12/03/2023
Happy 80th birthday to THE 5TH DIMENSION vocalist Marilyn McCoo. Born on September 30, 1943, she is also an actress who hosted the 1980s music countdown TV series, "Solid Gold." Since 1969, McCoo has been married to singer Billy Davis Jr., a founder and member of The 5th Dimension.
The Jersey City, New Jersey, native first met her future husband three years earlier when she joined him in The Hi Fi’s, an R&B vocal group discovered by blues singer Ray Charles, and his opening act at many shows. Marilyn was invited by photographer Lamonte McLemore to join the group, but they both left soon after to perform with what would later be billed as The 5th Dimension.
The other members of The Hi-Fi’s — Harry Elston and Floyd Butler — would go on to form the successful ‘70s vocal group The Friends of Distinction, who later scored huge hits in 1969 and 1970 with “Grazing in the Grass” and “Love or Let Me Be Lonely.”
McLemore and McCoo formed a new vocal group, The Versatiles, along with Florence LaRue, Ron Townson and Billy Davis Jr. (McLemore’s cousin). In 1966, the quintet was signed to Soul City Records owned by Gold record-winning artist Johnny Rivers who changed their name to The 5th Dimension.
The group's first big hit came the following year with a composition from successful songwriter Jimmy Webb. "Up, Up and Away" would end up winning four Grammy Awards. A year later fame and fortune struck again when the group recorded a song written by acclaimed lyricist Laura Nyro. "Stoned Soul Picnic" was a million-selling, No. 3 hit.
McCoo and her group mates followed this Platinum-certified single with the medley "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" featured in the Broadway musical Hair. The song became a No. 1 hit in the spring of 1969, and won a Grammy for Record of the Year at the awards ceremony.
Next up for The 5th Dimension was their recording of another Nyro song, "Wedding Bell Blues," which featured Marilyn’s vocals prominently. McCoo’s lead vocals once again helped this single top the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the fall of 1969.
At first all five members were sharing vocal duties and harmonies, but now by the late ‘60s/early ‘70s McCoo began singing lead on most of the group’s tracks with the chart-topping singles like "One Less Bell to Answer" and “(Last Night) I Didn't Get to Sleep at All" that followed.
In 1975, McCoo and Davis left The 5th Dimension to begin performing as a duo. After signing a contract with ABC Records, Marilyn and Billy recorded their 1976 debut album I Hope We Get to Love in Time that included the No. 1 hit "You Don't Have to Be a Star (To Be in My Show)." Later that year McCoo and Davis became the first black married couple to host a network television series with "The Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. Show" broadcast on CBS in the summer of 1977.
McCoo, who is also an accomplished actress with a filmography full of film and TV credits, decided to go solo in the early ‘80s, and was hired to host the popular syndicated television series "Solid Gold" for five seasons. Marilyn released a solo album in 1991, The Me Nobody Knows, which earned her a Grammy nod. The following year McCoo won her eighth Grammy Award for contributing to the gospel project "Handel's Messiah: A Soulful Celebration” that was produced by Quincy Jones.
In an interview with CBN’s “The 700 Club,” Marilyn related how her hit records and concerts slowed down in the late ‘70s after she and Billy had just been flying high with their No. 1 duet, “You Don’t Have to Be a Star”:
“We were sitting home waiting for jobs to come in that weren’t coming in as fast as they had. I started reflecting on my life, my career… I began to realize that something was missing in my life. A girlfriend of mine told me one day, ‘Marilyn, if you ever feel like there’s a void in your life, that’s because The Lord is telling you that you need Him’”, McCoo said.
“She started me reading The Bible. I prayed to receive Jesus, and I didn’t realize what I was really doing at the time. Over the next few months, I must have prayed and asked Jesus to become my Lord and Savior at least 4 or 5 times because by now I’m discovering what this means,” she added.
Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr., celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary earlier this year, and the born-again Christians have shared the story of their faith and love in their book, “Up, Up and Away.” McCoo and Davis continue to perform together in venues around the country with their next appearance scheduled on Nov. 16, 2023, at Peace Concert Hall in Greenville, South Carolina. - Chuck Halley, Classic Music/TV/Film blogger
Photos: The 5th Dimension — (L-R) (back row) Marilyn McCoo, Ron Townson and Lamonte McLemore, (front row) Billy Davis Jr. and Florence LaRue; (left inset) Marilyn McCoo (ca. 1970); McCoo at the Los Angeles Mission Legacy of Vision gala in Oct. 2018 at The Beverly Hilton Hotel.
#}