The 5th Dimension

BIOGRAPHY

The 5th Dimension formed in late 1965 as The Versatiles, with Lamonte McLemore, Marilyn McCoo, Florence LaRue, Ronald Townson, and Billy Davis Jr. Spotted by Johnny Rivers, who had just launched Soul City Records, the group was signed immediately, with Rivers requesting a new name; Townson and his wife suggested The 5th Dimension. Their 1967 breakthrough led into 'Up, Up and Away,' which reached No. 7 and swept five Grammy Awards in 1968, including Record of the Year and Best Contemporary Group. 'Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)' became their defining single in 1969, topping the Billboard chart for six weeks and selling three million copies, followed by 'Wedding Bell Blues' hitting No. 1 and 'One Less Bell to Answer' reaching No. 2 in 1971. McCoo and Davis, married in 1969, departed after the 1975 Earthbound tour. The group entered the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2002.

WHY THEY'RE COOL

Few vocal groups crossed genre and chart boundaries as fluidly as The 5th Dimension did between pop soul, sunshine pop, and psychedelic soul. Their run of hits, from the five-Grammy-winning 'Up, Up and Away' to the record-breaking 'Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In,' which spent six weeks at No. 1 and sold three million copies, made them one of the defining crossover acts of the late 1960s, a legacy formalized by their 2002 induction into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.

GEORGE'S PLAYS

First time on the station.

PLAYED ON WOKE1

• Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures) - From the Musical "Hair"1 PLAY