Biography
Lamonte McLemore, a founding member of the 5th Dimension, spent his childhood absorbed in baseball and roaming neighborhood streets, pursuits that stood in stark contrast to the group’s polished blend of cool jazz, R&B, and pop—once labeled “champagne soul”—and its aura of comfortable, middle-class American glamour. After noticing that singers in vocal ensembles attracted female attention, McLemore added music to his interests. Both ambitions materialized: he pitched in the AA league for the Los Angeles Dodgers while the 5th Dimension collected multiple gold and platinum honors. The gold albums included Up Up and Away, which reached number eight on the pop chart in summer 1967; The Age of Aquarius, which held the number-two pop position for two weeks in spring 1969; Greatest Hits, which climbed to number five pop in summer 1970; Portrait; Love’s Lines, Angles and Rhymes; The 5th Dimension Live!; and Greatest Hits on Earth. The platinum-certified single “(Last Night) I Didn’t Get to Sleep At All” peaked at number eight pop in spring 1972, and its follow-up, “If I Could Reach You,” reached number ten pop in fall 1972; both tracks appeared on the 1973 album Individually and Collectively.
A mustachioed, light-eyed native of St. Louis, McLemore built a parallel career in professional photography, with images published in Harper’s Bazaar, Life, Ebony, and the Los Angeles-based Elegant. During an early-’60s photo assignment in his adopted hometown of Los Angeles, he met model, singer, and U.C.L.A. business major Marilyn McCoo. Together with Elegant advertising salesman Harry Elston and Floyd Butler, they formed the vocal quartet the Hi-Fis. After McLemore encountered Ray Charles at a magazine photo session, the Hi-Fis toured with the singer beginning in 1964 and cut a regional hit, “Lonesome Road,” for Charles’ Tangerine label. Elston and Butler departed to establish the Friends of Distinction, whose RCA singles “Grazing in the Grass,” “Love or Let Me Be Lonely,” and “Going in Circles” became hits. McLemore and McCoo subsequently joined Florence LaRue and fellow St. Louis natives Ron Townson and Billy Davis Jr. to create the Versatiles, later renamed the 5th Dimension. Working with producer Bones Howe, arrangers Bob Alcivar and Bill Holman, and the Wrecking Crew rhythm section of Joe Osborn, Hal Blaine, and Larry Knechtel, the ensemble scored numerous successes first on Johnny Rivers’ Soul City label and subsequently on Bell Records. McCoo and Davis exited to perform as a duo, earning a 1976 gold single, “You Don’t Have to Be a Star (To Be in My Show),” on ABC Records. The three remaining original members continued touring and recruited an additional female and male vocalist. The classic 5th Dimension lineup was featured on the cover of Goldmine magazine’s September 10, 1999, issue.
A mustachioed, light-eyed native of St. Louis, McLemore built a parallel career in professional photography, with images published in Harper’s Bazaar, Life, Ebony, and the Los Angeles-based Elegant. During an early-’60s photo assignment in his adopted hometown of Los Angeles, he met model, singer, and U.C.L.A. business major Marilyn McCoo. Together with Elegant advertising salesman Harry Elston and Floyd Butler, they formed the vocal quartet the Hi-Fis. After McLemore encountered Ray Charles at a magazine photo session, the Hi-Fis toured with the singer beginning in 1964 and cut a regional hit, “Lonesome Road,” for Charles’ Tangerine label. Elston and Butler departed to establish the Friends of Distinction, whose RCA singles “Grazing in the Grass,” “Love or Let Me Be Lonely,” and “Going in Circles” became hits. McLemore and McCoo subsequently joined Florence LaRue and fellow St. Louis natives Ron Townson and Billy Davis Jr. to create the Versatiles, later renamed the 5th Dimension. Working with producer Bones Howe, arrangers Bob Alcivar and Bill Holman, and the Wrecking Crew rhythm section of Joe Osborn, Hal Blaine, and Larry Knechtel, the ensemble scored numerous successes first on Johnny Rivers’ Soul City label and subsequently on Bell Records. McCoo and Davis exited to perform as a duo, earning a 1976 gold single, “You Don’t Have to Be a Star (To Be in My Show),” on ABC Records. The three remaining original members continued touring and recruited an additional female and male vocalist. The classic 5th Dimension lineup was featured on the cover of Goldmine magazine’s September 10, 1999, issue.
Albums
