The 5th Dimension - Wedding Bell Blues - YouTube The 5th Dimension - Wedding Bell Blues Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Jun 2, 2013 "Wedding Bell Blues" is a song written and recorded by Laura Nyro in 1966 that became a #1 hit for The 5th Dimension in 1969 and subsequently a popular phrase in American culture. The song is written from the perspective of a woman whose boyfriend has not yet proposed to her, who wonders, "am I ever gonna see my wedding day?" The song carries dual themes of adoring love and frustrated lament. The 5th Dimension had already found hits with Nyro's "Stoned Soul Picnic" and "Sweet Blindness" during 1968. When recording tracks for their upcoming album The Age of Aquarius, producer Bones Howe suggested it would be amusing to record another Nyro song, this one about a woman trying to get someone named Bill to commit to marriage.

As it happened, 5th Dimension singer Marilyn McCoo was engaged to another member, Billy Davis, Jr., though they had not set a wedding date. So the group recorded it, and in May 1969 the album was released. The first single ahead of the album, "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In", was a tremendous hit, while success of the second single, "Workin' On a Groovy Thing", was much more moderate. When a disc jockey in San Diego began playing "Wedding Bell Blues" off the album, Soul City Records saw its potential, and in September 1969 it was put out as a single. "Wedding Bell Blues" quickly soared to #1 on the U.S. pop singles chart, spending three weeks there in November, 1969. It also reached the top spot on the U.S. adult contemporary chart, made one of the group's somewhat rare appearances on the U.S. R&B singles chart, was a Top Five hit in Canada, and placed in the Top 20 on the UK Singles Chart.

Performers: Billy Davis, Jr., Florence LaRue, Marilyn McCoo, Lamonte McLemore, Ron Townson Lead vocals: Marilyn McCoo Wedding Bell Blues by The 5th Dimension Songfacts Wedding Bell Blues by The 5th Dimension Songfacts Songfacts Laura Nyro wrote this song when she was just 18, and released it on her first album in 1967. The song finds the singer letting her boyfriend (Bill) know that although she loves him, she's becoming frustrated waiting for him to propose to her (Beyonce updated this theme with her hit " Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) )." So, was there really a "Bill"? Alan Merrill would know - the son of Jazz singer Helen Merrill, he grew up with Laura, and they thought of each other as cousins, since her uncle married Alan's aunt. Alan, who became a rock star in England with his band The Arrows, explains: Around 1958 or so my mom was dating a married man named Bill Carter, a b-film actor. He was married to Trink Wiman, heiress to the John Deere fortune.

My mom and Bill co-owned a jazz club named The Night Owl (not the Greenwich Village rock venue) and were having a very passionate and public relationship. The club was quite possibly funded by Ms. Wiman's money. The affair was so serious in fact that Trink had private detectives invade our apartment at 800 Grand Concourse (Bronx) in 1958, I was there and remember it. The ensuing newspaper scandal was the reason we left to reside in Europe for many years. This was big family gossip of course, and Laura listened to it as a child and later wrote about it. My mother could never marry Bill, and didn't. Her timing was bad. Seeing a married man was a big deal in the '50s, but that the wife was such a wealthy heiress upped the ante. My mother seethes at the mention of his name now and refuses to discuss him, although she did confirm the story of the affair (and Laura admitting to her that it was the inspiration for the song) when interviewed in Michele Kort's book about Laura's life - Soul Picnic .

My mom was not amused at Laura's incisive lyric, but in fact Laura was an investigative journalist as an artist and got the story spot-on in the song. A zinger from my mom's perspective, but a big winner in terms of sale for Laura! Laura Nyro, who died from cancer in 1997, was a popular singer, but other artists had far more success with her songs. This song, along with "And When I Die" by Blood, Sweat & Tears and "Eli's Coming" by 3 Dog Night, were all Laura Nyro compositions in the US Top 10 at the same time for a few weeks in the fall of 1969. Alan Merrill told us: "I watched Laura write all of her first songs. I'd go, 'You can't speed up like that, you'll never have a hit.

You can't slow down, speed up, slow down, speed up.' And she just smiled at me, like, 'I know what I'm doing.' I said, 'Listen to the Byrds and the Beatles, they don't slow down and speed up.' A year or two later I was looking at the numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4 songs on the Billboard charts and Laura had written them all!" (Merrill was a member of The Arrows and co-wrote the song " I Love Rock And Roll ." For more of his stories about Laura, see our interview with Alan Merrill .) The 5th Dimension had hits in 1968 with Nyro's songs "Stoned Soul Picnic" and "Sweet Blindness." The group's producer Bones Howe was good friends with Nyro and loved her songs, so he encouraged them to record another one for their Age Of Aquarius album. The song was exceptionally fitting for the group, as members Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. were engaged at the time, but had not set a wedding date.

This played well on television appearances, as Marilyn would sing to "Bill" and Davis would put on that look guys get when they're being hassled about getting married. McCoo and Davis did get married later in 1969, and remained together. "Wedding Bell Blues" became a common phrase in pop culture after this song became a hit. The title has been used for several books, a 1996 movie, and episodes of television shows. " Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In " was the first single released from the album and the first #1 hit for The 5th Dimension. "Wedding Bell Blues" was released next, and also topped the charts. The 5th Dimension | New Music And Songs | The 5th Dimension About The 5th Dimension The Fifth Dimension's unique sound lay somewhere between smooth, elegant soul and straightforward, adult-oriented pop, often with a distinct flower-power vibe.

Although they appealed more to mainstream listeners than to a hip, hardcore R&B audience, they had a definite ear for contemporary trends; their selection of material helped kickstart the notable songwriting careers of Jimmy Webb and Laura Nyro, and their biggest hit was a medley from the hippie musical Hair, "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In." The group's soaring, seamless harmonies were given appropriately sweeping, orchestrated period production by Bones Howe, which often placed their records closer to California-style sunshine pop. That's actually part of the reason why the best singles from the Fifth Dimension's heyday of the late '60s and early '70s still evoke their era with uncanny precision. The Fifth Dimension began life in Los Angeles in 1965 as the Versatiles. Lamonte McLemore, Ron Townson, and Billy Davis, Jr. all grew up in St. Louis, and moved to Los Angeles independently of one another; each was trained in a different area -- jazz, opera, and gospel/R&B, respectively.

Marilyn McCoo was the first female singer to join, and she was soon augmented by Florence LaRue; both were ex-beauty pageant winners who'd attended college in the L.A. area. Their demo tape was rejected by Motown, but after a one-off single for Bronco, they caught the attention of singer Johnny Rivers, who'd just set up his own label, Soul City. Rivers signed the group in 1966 on the condition that they update their name and image, and thus the Fifth Dimension was born. Their first Soul City single, "I'll Be Lovin' You Forever," was a flop, but a cover of the Mamas & the Papas' "Go Where You Wanna Go" climbed into the Top 20.

Budding young songwriter Jimmy Webb ("Macarthur Park," "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," etc.) supplied the Fifth Dimension with their breakthrough hit, 1967's "Up, Up and Away." An ode to the pleasures of flying in a beautiful balloon, the song became the group's first Top Ten hit, peaking at number seven, and went on to sweep the Grammy Awards, taking home five total (including Record of the Year and Song of the Year). Its success pushed the Fifth Dimension's first album, also titled Up, Up and Away, to gold sales status. The group stuck with Webb for its second album, The Magic Garden, which featured only one non-Webb composition; it produced a couple of minor hits in "Paper Cup" and "Carpet Man," but nothing on the level of "Up, Up and Away." Their third LP was thus more diverse, featuring several compositions by another up-and-coming songwriter, Laura Nyro. The title cut, Nyro's "Stoned Soul Picnic," went all the way to number three in the spring of 1968, selling over a million copies and putting Nyro on the map.

The Nyro-penned follow-up single, "Sweet Blindness," also reached the Top 20. The Fifth Dimension's success peaked in 1969 when the group caught a Broadway production of Hair, and immediately decided to cut a medley of two songs from the show. "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" was a monster hit and grew to become one of the era's defining pop records; it spent six weeks at number one, sold a whopping three million copies, and won the group its second Record of the Year Grammy. Accompanying LP The Age of Aquarius went gold and nearly hit number one, and their Nyro-penned follow-up single, "Wedding Bell Blues," followed its predecessor to number one as well. The song was something of a mirror of real life; Billy Davis and Marilyn McCoo were married that year, and Florence LaRue also married group manager Marc Gordon. Johnny Rivers sold Soul City to the Bell label in 1970, and the first Fifth Dimension LP on Bell was that year's Portrait, which spawned several minor hits and the Top Five smash "One Less Bell to Answer," a Burt Bacharach composition.

1970 also brought a controversial performance at the White House; although the group sang "The Declaration," a socially conscious critique, the simple act of appearing before President Nixon further alienated the Fifth Dimension from the black wing of their fan base, at a time when their releases had already begun to peak higher on the pop charts than on the R&B side. Indeed, their Bell recordings moved farther into soft pop and away from R&B and the gently trippy vibes of their late-'60s material. Their album sales began to taper off, and their vocal arrangements now tended to spotlight soloists rather than unified harmonies. McCoo emerged as a focal point, singing lead on the 1972 Top Ten hits "(Last Night) I Didn't Get to Sleep at All" and "If I Could Reach You." They proved to be the group's last major successes; another Bacharach tune, 1973's "Living Together, Growing Together," barely made the Top 40, and the following year's Soul & Inspiration LP marked the end of their relationship with producer Bones Howe.

1975's Earthbound was another full-length collaboration with Jimmy Webb, and much like The Magic Garden, its thematic unity failed to produce a significant hit single. It was also the last album by the original lineup; McCoo and Davis left the group to form a duo, and scored a big hit in 1976 with "You Don't Have to Be a Star." The remaining trio carried on with new members, and nearly had a hit in 1976 with the LaRue-sung "Love Hangover"; unfortunately, Motown issued Diana Ross' own version shortly after the Fifth Dimension's hit the charts, and hers proved far more popular. Strangely enough, the Fifth Dimension signed with Motown not long after, releasing two albums in 1978. Townson briefly left the group to try a solo career, but soon returned, as the group resigned itself to the nostalgia circuit; meanwhile, McCoo served a stint as the host of Solid Gold. Phyllis Battle joined in the mid-'80s, and the original quintet reunited in 1990 for a tour.

In 1995, the quintet of LaRue, Townson, McLemore, Battle, and Greg Walker recorded a new album, In the House, for Click Records. In 1998, Willie Williams replaced Townson, who passed away in 2001 due to kidney failure. Battle departed in 2002, to be replaced by Van Jewel. ~ Steve Huey, Rovi Hear more of The Fifth Dimension – Up Up And Away | It's About The Music It's About The Music The Fifth Dimension – Up Up And Away Posted on Label:Soul City Format:Vinyl Musicians:Florence Larue, Marilyn McCoo, Lamont McLemore, Billy Davis Jr., Ron Townson – all vocals, Al Casey-guitar & eastern sounds, Tommy Tedesco-guitar & piano, Larry Knechtel-piano & keyboards, Jim Webb-keyboards, Joe Osborne-bass, Hal Blaine-drums Producer:Johnny Rivers & Marc Gordon Engineer:Bones Howe Mastering Engineer: Elliot Federman The 5th Dimension is an American popular music vocal group, whose repertoire includes pop, R&B, soul, jazz, light opera and Broadway.

They are also one of my all time favorites and you should hear what they do with the few rock songs they covered, but we will get to them later in another review. Formed as The Versatiles in late 1965, the group changed its name to the hipper The 5th Dimension, by 1966 and became well-known during the late 1960s and early 1970s for their popular hits “Up, Up and Away”, “Stoned Soul Picnic”, “Medley: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)”, “Wedding Bell Blues”, “One Less Bell to Answer”, “(Last Night) I Didn’t Get to Sleep at All”. The five original members were Billy Davis, Jr., Florence LaRue, Marilyn McCoo, LaMonte McLemore, and Ron Townson. They have recorded for several different labels over their long careers. Their first work appeared on the Soul City label, which was started by Imperial Records/United Artists Records recording artist Johnny Rivers. The group would later record for Bell/Arista Records, ABC Records, and Motown Records.

Some of the songwriters popularized by The 5th Dimension went on to careers of their own. The group is also notable for having more success with the songs of Laura Nyro than Nyro did herself, particularly with “Stoned Soul Picnic”, “Sweet Blindness”, “Wedding Bell Blues”, “Blowin’ Away”, and “Save the Country”. The group also covered music by well-known songwriters such as the song “One Less Bell to Answer”, written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David and the songs and music of Jimmy Webb, who penned their hit “Up, Up and Away”, including an entire recording of Webb songs called The Magic Garden. The 5th Dimension’s famed producer, Bones Howe, utilized Bob Alcivar as the singers’ vocal arranger, as well as The Wrecking Crew, a renowned group of studio musicians including drummer Hal Blaine, for their recording sessions. You can read more here: My other favorite vocal group is the Mamas and Papas, I grew up with their music.

Here are some other tidbits: In 1965 The Mamas & the Papas’ first single, lead member John Phillips’ “Go Where You Wanna Go”, failed to open the foursome’s chart career. At the suggestion of Rivers and their manager Marc Gordon, The 5th Dimension covered the same song virtually note-for-note (except for the last verse’s upward modulation), and their early 1967 version climbed into the top 20 on both R&B and pop stations and peaked at #16 on the Hot 100, opening the quintet’s chart career. The group’s success broke wide open, with “Medley: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)” from the musical Hair topping the Hot 100 for six straight weeks in April and May, and another Nyro song, “Wedding Bell Blues”, doing the same for the first three full weeks in November. They also made several TV appearances. I only remember them appearing on Soul Train and American Bandstand and in an episode of It Takes A Thief which was weird. I also have a copy of their own variety show special: The 5th Dimension Traveling Sunshine Show.

From Wikipeda: The 5th Dimension performed “Sweet Blindness” on Frank Sinatra’s 1968 TV special Francis Albert Sinatra Does His Thing and sang “Workin’ On a Groovy Thing” and “Wedding Bell Blues” on Woody Allen’s The Woody Allen Special in 1969. They introduced “Puppet Man” and “One Less Bell To Answer” as guests in the It Takes a Thief episode “To Sing a Song of Murder” in 1970; the latter song used as a plot device in which the song’s closing notes were to activate a bomb in an assassination attempt of the head of a fictitious country. The 5th Dimension appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show twice in 1969. The group performed and sang a medley consisting of “What the World Needs Now Is Love” and the Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love” on February 23, 1969 and performed and sang “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” on May 18, 1969.

That same year the group appeared on the British show This Is Tom Jones, singing “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” and “Got My Mojo Workin’ “. The 5th Dimension: An Odyssey in the Cosmic Universe of Peter Max, a television special, aired on CBS on May 21, 1970. During the last season of The Ed Sullivan Show, Sullivan dedicated the entire February 21, 1971 episode to the fifth anniversary of The 5th Dimension. The group opened the show with “Love’s Lines, Angles and Rhymes” and later joined Connie Stevens for “Puppet Man”. The group came back for the last 15 minutes of the show and sang their hits “Up, Up and Away”, “One Less Bell to Answer”, “Stoned Soul Picnic”, “Wedding Bell Blues”, and finished up with “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In”. This appearance would be the group’s last on Sullivan. The 5th Dimension Traveling Sunshine Show, a television special, aired on August 18, 1971.

The 5th Dimension also made memorable appearances on Soul Train, American Bandstand, The Flip Wilson Show, The Mike Douglas Show, and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Seems like they were on TV more than some actors. From here it gets messy though, this group had more members revolving through the door than any other group including Yes. Regrouping: In 1975, McCoo and Davis, who had married on 26 July 1969, left the group to do both collective and individual projects. McCoo also served a lengthy ’80’s stint as the host of the TV show Solid Gold. The remaining trio carried on with new members, and nearly had a hit in 1976 with the LaRue-sung “Love Hangover”; however, Motown issued Diana Ross’ original version shortly after the 5th Dimension’s hit the charts, and hers soared to the top of the charts. The group signed with Motown not long after, releasing two albums in 1978.

R&B singer Lou Courtney was in the group briefly in 1978 and 1979, Joyce Wright joined in 1979, and Phyllis Battle joined in 1988. Reunion: The original quintet reunited in 1990 and 1991 for a tour. Townson briefly left the group to try a solo career, but soon returned, as the group eventually resigned itself to the nostalgia circuit. In 1995, the quintet of LaRue, Townson, McLemore, Battle, and Greg Walker recorded a new album, In the House, for Click Records. In 1998, Willie Williams replaced Townson, who died in 2001 due to diabetes-related kidney failure. Battle departed in 2002, to be replaced by Van Jewell. McLemore left from the group in March 2006. Today: As of April 2009, the group is actively touring as “The 5th Dimension featuring Florence LaRue”, led by LaRue, with Willie Williams, Leonard Tucker, Patrice Morris, and Floyd Smith.

Celebrating 45 years of marriage, McCoo and Davis continue to tour separately from the 5th Dimension as their own act: “Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr.” (author’s note:This is what happens when you embrace the nostalgia circuit, it’s sad). Over the years there have been 26 different members of the group! The list is here: This LP here, Up, Up and Away is the debut album by American pop group The 5th Dimension, released in 1967. The title track was released as a single and became a major pop hit. Overall, my only gripe is that it was not recorded quite loud enough, perhaps the producer or engineer feared clipping so much that they erred on the side of caution, I don’t know. That said though it is well mixed. Overall, I think this LP is ok, but it’s not my favorite of their’s. The stand outs for me are: Up-Up And Away – the obvious title cut and one of my favorite songs. It was written by Jimmy Webb and became a major pop hit.

A canonical example of sunshine pop, themed around images of hot air ballooning, it cleaned up at the 10th Grammy Awards in 1968, winning for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. Another Day, Another Heartache – This song has a Mamas and Papas flavor, not quite the same feel, but a good song. Go Where You Wanna Go – This is it, the Mamas and Papas cover. As mentioned, it was written by John Phillips and never made anything for the Mamas and Papas, but it was a small hit with The Fifth Dimension. Personally, I felt this was inevitable for The Fifth Dimension to do this song. That said though, I like the Mamas and Papas version better, it just sounds more correct to me, probably because I grew up hearing the Mamas and Papas doing it on the LP “If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears” which got a lot of rotation in my house.

MUSIC: SOUND: Up-Up And Away: I can’t find a true live clip of The Fifth Dimension performing this, but thought it would be interesting to let you compare the two groups Fifth Dimension and Mamas and Papas doing “Go Where You Wanna Go”. (Note the tempo is a bit faster in The Fifth Dimenaion’s version and the strings come in later than the Mamas and Papas version. The Fifth Dimension: The Mamas and Papas: Share this: The Fifth Dimension - Wedding Bell Blues (Woody Allen Special - 1969) - YouTube The Fifth Dimension - Wedding Bell Blues (Woody Allen Special - 1969) Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Mar 17, 2012 The Fifth Dimension's unique sound lay somewhere between smooth, elegant soul and straightforward, adult-oriented pop, often with a distinct flower-power vibe.

Although they appealed more to mainstream listeners than to a hip, hardcore R&B audience, they had a definite ear for contemporary trends; their selection of material helped kickstart the notable songwriting careers of Jimmy Webb and Laura Nyro, and their biggest hit was a medley from the hippie musical +Hair, "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In." The group's soaring, seamless harmonies were given appropriately sweeping, orchestrated period production by Bones Howe, which often placed their records closer to California-style sunshine pop. That's actually part of the reason why the best singles from the Fifth Dimension's heyday of the late '60s and early '70s still evoke their era with uncanny precision. The Fifth Dimension began life in Los Angeles in 1965 as the Versatiles. Lamonte McLemore, Ron Townson, and Billy Davis, Jr. all grew up in St. Louis, and moved to Los Angeles independently of one another; each was trained in a different area -- jazz, opera, and gospel/R&B, respectively.

Marilyn McCoo was the first female singer to join, and she was soon augmented by Florence LaRue; both were ex-beauty pageant winners who'd attended college in the L.A. area. Their demo tape was rejected by Motown, but after a one-off single for Bronco, they caught the attention of singer Johnny Rivers, who'd just set up his own label, Soul City. Rivers signed the group in 1966 on the condition that they update their name and image, and thus the Fifth Dimension was born. Their first Soul City single, "I'll Be Lovin' You Forever," was a flop, but a cover of the Mamas & the Papas' "Go Where You Wanna Go" climbed into the Top 20.

Budding young songwriter Jimmy Webb ("Macarthur Park," "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," etc.) supplied the Fifth Dimension with their breakthrough hit, 1967's "Up, Up and Away." An ode to the pleasures of flying in a beautiful balloon, the song became the group's first Top Ten hit, peaking at number seven, and went on to sweep the Grammy Awards, taking home five total (including Record of the Year and Song of the Year). Its success pushed the Fifth Dimension's first album, also titled Up, Up and Away, to gold sales status. The group stuck with Webb for its second album, The Magic Garden, which featured only one non-Webb composition; it produced a couple of minor hits in "Paper Cup" and "Carpet Man," but nothing on the level of "Up, Up and Away." Their third LP was thus more diverse, featuring several compositions by another up-and-coming songwriter, Laura Nyro. The title cut, Nyro's "Stoned Soul Picnic," went all the way to number three in the spring of 1968, selling over a million copies and putting Nyro on the map.

The Nyro-penned follow-up single, "Sweet Blindness," also reached the Top 20. The Fifth Dimension's success peaked in 1969 when the group caught a Broadway production of +Hair, and immediately decided to cut a medley of two songs from the show. "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" was a monster hit and grew to become one of the era's defining pop records; it spent six weeks at number one, sold a whopping three million copies, and won the group its second Record of the Year Grammy. Accompanying LP The Age of Aquarius went gold and nearly hit number one, and their Nyro-penned follow-up single, "Wedding Bell Blues," followed its predecessor to number one as well. The song was something of a mirror of real life; Billy Davis and Marilyn McCoo were married that year, and Florence LaRue also married group manager Marc Gordon. Their album sales began to taper off, and their vocal arrangements now tended to spotlight soloists rather than unified harmonies.

McCoo emerged as a focal point, singing lead on the 1972 Top Ten hits "(Last Night) I Didn't Get to Sleep at All" and "If I Could Reach You." They proved to be the group's last major successes; another Bacharach tune, 1973's "Living Together, Growing Together," barely made the Top 40, and the following year's Soul & Inspiration LP marked the end of their relationship with producer Bones Howe. 1975's Earthbound was another full-length collaboration with Jimmy Webb, and much like The Magic Garden, its thematic unity failed to produce a significant hit single. It was also the last album by the original lineup; McCoo and Davis left the group to form a duo, and scored a big hit in 1976 with "You Don't Have to Be a Star." ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide PLEASE NOTE: I divided my uploads among multiple channels, Bookmark this link in your browser for instant access to an index with links to all of John1948's oldies classics. LINK: Category The 5th Dimension - Biography | Billboard The 5th Dimension 1966 Members: Billy Davis, Jr.

Phyllis Battle Marilyn McCoo Greg Walker Willie Williams Ron Townson Lamonte McLemore Florence LaRue The Fifth Dimension's unique sound lay somewhere between smooth, elegant soul and straightforward, adult-oriented pop, often with a distinct flower-power vibe. Although they appealed more to mainstream listeners than to a hip, hardcore R&B audience, they had a definite ear for contemporary trends; their selection of material helped kickstart the notable songwriting careers of Jimmy Webb and Laura Nyro, and their biggest hit was a medley from the hippie musical Hair, "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In." The group's soaring, seamless harmonies were given appropriately sweeping, orchestrated period production by Bones Howe, which often placed their records closer to California-style sunshine pop. That's actually part of the reason why the best singles from the Fifth Dimension's heyday of the late '60s and early '70s still evoke their era with uncanny precision. The Fifth Dimension began life in Los Angeles in 1965 as the Versatiles. Lamonte McLemore, Ron Townson, and Billy Davis, Jr. all grew up in St.

Louis, and moved to Los Angeles independently of one another; each was trained in a different area -- jazz, opera, and gospel/R&B, respectively. Marilyn McCoo was the first female singer to join, and she was soon augmented by Florence LaRue; both were ex-beauty pageant winners who'd attended college in the L.A. area. Their demo tape was rejected by Motown, but after a one-off single for Bronco, they caught the attention of singer Johnny Rivers, who'd just set up his own label, Soul City. Rivers signed the group in 1966 on the condition that they update their name and image, and thus the Fifth Dimension was born. Their first Soul City single, "I'll Be Lovin' You Forever," was a flop, but a cover of the Mamas & the Papas' "Go Where You Wanna Go" climbed into the Top 20.

Budding young songwriter Jimmy Webb ("Macarthur Park," "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," etc.) supplied the Fifth Dimension with their breakthrough hit, 1967's "Up, Up and Away." An ode to the pleasures of flying in a beautiful balloon, the song became the group's first Top Ten hit, peaking at number seven, and went on to sweep the Grammy Awards, taking home five total (including Record of the Year and Song of the Year). Its success pushed the Fifth Dimension's first album, also titled Up, Up and Away, to gold sales status. The group stuck with Webb for its second album, The Magic Garden, which featured only one non-Webb composition; it produced a couple of minor hits in "Paper Cup" and "Carpet Man," but nothing on the level of "Up, Up and Away." Their third LP was thus more diverse, featuring several compositions by another up-and-coming songwriter, Laura Nyro. The title cut, Nyro's "Stoned Soul Picnic," went all the way to number three in the spring of 1968, selling over a million copies and putting Nyro on the map.

The Nyro-penned follow-up single, "Sweet Blindness," also reached the Top 20. The Fifth Dimension's success peaked in 1969 when the group caught a Broadway production of Hair, and immediately decided to cut a medley of two songs from the show. "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" was a monster hit and grew to become one of the era's defining pop records; it spent six weeks at number one, sold a whopping three million copies, and won the group its second Record of the Year Grammy. Accompanying LP The Age of Aquarius went gold and nearly hit number one, and their Nyro-penned follow-up single, "Wedding Bell Blues," followed its predecessor to number one as well. The song was something of a mirror of real life; Billy Davis and Marilyn McCoo were married that year, and Florence LaRue also married group manager Marc Gordon. Johnny Rivers sold Soul City to the Bell label in 1970, and the first Fifth Dimension LP on Bell was that year's Portrait, which spawned several minor hits and the Top Five smash "One Less Bell to Answer," a Burt Bacharach composition.

1970 also brought a controversial performance at the White House; although the group sang "The Declaration," a socially conscious critique, the simple act of appearing before President Nixon further alienated the Fifth Dimension from the black wing of their fan base, at a time when their releases had already begun to peak higher on the pop charts than on the R&B side. Indeed, their Bell recordings moved farther into soft pop and away from R&B and the gently trippy vibes of their late-'60s material. Their album sales began to taper off, and their vocal arrangements now tended to spotlight soloists rather than unified harmonies. McCoo emerged as a focal point, singing lead on the 1972 Top Ten hits "(Last Night) I Didn't Get to Sleep at All" and "If I Could Reach You." They proved to be the group's last major successes; another Bacharach tune, 1973's "Living Together, Growing Together," barely made the Top 40, and the following year's Soul & Inspiration LP marked the end of their relationship with producer Bones Howe.

1975's Earthbound was another full-length collaboration with Jimmy Webb, and much like The Magic Garden, its thematic unity failed to produce a significant hit single. It was also the last album by the original lineup; McCoo and Davis left the group to form a duo, and scored a big hit in 1976 with "You Don't Have to Be a Star." The remaining trio carried on with new members, and nearly had a hit in 1976 with the LaRue-sung "Love Hangover"; unfortunately, Motown issued Diana Ross' own version shortly after the Fifth Dimension's hit the charts, and hers proved far more popular. Strangely enough, the Fifth Dimension signed with Motown not long after, releasing two albums in 1978. Townson briefly left the group to try a solo career, but soon returned, as the group resigned itself to the nostalgia circuit; meanwhile, McCoo served a stint as the host of Solid Gold. Phyllis Battle joined in the mid-'80s, and the original quintet reunited in 1990 for a tour.

In 1995, the quintet of LaRue, Townson, McLemore, Battle, and Greg Walker recorded a new album, In the House, for Click Records. In 1998, Willie Williams replaced Townson, who passed away in 2001 due to kidney failure. Battle departed in 2002, to be replaced by Van Jewel. ~ Steve Huey, Rovi Related Artists The 5th Dimension on Apple Music To preview a song, mouse over the title and click Play. Open iTunes to buy and download music. Biography The Fifth Dimension's unique sound lay somewhere between smooth, elegant soul and straightforward, adult-oriented pop, often with a distinct flower-power vibe. Although they appealed more to mainstream listeners than to a hip, hardcore R&B audience, they had a definite ear for contemporary trends; their selection of material helped kickstart the notable songwriting careers of Jimmy Webb and Laura Nyro, and their biggest hit was a medley from the hippie musical Hair, "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In." The group's soaring, seamless harmonies were given appropriately sweeping, orchestrated period production by Bones Howe, which often placed their records closer to California-style sunshine pop.

That's actually part of the reason why the best singles from the Fifth Dimension's heyday of the late '60s and early '70s still evoke their era with uncanny precision. The Fifth Dimension began life in Los Angeles in 1965 as the Versatiles. Lamonte McLemore, Ron Townson, and Billy Davis, Jr. all grew up in St. Louis, and moved to Los Angeles independently of one another; each was trained in a different area -- jazz, opera, and gospel/R&B, respectively. Marilyn McCoo was the first female singer to join, and she was soon augmented by Florence LaRue; both were ex-beauty pageant winners who'd attended college in the L.A. area. Their demo tape was rejected by Motown, but after a one-off single for Bronco, they caught the attention of singer Johnny Rivers, who'd just set up his own label, Soul City. Rivers signed the group in 1966 on the condition that they update their name and image, and thus the Fifth Dimension was born.

Their first Soul City single, "I'll Be Lovin' You Forever," was a flop, but a cover of the Mamas & the Papas' "Go Where You Wanna Go" climbed into the Top 20. Budding young songwriter Jimmy Webb ("Macarthur Park," "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," etc.) supplied the Fifth Dimension with their breakthrough hit, 1967's "Up, Up and Away." An ode to the pleasures of flying in a beautiful balloon, the song became the group's first Top Ten hit, peaking at number seven, and went on to sweep the Grammy Awards, taking home five total (including Record of the Year and Song of the Year). Its success pushed the Fifth Dimension's first album, also titled Up, Up and Away, to gold sales status. The group stuck with Webb for its second album, The Magic Garden, which featured only one non-Webb composition; it produced a couple of minor hits in "Paper Cup" and "Carpet Man," but nothing on the level of "Up, Up and Away." Their third LP was thus more diverse, featuring several compositions by another up-and-coming songwriter, Laura Nyro.

The title cut, Nyro's "Stoned Soul Picnic," went all the way to number three in the spring of 1968, selling over a million copies and putting Nyro on the map. The Nyro-penned follow-up single, "Sweet Blindness," also reached the Top 20. The Fifth Dimension's success peaked in 1969 when the group caught a Broadway production of Hair, and immediately decided to cut a medley of two songs from the show. "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" was a monster hit and grew to become one of the era's defining pop records; it spent six weeks at number one, sold a whopping three million copies, and won the group its second Record of the Year Grammy. Accompanying LP The Age of Aquarius went gold and nearly hit number one, and their Nyro-penned follow-up single, "Wedding Bell Blues," followed its predecessor to number one as well. The song was something of a mirror of real life; Billy Davis and Marilyn McCoo were married that year, and Florence LaRue also married group manager Marc Gordon.

Johnny Rivers sold Soul City to the Bell label in 1970, and the first Fifth Dimension LP on Bell was that year's Portrait, which spawned several minor hits and the Top Five smash "One Less Bell to Answer," a Burt Bacharach composition. 1970 also brought a controversial performance at the White House; although the group sang "The Declaration," a socially conscious critique, the simple act of appearing before President Nixon further alienated the Fifth Dimension from the black wing of their fan base, at a time when their releases had already begun to peak higher on the pop charts than on the R&B side. Indeed, their Bell recordings moved farther into soft pop and away from R&B and the gently trippy vibes of their late-'60s material. Their album sales began to taper off, and their vocal arrangements now tended to spotlight soloists rather than unified harmonies.

McCoo emerged as a focal point, singing lead on the 1972 Top Ten hits "(Last Night) I Didn't Get to Sleep at All" and "If I Could Reach You." They proved to be the group's last major successes; another Bacharach tune, 1973's "Living Together, Growing Together," barely made the Top 40, and the following year's Soul & Inspiration LP marked the end of their relationship with producer Bones Howe. 1975's Earthbound was another full-length collaboration with Jimmy Webb, and much like The Magic Garden, its thematic unity failed to produce a significant hit single. It was also the last album by the original lineup; McCoo and Davis left the group to form a duo, and scored a big hit in 1976 with "You Don't Have to Be a Star." The remaining trio carried on with new members, and nearly had a hit in 1976 with the LaRue-sung "Love Hangover"; unfortunately, Motown issued Diana Ross' own version shortly after the Fifth Dimension's hit the charts, and hers proved far more popular.

Strangely enough, the Fifth Dimension signed with Motown not long after, releasing two albums in 1978. Townson briefly left the group to try a solo career, but soon returned, as the group resigned itself to the nostalgia circuit; meanwhile, McCoo served a stint as the host of Solid Gold. Phyllis Battle joined in the mid-'80s, and the original quintet reunited in 1990 for a tour. In 1995, the quintet of LaRue, Townson, McLemore, Battle, and Greg Walker recorded a new album, In the House, for Click Records. In 1998, Willie Williams replaced Townson, who passed away in 2001 due to kidney failure. Battle departed in 2002, to be replaced by Van Jewel. ~ Steve Huey Top Albums Products Page | Ed Sullivan Show The 5th Dimension The 5th Dimension The 5th Dimension, consisting of Billy Davis, Jr., Florence LaRue, Marilyn McCoo, Lamonte McLemore, and Ron Townson, were frequent guests of The Ed Sullivan Show.

Their mellow soul sound was so popular they appeared eight times in two years. Artist Biography Originally called the Versatiles, the group formed in Los Angeles, where they met Johnny Rivers. He signed them to his Soul City label and changed their name to the more modern 5th Dimension. They had a modest hit with a cover of The Mamas & The Papas’ “Go Where You Wanna Go”, which went to # 16. Then they met Jimmy Webb, who wrote “Up, Up and Away”. This song went to # 7, and was awarded 5 Grammy Awards. The group performed that song several times on Sullivan, once from a hot-air balloon. On the February 23rd 1969 episode, the 5th Dimension took the stage to sing a ‘Love’ medley, and a majority of the performance was filmed through a kaleidoscope lens.

In modern terms, the “mash-up” they performed consisted of “What the World Needs Now (is Love Sweet Love)” and The Beatles' “All You Need is Love.” On May 18, 1969 they sang “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In.” This medley from the Broadway rock musical Hair took them to number one, and at the end of their performance the group faded off into the sun. They also went to number one with “Wedding Bell Blues”. When they performed this on Sullivan, bride Marilyn sang “Will you marry me?” to her real-life love, Bill. During the last season of The Ed Sullivan Show, Sullivan dedicated the entire February 21st 1971 episode to the 5th anniversary of The 5th Dimension.

The group opened the show with the solemn “Loves, Lines, Angles, & Rhymes” and later joined Connie Stevens for “Puppet Man.” The group came back for the last fifteen minutes of the show and sang their hits “Up, Up & Away”, “One Less Bell to Answer,” “Stoned Cold Picnic,” “Wedding Bell Blues,” and finished up with “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In.” Then Ed rolled out a giant cake to congratulate them on their anniversary. This would be their last appearance on Sullivan. The 5th Dimension managed to accumulate twenty Top 40 hits, received 14 gold and 6 platinum records and 6 Grammy Awards. McCoo and Davis married and found success as a duo. LaRue continues to tour and perform as The 5th Dimension, with others filling in for Townson, who died in 2001, and McLemore, who retired in 2006. The 5th Dimension — Listen for free on Spotify The 5th Dimension Play on Spotify The Fifth Dimension's unique sound lay somewhere between smooth, elegant soul and straightforward, adult-oriented pop, often with a distinct flower-power vibe.

Although they appealed more to mainstream listeners than to a hip, hardcore R&B audience, they had a definite ear for contemporary trends; their selection of material helped kickstart the notable songwriting careers of Jimmy Webb and Laura Nyro , and their biggest hit was a medley from the hippie musical Hair, "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In." The group's soaring, seamless harmonies were given appropriately sweeping, orchestrated period production by Bones Howe, which often placed their records closer to California-style sunshine pop. That's actually part of the reason why the best singles from the Fifth Dimension's heyday of the late '60s and early '70s still evoke their era with uncanny precision. The Fifth Dimension began life in Los Angeles in 1965 as the Versatiles. Lamonte McLemore, Ron Townson, and Billy Davis, Jr. all grew up in St. Louis, and moved to Los Angeles independently of one another; each was trained in a different area -- jazz, opera, and gospel/R&B, respectively.

Marilyn McCoo was the first female singer to join, and she was soon augmented by Florence LaRue; both were ex-beauty pageant winners who'd attended college in the L.A. area. Their demo tape was rejected by Motown, but after a one-off single for Bronco, they caught the attention of singer Johnny Rivers , who'd just set up his own label, Soul City. Rivers signed the group in 1966 on the condition that they update their name and image, and thus the Fifth Dimension was born. Their first Soul City single, "I'll Be Lovin' You Forever," was a flop, but a cover of the Mamas & the Papas ' "Go Where You Wanna Go" climbed into the Top 20.

Budding young songwriter Jimmy Webb ("Macarthur Park," "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," etc.) supplied the Fifth Dimension with their breakthrough hit, 1967's "Up, Up and Away." An ode to the pleasures of flying in a beautiful balloon, the song became the group's first Top Ten hit, peaking at number seven, and went on to sweep the Grammy Awards, taking home five total (including Record of the Year and Song of the Year). Its success pushed the Fifth Dimension's first album, also titled Up, Up and Away, to gold sales status. The group stuck with Webb for its second album, The Magic Garden, which featured only one non- Webb composition; it produced a couple of minor hits in "Paper Cup" and "Carpet Man," but nothing on the level of "Up, Up and Away." Their third LP was thus more diverse, featuring several compositions by another up-and-coming songwriter, Laura Nyro . The title cut, Nyro 's "Stoned Soul Picnic," went all the way to number three in the spring of 1968, selling over a million copies and putting Nyro on the map.

The Nyro -penned follow-up single, "Sweet Blindness," also reached the Top 20. The Fifth Dimension's success peaked in 1969 when the group caught a Broadway production of Hair, and immediately decided to cut a medley of two songs from the show. "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" was a monster hit and grew to become one of the era's defining pop records; it spent six weeks at number one, sold a whopping three million copies, and won the group its second Record of the Year Grammy. Accompanying LP The Age of Aquarius went gold and nearly hit number one, and their Nyro -penned follow-up single, "Wedding Bell Blues," followed its predecessor to number one as well. The song was something of a mirror of real life; Billy Davis and Marilyn McCoo were married that year, and Florence LaRue also married group manager Marc Gordon. Johnny Rivers sold Soul City to the Bell label in 1970, and the first Fifth Dimension LP on Bell was that year's Portrait, which spawned several minor hits and the Top Five smash "One Less Bell to Answer," a Burt Bacharach composition.

1970 also brought a controversial performance at the White House; although the group sang "The Declaration," a socially conscious critique, the simple act of appearing before President Nixon further alienated the Fifth Dimension from the black wing of their fan base, at a time when their releases had already begun to peak higher on the pop charts than on the R&B side. Indeed, their Bell recordings moved farther into soft pop and away from R&B and the gently trippy vibes of their late-'60s material. Their album sales began to taper off, and their vocal arrangements now tended to spotlight soloists rather than unified harmonies. McCoo emerged as a focal point, singing lead on the 1972 Top Ten hits "(Last Night) I Didn't Get to Sleep at All" and "If I Could Reach You." They proved to be the group's last major successes; another Bacharach tune, 1973's "Living Together, Growing Together," barely made the Top 40, and the following year's Soul & Inspiration LP marked the end of their relationship with producer Bones Howe.

1975's Earthbound was another full-length collaboration with Jimmy Webb , and much like The Magic Garden, its thematic unity failed to produce a significant hit single. It was also the last album by the original lineup; McCoo and Davis left the group to form a duo, and scored a big hit in 1976 with "You Don't Have to Be a Star." The remaining trio carried on with new members, and nearly had a hit in 1976 with the LaRue-sung "Love Hangover"; unfortunately, Motown issued Diana Ross ' own version shortly after the Fifth Dimension's hit the charts, and hers proved far more popular. Strangely enough, the Fifth Dimension signed with Motown not long after, releasing two albums in 1978. Townson briefly left the group to try a solo career, but soon returned, as the group resigned itself to the nostalgia circuit; meanwhile, McCoo served a stint as the host of Solid Gold. Phyllis Battle joined in the mid-'80s, and the original quintet reunited in 1990 for a tour.

In 1995, the quintet of LaRue, Townson, McLemore, Battle, and Greg Walker recorded a new album, In the House, for Click Records. In 1998, Willie Williams replaced Townson, who passed away in 2001 due to kidney failure. Battle departed in 2002, to be replaced by Van Jewel. ~ Steve Huey, Rovi Read More Show less The Fifth Dimension Page Lamont McLemore (b. 17th September 1940, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.) The original line-up of the Hi-Fi’s came together in the early Sixties. Lamonte McLemore, Marilyn McCoo , Harry Elston and Floyd Butler completed the line-up. the vocals with ray charles in 1964 The Hi-Fi’s became The Vocals, and began performing locally around L.A. where they came to the attention of Ray Charles . Ray began taking the group on tour, and later produced a single called ‘Lonesome Mood’. Differences within the group led to Harry Elston and Floyd Butler leaving the group, later becoming part of the original members of the Friends of Distinction .

Lamonte McLemore began to look for members of a new group, recruiting Florence LaRue, and Ron Townson, who had toured with Dorothy Dandridge and Nat King Cole. Lamonte’s cousin, Billy Davis, Jr., was then approached, and he was enlisted into the group’s ranks. Initially going under the name of the Vocals, and later, the Versatiles, they auditioned for Motown, but were recommended to the Bronco Records imprint, where they recorded the single, ‘Bye Bye Baby' b/w 'You're Good Enough For Me’. After signing to the Soul City imprint n 1967, the group covered the The Mamas & the Papas' song ‘Go Where You Wanna Go’ which reached the top 20 on both R&B and pop stations and peaked at number 16 on the Hot 100.

the magic garden - 1967 / up, up and away - 1967 / stoned soul picnic - 1968 / the age of aquarius - 1969 Later in 1967, their career literally ’took off’, with the release of the Jim Webb evergreen ‘Up, Up and Away’, which climbed to the number 7 chart position, later winning five Grammy Awards. Laura Nyro provided the group with further chart success, in the shape of ‘Stoned Soul Picnic’ (U.S. number 3) and ‘Sweet Blindness’ (U.S. number 13). The album ‘Stoned Soul Picnic’ became a gold record. Also on the album was the Ashford & Simpson song ‘California Soul’, which reached number 25 in 1969. The Fifth Dimension's singles success followed on a regular basis. ‘Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In’ (from the musical Hair) reached number one on the Hot 100, whilst another Laura Nyro song, ‘Wedding Bell Blues’ achieved the same feat later in the year.

Their take on Neil Sedaka's ‘Workin' On A Groovy Thing’, also peaked at number 20 that year. portrait - 1970 / loves, lines, angles and rhymes - 1971 / individually and collectively - 1972/ living together, growing together - 1973 In 1970, they released ‘One Less Bell to Answer’ (U.S. number 2), whilst in 1971 ‘Love's Lines, Angles and Rhymes’ reached number 19 and ‘Never My Love’ also reached number 12. 1972 saw ‘(Last Night) I Didn't Get to Sleep at All’ (U.S. number 8) and ‘If I Could Reach You’ (U.S. number 10). Seven further singles charted, up until 1973, when ‘Living Together, Growing Together’ climbed to number 32). The Fifth Dimension appeared many times on various television shows across this period, including specials by Frank Sinatra, Woody Allen, Ed Sullivan and a Tom Jones U.K. Special.

soul's inspiration - 1974 / earthbound - 1975 / high on sunshine - 1978 / star dancin' - 1978 In 1975, husband and wife, Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, left the group to pursue solo and dual careers. The couple charted with the hit ‘You Don't Have to Be a Star (To Be in My Show)’. The Fifth Dimension carried on their careers with a new line-up. In 1976 they released an early version of ‘Love Hangover’, although it was the Diana Ross version, released, almost at the same time, which became the hit version. Motown later signed the group releasing two albums in 1978. lou courtney The line-up changed with Lou Courtney joining the group in 1978 and 1979. Joyce Wright joined in 1979, and Phyllis Battle joined in 1988. The orginal Sixties line-up reformed in 1990 and 1991 and went on tour. Ron Townson left the group for a short while, but soon returned.

A line-up of Florence LaRue, Ron Townson, Lamonte McLemore, Phyllis Battle, and Greg Walker recorded a new album, ‘In the House’, for Click Records. ron townson In 1998, when Ron Townson passed away from kidney failure, he was replaced by Willie Williams. Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis continue to tour separately, wilst recently, the group is touring under the name of ‘The 5th Dimension featuring Florence LaRue’. This line-up features Florence LaRue, Willie Williams, Leonard Tucker, Patrice Morris, and Floyd Smith. The Fifth Dimension were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2002, and also have a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame, inducted in March 2010.

Albums: Up, Up And Away (Soul City Records 1967) The Magic Garden (Soul City Records 1967) Stoned Soul Picnic (Soul City Records 1968) The Age Of Aquarius (Soul City Records 1969) Fantastic (Bell Records 1970) Love's Lines, Angles And Rhymes (Bell Records 1971) The 5th Dimension Live! (Bell Records 1971) Individually And Collectively (Bell Records 1972) Living Together Growing Together (Bell Records 1973) Soul's Inspiration (Bell Records 1974) Earthbound (ABC Records 1975) High On Sunshine (Motown Records 1978) Star Dancin' (Motown Records 1978)

Question: What is the name of the man in the 1969 5th Dimension hit single ‘Wedding Bell Blues’?
Answer: Bill