the stage on a chandelier and there was all kinds of craziness going on. That really stayed with me and I came out of the theater saying, I wonder if I could stick that on the end of 'Aquarius' and make that the ending. So I went back to the hotel and I called the publisher. I mean you don't mess with the music from a Broadway show. I started my professional career in 1956 and I knew a lot about what you can and what you can't do with songs. I said, look the 5th Dimension would like to record 'Aquarius,' but I'd like to make it a medley and I'd like to use the last three bars of 'The Flesh Failures' and I don't want to do it without permission. So he said okay, you can go ahead and do it".
The next problem was to go ahead and do it. "The record was plotted in the fall of '68 and more or less finished in January of '69," Bones said. "I had to do a lot of work with my vocal arranger, Bob Alsivar. Because they couldn't sing both songs in the same key, we had to do a modulation; we figured out how I was going to do the instrumental arrangement so we could change keys. The record itself is the result of a conglomeration of things. I began as a Jazz musician and I know the standard repertoire pretty well. I kept thinking about a song called 'Lost in the Stars' and trying to find something to give you that kind of impression. I described it to Bill Holman and he wrote that beautiful woodwinds and strings part that's in the intro. We did the track in L.A. and the vocals in Las Vegas where The 5th Dimension were opening for Frank Sinatra. We were working in that studio in Las Vegas where you used to have to stop when the train went by. Once when we were doing practice runs while the train passed Billy started that riff at the end 'oh let the sunshine…' so I said, wait, let me put that on a separate track at the end. There were a lot of happy accidents making the record".
That The Age Of Aquarius (harmony, understanding, sympathy, trust, mystic crystals, revelations) announced to mainstream America by the song had already irrevocably given way to Richard Nixon's vision of law and order troubled Bones Howe not in the least. "I was in my thirties then; I was never part of that culture", he said. "But I made records they liked. I spent my life in the studio. Sometimes I went to the Trip and the Crescendo and all of those places on Sunset Strip because I worked with so many of those people. I was the engineer on 'Eve Of Destruction' when The Mamas And Papas came to sing backup vocals. I was there the first night they were there and did their first three albums".
The song has been featured in many television shows-movies including 📺: The Muppet Show (1978), Murphy Brown (1993), Sesame Street (1998), Warehouse 13 (2010), American Horror Story (2013), My Music: 50s & 60s Party Songs (2014), We Bare Bears: The Movie (2020), My Little Pony: Pony Life (2020), Search Party (2022) and more.
The song has been featured in many films-documentaries including 📽: Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood (2022), Summer of Soul ...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised (2021), Alpha And Omega (2010), The Wrecking Crew! (2008), The Junction (2003), Recess: School's Out (2001), The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005), Forrest Gump (1994), 1969 (1988) and more.
The 5th Dimension Info 📰:
The 5th Dimension was a highly popular ensemble vocal group during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Their music encompasses Sunshine Pop, Pop Soul and Psychedelic Soul. It originally consisted of Billy Davis Jr, Marilyn McCoo, Lamonte McLemore and Ron "Sweets" Townson, who were quickly joined by Florence LaRue. They at first called themselves The Versatiles, and owed their rise to Motown Records and Johnny Rivers, who had just started his own record company. The song: "Aquarius/Let The Sunshine", turned out to be their biggest hit, staying at #1 for six weeks. Between 1967 and 1973 the group charted with 20 top 40 hits on Billboard's Hot 100, two of which: "Up, Up And Away" (no. 7, 1967) and the 1969 number one "Medley: Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)", won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year.
Other big hit song by the group include: "Stoned Soul Picnic" (no. 3), "Wedding Bell Blues" (no. 1), "One Less Bell To Answer" (no. 2), a cover of "Never My Love" (Pop no. 12/Easy Listening no. 1), "(Last Night) I Didn't Get To Sleep At All" (no. 8) and "If I Could Reach You" (Pop no. 10/Easy Listening no. 1). Three of their records reached the top ten of Billboard's Rhythm & Blues/Soul chart. Five of their 19 top 20 hits on the Easy Listening chart reached number one.
Some of the songwriters who worked with The 5th Dimension went on to careers of their own, especially Ashford & Simpson, who wrote the song: "California Soul". The group is also notable for having more success with the songs of Laura Nyro than Laura Nyro did herself, particularly with her songs: "Stoned Soul Picnic", "Sweet Blindness", "Wedding Bell Blues", "Blowin' Away" and "Save The Country". The group also recorded songs by well-known songwriters including Burt Bacharach and Hal David: "One Less Bell To Answer", and Jimmy Webb who wrote the song: "Up, Up And Away". The group's 1967 album: The Magic Garden, features all but one song composed by Jimmy Webb.
In the early 1960s, Lamonte McLemore and Marilyn McCoo got together with three friends from Los Angeles: Harry Elston, Lawrence Summers and Fritz Baskett in order to form a group called "The Hi-Fis" (which later became "The Vocals"). In 1963, they sang at local clubs while taking lessons from a vocal coach. In 1964, they came to the attention of Ray Charles, who took them on tour with him the following year. He produced a single by the group: "Lonesome Mood", a Jazz-type song that gained local attention. However, internal disagreements caused Harry Elston to go his own way, eventually leading to his forming the singing group: The Friends Of Distinction, with latter day Hi-Fis member Floyd Butler.
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Lamonte McLemore sought to form another group and started looking for members to join him and Marilyn McCoo. Marilyn McCoo, who had studied with the respected vocal coach Eddie Beal, had appeared in high school and college musical productions and was known for her ability to do torch songs. Lamonte McLemore found Florence LaRue, who had received training in singing, dancing, and violin; and who won the talent portion at the Miss Bronze California contest, which Lamonte McLemore was assigned to photograph. Marilyn McCoo had won the contest the prior year. About the same time Florence LaRue was approached to join the group, Lamonte McLemore recruited an old friend from St Louis, Missouri, Ron "Sweets" Townson, who had sung in his church choir previously. His grandmother had arranged for him to get voice and acting lessons as he grew up. In his teens, Ron "Sweets" Townson toured with Dorothy Dandridge and Nat King Cole, joined the Wings Over Jordan Choir, and played a small part in the 1959 film: Porgy And Bess. He demonstrated his skill as a classical artist by placing third in the Metropolitan Opera auditions held in St Louis. After finishing high school, he worked his way through Lincoln University by conducting the school and church choir. After graduating, he organized his own 25-member Gospel choir.
Another of Lamonte McLemore's friends from St Louis was Billy Davis Jr, who also had sung in his church choir. Billy Davis Jr later saved enough money to buy a cocktail lounge in St Louis, which he used to experiment with musical groups. When asked to join Lamonte McLemore's new group, he agreed, while hoping for a solo contract from Motown Records as well.
Soul City Records signed the group and in November 1966 released their first single as the 5th Dimension: "I'll Be Lovin' You Forever". However, the song failed to chart.
In 1967 The 5th Dimension recorded the song: "Go Where You Wanna Go", which became a breakthrough hit for them. The song was a John Phillips tune and reached No. 16 on the US Hot 100 chart. The group followed this with the single: "Up, Up And Away", which reached No. 7 later that same year and went on to win five Grammy Awards. The following year, the group scored major hit singles with Laura Nyro's songs: "Stoned Soul Picnic" (US No. 3) and "Sweet Blindness" (US No. 13).
The group received a Gold record for their 1968 album: Stoned Soul Picnic. That album included the single: "California Soul", which peaked at No. 25 in February 1969. Weeks later the group's success broke wide open, with the single: "Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In", from the musical stage play Rock Opera : Hair, topping the Hot 100 for six straight weeks in April and May and another Laura Nyro song: "Wedding Bell Blues", doing the same for the first three full weeks in November. Their cover of Neil Sedaka's song: "Workin' On A Groovy Thing", went to No. 20 in between. Those four singles kept the group on the Hot 100 for all but four weeks in 1969. By some reckonings the song: "Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In", was the biggest music industry hit single for 1969.
Later top 20 hit songs from the group included: 1970's "One Less Bell To Answer" (U.S. No. 2), 1971's "Love's Lines, Angles And Rhymes" (U.S. No. 19), "Never My Love" (U.S. No. 12), 1972's "(Last Night) I Didn't Get To Sleep At All" (U.S. No. 8) and "If I Could Reach You" (U.S. No. 10). The group had seven other top 40 hits, the last being 1973's single: "Living Together, Growing Together" (U.S. No. 32) from the 1973 film: Lost Horizon.
The 5th Dimension continued to record and perform together until 1975, when Billy Davis Jr and Marilyn McCoo got married and left the group. In 1975, Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr began performing as a duo. Landing a record contract with ABC Records, they recorded their 1976 debut album: I Hope We Get To Love In Time. As a duo, they were not as successful as The 5th Dimension, however, their first album did score two major hits, and three overall singles: "I Hope We Get To Love In Time" (#91, March 1978), "You Don't Have To Be A Star (To Be In My Show)" (#1, September 1976), and "Your Love" (#15, March 1977).
Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for "You Don't Have To Be A Star (To Be In My Show)". They became the first African American married couple to host a network television series: The Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr Show, on CBS in summer 1977. The duo released their next album on ABC Records in 1977, titled: The Two Of Us. The album spawned the single: "Look What You've Done To My Heart" (#51, August 1977). The pair signed with CBS Records and released their next album: 1978's Marilyn + Billy, although it did not score any Hot 100 hits. This would be the duo's last album until thirty years later; in October 2008 the pair released the album: The Many Faces of Love, a collection of hit songs from the 1960s and 1970s.
The original group members reunited in 1990 and 1991 capitalizing on the growing nostalgia for the music of their 1960s-1970s era. Later, Ron "Sweets" Townson left the group to try a solo career but soon returned to the group, as the group resigned itself to staying on the nostalgia tour-concert circuit. In 1995, the quintet of Florence LaRue, Ron "Sweets" Townson, Lamonte McLemore, Phyllis Battle and Greg Walker recorded a new album: In The House, for Click Records.
The original group members once again joined forces again for selected private engagements in the late 1990s billed as "The Original 5th Dimension" under the management and direction of Jason Winters. During that time the re-grouped 5th Dimension continued to tour as well as Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr with a show they called "It Takes Two". Marilyn McCoo's 1991 album: The Me Nobody Knows, was nominated for a Grammy. She also released a Christmas album in 1994.
After Ron "Sweets" Townson passed away in 2001 and Lamont McLemore retired from the music business, Florence Larue stepped up to continue the legacy of the group as the only original member. As of April 2009, the group was actively touring as "The 5th Dimension Featuring Florence LaRue", led by Florence LaRue, with Willie Williams, Leonard Tucker, Patrice Morris and Floyd Smith. Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr, who have been married for over 50 years, continue to tour as their own act titled "Marilyn McCoo And Billy Davis Jr".
The 5th Dimension Featuring Florence LaRue still perform their music live on stage in 2023.
Miscellaneous Info 🗃:
Lamonte McLemore was the first African American athlete to try out for the St Louis Cardinals. After he moved to Los Angeles, he was a minor league strong-arm pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers for a short time.
The group has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, inducted August 9, 1991.
The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2002.
In 2004, Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr released their autobiography titled: Up, Up And Away.
The group has a star on the St Louis Walk of Fame, inducted on March 18, 2010.
On February 14, 2015, Lamonte McLemore released an autobiographical memoir: "From Hobo Flats To Thee 5th Dimension: A Life Fulfilled in Baseball, Photography and Music".
In 2021, Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr released the album: Blackbird Lennon-McCartney Icons, their first studio album in over 30 years.
Marilyn McCoo has appeared in some films including 📽: My Mom's A Werewolf (1989), Grizzly Adams And The Legend Of Dark Mountain (1999) and Summer Of Soul (2021).
She has also appeared in some television shows including 📺: It Takes A Thief (1 episode, 1970), The Love Boat (1 episode, 1978), The Fantastic World Of DC Collins (1984), New Love, American Style (1 episode, 1986), The Fall Guy (1 episode, 1986), Days Of Our Lives (1986-1987, 2019-2020), Punky Brewster (1 episode, 1988), Night Court (1 episode, 1990), The Kingdom Chums Original Top Ten (voice, 1990), The New Adventures Of Captain Planet (voice, 2 episodes, 1993), Women Of The House (1 episode, 1995) and The Jamie Foxx Show (2 episodes, 1999-2001).
The 5th Dimension still perform live on stage in 2023.
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The 5th Dimension Group Members 👩🏽🎤👩🏾🎤👨🏾🎤👨🏾🎤👨🏼🎤:
Marilyn McCoo (born September 30, 1943, Jersey City, New Jersey)
Florence LaRue (born February 4, 1942 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Billy Davis Jr (born June 26, 1938, St Louis, Missouri)
LaMonte McLemore (born September 17, 1939, St Louis, Missouri)
Ron "Sweets" Townson (born January 20, 1933, St Louis, Missouri, passed away August 2, 2001, of kidney failure, Las Vegas, Nevada)
Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr left the group in November 1975. Since then, other members have included:
Eloise Laws (McCoo replacement) 1975
Danny Beard (Davis replacement) 1975-1978
Marjorie Barnes (McCoo replacement) 1976-1977
Terri Bryant (McCoo replacement) 1978-1979
Mic Bell (Townson replacement) 1978-1979
Lou Courtney (Davis replacement) 1978-1979
Pat Bass (McCoo replacement) 1979
Tanya Boyd (McCoo replacement) 1979
Joyce Wright Pierce (McCoo replacement) 1979-1986 and 1987
Michael Procter (Davis replacement) 1979-1988
Ron "Sweets" Townson 1979-1997
Estrelita (McCoo replacement) 1986
Phyllis Battle (McCoo replacement) 1988-2001
Eugene Barry-Hill (Davis replacement) 1989-1992
Greg Walker (Davis replacement) 1993-2006
Cydney Davis (Larue replacement) Summer of 1996
Willie Williams (Townson replacement) 1998-2018
Van Jewell (McCoo replacement) 2002, 2005
Julie Delgado (McCoo replacement) 2002-2005
Jamila Ajibade (McCoo replacement) 2005-2006 and 2007-2008
Leonard Tucker (Davis replacement) 2006-present
Valerie Davis (McCoo replacement) 2006-2007
Jennifer Leigh Warren (McCoo replacement) 2007
Gwyn Foxx (McCoo replacement) December 2007
Michael Mishaw (McLemore replacement) 2006-2008
Patrice Morris (McCoo replacement) 2008-present
Floyd Smith (McLemore replacement) 2009-present
Sidney Jacobs (Williams replacement) 2018-present
The 5th Dimension Albums 📀:
Up - Up And Away (1967)
The Magic Garden (1968)
Stoned Soul Picnic (1968)
The Age Of Aquarius (1969)
Portrait (1970)
Love's Lines, Angles And Rhymes (1971)
Individually & Collectively (1972)
Living Together, Growing Together (1973)
Soul & Inspiration (1974)
Earthbound (1975)
Star Dancing (1978)
High On Sunshine (1979)
In The House (1995)
Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr Albums 📀:
I Hope We Get To Love In Time (1976)
The Two Of Us (1977)
Marilyn & Billy (1978)
The Many Faces Of Love (2008)
Blackbird Lennon-McCartney Icons (2021)
Marilyn McCoo Albums 📀:
Solid Gold (1983)
The Me Nobody Knows (1991)
White Christmas (1994)
Some more good songs by The 5th Dimension 🎶: Up Up And Away, Which Way To Nowhere, California My Way, Misty Roses, Another Day Another Heartache, Go Where You Wanna Go, Never Gonna Be The Same, Pattern People, Rosecrans Blvd., The Magic Garden, Summer's Daughter, Lovin' Stew, Dreams/Pax/Nepenthe, Sweet Blindness, It'll Never Be The Same Again, Good News, The Sailboat Song, It's A Great Life, Broken Wing Bird, Stoned Soul Picnic, California Soul, Bobbie's Blues (Who Do You Think Of?), The Eleventh Song (What A Groovy Day!), Carpet Man, Ticket To Ride, Poor Side Of Town, Orange Air, Requiem: 820 Latham, The Worst That Could Happen, Love's Lines, Angles And Rhymes, The Girls' Song, Guess Who, Time And Love, Viva Tirado, Light Sings, The Rainmaker, He's A Runner, The Singer, Every Night, Paper Cup, Learn How To Fly, Blowing Away, Puppet Man, One Less Bell To Answer, Feelin' Alright?, This Is Your Life, A Love Like Ours, Save The Country, Skinny Man, Wedding Bell Blues, Don'tcha Hear Me Callin' To Ya, The Hideaway, Workin' On A Groovy Thing, Let It Be Me, Dimension 5ive, Sunshine Of Your Love, The Winds Of Heaven, Those Were The Days, Band Of Gold, What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)?, Half Moon, Leave A Little Room, Black Patch, (Last Night) I Didn't Get To Sleep At All, Border Song, All Kinds Of People, Sky & Sea (From The Musical "Joy"), Tomorrow Belongs To The Children, Woyaya, Turn Around To Me, If I Could Reach You, Open Your Window, Ashes To Ashes, Changed, The Riverwitch, Harlem, Day By Day, Living Together, Growing Together, There's Nothin' Like Music, What Do I Need To Be Me, There Never Was A Day, Let Me Be Lonely, Soul & Inspiration, The Best Of My Love, My Song, Hard Core Poetry, No Love In The Room, House For Sale, I Don't Know How To Look For Love, Somebody Warm Like Me, Salty Tears, Earthbound / Prologue Be Here Now, Earthbound Epilogue, Don't Stop For Nothing, I've Got A Feeling, Magic In My Life, Speaking With My Heart, Walk Your Feet In The Sunshine, When Did I Lose Your Love, Lean On Me Always, Moonlight Mile, A Good Love, Hold Me, You Are The Reason I Feel Like Dancing, Going Through The Motions, You Are The Most Important Person In Your Life, Star Dancing, You're My Lifetime Opera, We Could Fly, Shining Star, High On Sunshine, Get Ready, Say (U Love Me), All You Do Is Dial, You Make Me Feel Brand New, All In Love Is Fair, You're Good Enough For Me, Slipping Into Something New, Respect Yourself, How Deep Is Your Love, Turn My Love Away, Everybody's Got To Give It Up, Magic Man, I'll Be Lovin' You Forever, On The Beach (In The Summertime), Train Keep On Movin', Sway, Children Of Tomorrow, Skyway, I Just Wanna Be Your Friend, Surrender, Fantasy, Diggin' For A Livin', Too Poor To Die, Can't Get You Out Of My Mind, Star Dancing, Love Hangover, This Is Your Life, Bye Bye Baby, Shake Your Tambourine, Flashback and You're My Star.
Fun Fact 🕵🏾♀: Marilyn McCoo was the host of the popular 1980s syndicated music television show: Solid Gold (1981-1984, 1986-1988).
The producer asks Billy Davis Jr to take everyone to church. It was an adlib.
Im 60 years young and this was a good part of my childhood !!!
Very underrated group, mainly because they don't get much plaudits these days as they should. Thx for your reaction.
This needs to be piped in every street on Sunday Morning and watch the world change.
Honey I remember when that song came out. It was blowing up on the radio. Everybody fell in love with it. I love the surprised look on your face when you heard it. And that smile that came across it. My generation has some of the best music that was ever made that's why the bands are still around 40 and 50 years later.❤❤❤ I love your reaction
And I still remember every freaking word of it😂❤
One my favorites! Thank you for reacting to them! They have more videos, they were so GREAT!
Groovy. 😉 I think we’re actually in The Age of Aquarius right now.
The Age of Aquarius is in 500 or 600 years from now. We are suppose to be at the "dawning".
@@richardmartin9565 Thank you! You taught me a thing.
Let's talk about harmony and singing in a beautiful arrangement. Peace to you my dear.
Sun is powerful from nature 💥
It was a different world.
I'm so happy you picked this song to start your Fifth Dimension journey!
I got to see them shortly after this was released. It must have been around 1969/1970. I think I was still in 8th grade so probably 69.
It starts you off in the heavens hearing the harmonies of an angelic choir. Then the baseline kicks in and you think you're coming back down to Earth but when you get there, you realize you've landed smack dab in the middle of church... I'm so happy that Billy Davis Jr and Marilyn McCoo are still performing!!!
It's such a pleasure watching your reaction to this beautiful song!! So glad you enjoyed it!!
Their harmonies are truly breath-taking, but they are not related; however, the lady with the lighter hair and the bangs (Marilyn McCoo) and the gentleman taking the solo on "Let the Sunshine In" (Billy Davis, Jr.) have been married since 1969.
Marilyn and Billy had a hit duet, "You Don't Have To Be A Star To Be In My Show," too.
This is a medley of two songs from the 1967 Broadway production called “Hair.” The song “…Sunsine…”was the finale, and audience members could join the cast onstage to sing and dance. The Fifth Dimension also recorded a lot of beautiful songs written by the incredibly talented Laura Nyro.
Read the lyrics-they're great
wow so much love
These two songs combined in this arrangement for the Fifth Dimension was phenomenal in 1969...the recording was once considered anthem to the end of the 1960's. Their first big hit was by songwriter Jimmy Webb in 1967 called "Up Up and Away" a very upbeat about the hot air balloons...it won a Grammy for song of the year for Webb and the group. Jimmy Webb wrote a lot of different kinds of hits for Glen Campbell and others. Didn't matter what background you were from as a 1960's kid in general, we all loved this group and many others from all backgrounds. Music was played mostly on AM stations, not FM, and not like all this separatism today with 80 zillion stations controlled by one or two corporations. You had to compete for a hit on a somewhat more level playing field. Even my mom liked the Fifth Dimension. Their talent was universal yet modern at the time, and they were were well liked by almost everyone.
This song is pure joy.
Great music from all genros
Great reaction!!🎉
BTW, I love your reaction to Ron Townson hitting that high note at 2:44. As a tenor myself, that's my favorite part of the whole song!
Dank voor jouw reactie, groeten from Amsterdam ...
This was my first album !! This was all I wanted for my 12th birthday 💗
They were from California and were often mentioned with the Mamas and Papas in terms of popularity.
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great pick!
❤
Nice reaction.
with Joe Osborne on bass guitar
Great song, your reaction made me laugh🤣❤️
You have to do One less bell to answer by the 5th Dimension
The great Marilyn McCoo and her husband Billy Dee
Some reactions to consider 🤔: Roberta Flack- Killing Me Softly With His Song (Official Video), The Animals- Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood Live (The Ed Sullivan Show YT channel) or The Archies- Sugar Sugar Live (Classic Hits Studio YT channel).
I think they're all from St. Louis
Check out Luke James and Samoht - Shine On
back in the days when to make music you had to know how to play, sing, compose...
First time? What country are you from?