The 5th dimension
| The 5th dimension | |
|---|---|
 The 5th Dimension at a concert at Eastern Michigan University in 1970 |
|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | soul |
| founding | 1965 |
| Current occupation | |
singing |
Marilyn McCoo |
singing |
Florence LaRue |
singing |
Billy Davis Junior |
singing |
Ron Townson |
singing |
Lamonte McLemore |
The 5th Dimension is an American pop group . It was founded in Los Angeles in 1965 .
history
The male singers Davis Jr., Townson, and McLemore lived in the same location in St. Louis , Missouri . Each of them went their own way until they crossed again in Los Angeles, the center of the soul era at that time. All three wanted the jump into the music business.
The Afro-American band was originally called The Versatiles . As such, they remained unsuccessful until manager Marc Gordon brokered them to the Soul City Records record company . They were the first musicians who were under contract there. Her first single was called Lovin 'You Forever / Train Keep on Movin and was ranked 16 on the Billboard Top 20 in 1966.
Johnny Rivers, founder of Soul City Records, changed the name and appearance to The 5th Dimension. So they made their breakthrough in 1968 with the Jimmy Webb written title Up, Up and Away, which was honored with five Grammy awards.
In 1969, the adaptation of the songs from the musical Hair , summarized by The 5th Dimension in the Medley Aquarius / Let the Sunshine In , was even more successful . The single was number one on the US charts for six weeks . It was sold 1.5 million times within six weeks, a total of three million times. The accompanying album Age of Aquarius ( Aquarius Age ) stayed in the US charts for 72 weeks and reached number two there.
In November 1969, The 5th Dimension again topped the US charts with Wedding Bell Blues . The single took the top spot for three weeks.
Members
Billy Davis
Davis was a member of various gospel and soul groups and studied technology in Washington . He opened his own nightclub and was already thinking about going to Los Angeles to find a place at Motown .
Lamonte McLemore
McLemore was a professional baseball player and photographer before moving to Los Angeles . He discovered his talent for singing in the US Navy .
Ron Townson
Townson tried his hand at singing operettas as a young boy. He graduated from Lincoln University before moving to Los Angeles with the intention of entering the music business.
Marilyn McCoo and Florence LaRue
McLemore was supposed to photograph the winners of a photo contest and through this met McCoo and LaRue. Both wanted to join the group - initially only as a hobby. McCoo was thinking of a solo career as a singer. LaRue actually dreamed of an acting career.
music
Davis was the group's composer. But he also produced for other performers. Non-group songs like What Do You Want (From Me Girl) were z. B. from his pen. The 5th Dimension contributing producers include famous composers such as Jimmy Webb , Laura Nyro , Burt Bacharach , Ashford & Simpson .
The tracks It'll Never Be the Same Again and Broken Wing Bird , which appeared on the album Stoned Soul Picnic (1968) with the shallow background voices of McCoo, LaRue and Davis, are songs that evoke the romantic (Afro-American) "California Soul " of the reproduce late 1960s. A 5th Dimension title was also called California Soul.
Discography
Studio albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 US
|
R&B
|
|||
| 1967 | Up, up and away | - |
US8th  (83 weeks)US |
R&B10 (16 weeks) R&B |
|
| The Magic Garden | - |
US105 (31 weeks) US |
R&B43 (4 weeks) R&B |
||
| 1968 | Stoned Soul Picnic | - |
US21 (21 weeks) US |
R&B10 (18 weeks) R&B |
|
| 1969 | The Age of Aquarius |
DE4 (16 weeks) DE |
US2 (72 weeks)US |
R&B2 (20 weeks) R&B |
|
| 1970 | portrait | - |
US20th (50 weeks)US |
R&B6 (32 weeks) R&B |
|
| 1971 | Love's Lines, Angles and Rhymes | - |
US17th (23 weeks)US |
R&B10 (17 weeks) R&B |
|
| 1972 | Individually & Collectively | - |
US58 (32 weeks) US |
R&B21 (16 weeks) R&B |
|
| 1973 | Living Together, Growing Together | - |
US108 (11 weeks) US |
R&B25 (6 weeks) R&B |
|
| 1974 | Soul & inspiration | - | - |
R&B55 (2 weeks) R&B |
|
| 1975 | Earthbound | - |
US136 (8 weeks) US |
R&B30 (7 weeks) R&B |
|
More studio albums
- 1978: Star Dancing
- 1978: High on Sunshine
- 1995: In the House
Live albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
US
|
R&B
|
|||
| 1971 | Live!! | - |
US32 (18 weeks)US |
R&B13 (24 weeks) R&B |
|
More live albums
- 1995: Respect - Live
- 2005: Live! Plus Rare Studio Recordings!
Compilations
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
US
|
R&B
|
|||
| 1967 | The Fantastic 5th Dimension |
DE3 (28 weeks) DE |
- | - | |
| 1970 | Greatest Hits (Soul City) | - |
US5 (55 weeks)US |
R&B8 (21 weeks) R&B |
|
| The July 5th album | - |
US63 (8 weeks) US |
- | ||
| 1971 | Reflections | - |
US112 (7 weeks) US |
- | |
| 1972 | Greatest Hits on Earth | - |
US14th (24 weeks)US |
R&B10 (17 weeks) R&B |
|
More compilations
- 1969: Let The Sunshine In
- 1970: Dimension Five
- 1970: Love Garden
- 1970: The 5th Dimension Special
- 1971: The Best of Fifth Dimension
- 1971: The Fantastic Fifth Dimension Vol. 2
- 1976: 22 of Their Fabulous Hits
- 1982: The Very Best of 5th Dimension
- 1986: Anthology 1967-1973
- 1997: Up-Up and Away: The Definitive Collection
- 1999: Aquarius / Let The Sunshine In
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
 AT
|
 CH
|
 UK
|
US
|
R&B
|
A. C.
|
|||
| 1966 | Go Where You Wanna Go Up, Up and Away |
- | - | - | - |
US16 (10 weeks) US |
- | - | |
| 1967 | Another Day, Another Heartache Up, Up and Away |
- | - | - | - |
US45 (6 weeks) US |
- | - | |
| Up, Up and Away Up, Up and Away |
- | - | - | - |
US7 (12 weeks) US |
- |
A. C.9 (10 weeks) A. C. |
||
| Paper Cup The Magic Garden |
- | - | - | - |
US34 (7 weeks) US |
- | - | ||
| 1968 | Carpet Man The Magic Garden |
- | - | - | - |
US29 (9 weeks) US |
- | - | |
| Stoned Soul Picnic Stoned Soul Picnic |
- | - | - | - |
US3  (16 weeks)US |
R&B2 (14 weeks) R&B |
- | ||
| Sweet Blindness Stoned Soul Picnic |
- | - | - | - |
US13 (10 weeks) US |
R&B45 (2 weeks) R&B |
- | ||
| California Soul Stoned Soul Picnic |
- | - | - | - |
US25 (9 weeks) US |
R&B49 (2 weeks) R&B |
- | ||
| 1969 |
Aquarius / Let the Sunshine In The Age of Aquarius |
DE2 (18 weeks) DE |
AT11 (12 weeks) AT |
CH4 (14 weeks) CH |
UK11 (8 weeks) UK |
US1 (17 weeks)US |
R&B6 (11 weeks) R&B |
A. C.1 (13 weeks) A. C. |
|
| Workin 'On a Groovy Thing The Age of Aquarius |
- | - | - | - |
US29 (10 weeks) US |
R&B15 (6 weeks) R&B |
A. C.9 (11 weeks) A. C. |
||
| Wedding Bell Blues The Age of Aquarius |
- | - | - |
UK16 (9 weeks) UK |
US1 (15 weeks)US |
R&B23 (8 weeks) R&B |
A. C.1 (12 weeks) A. C. |
||
| Blowing Away The Age of Aquarius |
- | - | - | - |
US21 (9 weeks) US |
- |
A. C.7 (7 weeks) A. C. |
||
| Sunshine Of Your Love The Age of Aquarius |
DE33 (4 weeks) DE |
- | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1970 | A Change Is Gonna Come / People Gotta Be Free / The Declaration Portrait |
- | - | - | - |
US60 (5 weeks) US |
- |
A. C.35 (1 week) A. C. |
|
| The Girls' song The Magic Garden |
- | - | - | - |
US43 (8 weeks) US |
- |
A. C.6 (8 weeks) A. C. |
||
| Puppet Man Portrait |
- | - | - | - |
US24 (8 weeks) US |
- |
A. C.31 (5 weeks) A. C. |
||
| Save the Country Portrait |
- | - | - | - |
US27 (8 weeks) US |
R&B41 (2 weeks) R&B |
A. C.10 (8 weeks) A. C. |
||
| On the Beach (In the Summertime) |
- | - | - | - |
US54 (6 weeks) US |
- |
A. C.12 (4 weeks) A. C. |
||
| One Less Bell to Answer Portrait |
- | - | - | - |
US2 (19 weeks)US |
R&B4 (14 weeks) R&B |
A. C.1 (16 weeks) A. C. |
||
| 1971 | Love's Lines, Angles and Rhymes Love’s Lines, Angles and Rhymes |
- | - | - | - |
US19 (10 weeks) US |
R&B28 (5 weeks) R&B |
A. C.6 (11 weeks) A. C. |
|
| Light Sings Love’s Lines, Angles and Rhymes |
- | - | - | - |
US44 (8 weeks) US |
- |
A. C.12 (7 weeks) A. C. |
||
| Never My Love (Live) Live !! |
- | - | - | - |
US12 (11 weeks) US |
R&B45 (5 weeks) R&B |
A. C.1 (12 weeks) A. C. |
||
| Together Let's Find Love (Live) Live !! |
- | - | - | - |
US37 (10 weeks) US |
R&B22 (8 weeks) R&B |
A. C.8 (8 weeks) A. C. |
||
| 1972 | (Last Night) I Didn't Get to Sleep at All Individually & Collectively |
- | - | - | - |
US8th (16 weeks)US |
R&B28 (6 weeks) R&B |
A. C.2 (14 weeks) A. C. |
|
| If I Could Reach You Individually & Collectively |
- | - | - | - |
US10 (15 weeks) US |
- |
A. C.1 (14 weeks) A. C. |
||
| 1973 | Living Together, Growing Together Living Together, Growing Together |
- | - | - | - |
US32 (9 weeks) US |
- |
A. C.5 (9 weeks) A. C. |
|
| Everything's Been Changed Living Together, Growing Together |
- | - | - | - |
US70 (4 weeks) US |
- |
A. C.18 (7 weeks) A. C. |
||
| Ashes to Ashes Living Together, Growing Together |
- | - | - | - |
US52 (10 weeks) US |
R&B54 (8 weeks) R&B |
A. C.7 (13 weeks) A. C. |
||
| Flashback |
- | - | - | - |
US82 (9 weeks) US |
R&B75 (6 weeks) R&B |
A. C.30 (10 weeks) A. C. |
||
| 1974 | Harlem Soul & Inspiration |
- | - | - | - | - |
R&B87 (4 weeks) R&B |
- | |
| 1975 | No Love in the Room Soul & Inspiration |
- | - | - | - | - | - |
A. C.11 (10 weeks) A. C. |
|
| 1976 | Love hangover |
- | - | - | - |
US80 (4 weeks) US |
R&B39 (7 weeks) R&B |
- | |
| 1978 | You Are The Reason (I Feel Like Dancing) |
- | - | - | - | - |
R&B66 (7 weeks) R&B |
- | |
gray hatching : no chart data available for this year
More singles
- 1975: Magic In My Life
- 1975: Walk Your Feet In The Sunshine
- 1983: Surrender
Video albums
- 2005: The 5th Dimension Traveling Sunshine Show (with Dionne Warwick , Merle Haggard and The Carpenters )
Individual evidence
- ^ Text and music by James Rado, Gerome Ragni and Galt MacDermot ; Producer: Bones Howe; US catalog number: Soul City 772.
- ↑ More information on the song in: Bronson, Fred: The Billboard Book of Number One Hits . 3. revised and exp. Ed., New York City, New York: Billboard Publications, 1992, p. 253.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel: Top Pop Albums 1955-1996. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Ltd., 1996, p. 264.
- ^ Text and music by Laura Nyro ; Producer: Bones Howe; US Catalog Number: Soul City 779; For more information on the title, see: Bronson, Fred: The Billboard Book of Number One Hits . 3. revised and exp. Ed., New York City, New York: Billboard Publications, 1992, p. 261.
- ↑ a b c d Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US
- ↑ a b c d Music Sales Awards: US
literature
- Stambler, Irwin: The Encyclopedia Of Pop, Rock And Soul . 3rd Revised Edition, New York City, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989, pp. 225-227, ISBN 0-312-02573-4 .
- Warner, Jay: The Billboard Book Of American Singing Groups. A History 1940–1990 . New York City / New York: Billboard Books, 1992, pp. 380-382.
Web links
- Official website (English)