Posted on 02/06/2026 12:57:56 PM PST by fidelis
He provided warm bass vocals on such hits as “Up, Up and Away,” “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” and “Wedding Bell Blues” and was a photographer and author as well.
LaMonte McLemore, a founding member of The 5th Dimension and a longtime celebrity and sports photographer whose images graced magazines including Jet, Ebony and Harper’s Bazaar, has died. He was 90.
McLemore died Tuesday of natural causes at his home in Las Vegas, a publicist announced. He suffered a stroke several years ago.
With The 5th Dimension alongside Florence LaRue, Ron Townson and married couple Billy Davis Jr. and Marilyn McCoo, McLemore helped bring a polished, genre-blending sound to American pop and soul in the late 1960s and early ’70s on such hits as “Up, Up and Away” and “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In.”
The group won the Grammy for record of the year twice — for “Up, Up and Away” in 1968 and for “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)” in 1970. The latter topped the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks in spring 1969, becoming one of the signature recordings of its generation.
The group’s other hits included another No. 1 song, “Wedding Bell Blues,” Laura Nyro’s “Stoned Soul Picnic,” “Go Where You Wanna Go,” “One Less Bell to Answer” and “(Last Night) I Didn’t Get to Sleep at All.” Along the way, they created seven Gold albums and six Platinum RIAA-certified singles.
McLemore was known for the warm bass vocals and easygoing presence that helped anchor the group’s sophisticated harmonies and modern pop sensibility.
(Excerpt) Read more at hollywoodreporter.com ...
I watched a Fifth Dimension appearance on the Ed Sullivan show on Tubi earlier this week. RIP.
Rest in peace, LaMonte, and thanks for the memories.
My exact thoughts.......
Thanks for the music. RIP.
Great group. Now, I have to cringe at thinking that we get “Bad Bunny”...er...bad not even close to music.
I got to watch them in person when they gave a show at Tulane University in 1969, when I was a senior there. They are one of my favorite groups. It was a great show.
Always loved them. And Marilyn McCoo was one of my first schoolboy crushes.
Great, great music.
“Wedding Bell Blues” is mentioned, but unlike “Stone Soul Picnic”, not attributed to Laura Nyro. The 5th D recorded at least six of hers, including those two.
Me, too. What a beauty.
Thanks to discovering the KHJ Boss Radio airchecks, I discovered this gem, also written by Laura
Blowing Away
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjgsXLVIQCE
Thanks! 5th D was on every TV special and variety show on television for a number of years bridging the late 60s early 70s. Here they perform Laura’s “Sweet Blindness”, with Frank:
https://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/4349997/posts?page=100#100
And LN’s version of “Wedding Bell Blues”:
https://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/4349997/posts?page=101#101
That must have been when Frank was with Mia Farrow.
[5th Dimension] Laura Nyro Medley: Stoney End / Stoned Soul Picnic / Sweet Blindness / Wedding Bell Blues / Save The Country (Live)
(basically everything except “Blowing Away”,apparently)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaiwWeFvaxc
RE: Always loved them. And Marilyn McCoo was one of my first schoolboy crushes.
I saw the Fifth Dimension perform once at their peak.
I can attest that Marilyn McCoo was a true beauty from her angelic voice to her radiant beauty.
Combine Laura’s compositions, the Fifth Dimensions vocal talent, and the best studio musicians in the business and you’ve got a phenomenal hit making machine
Prof of Rock interviews Marilyn & Billy about WBB:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0aFcM_2zXg&t=226
She was one of my first TV crushes when I watched her on Solid Gold circa 1982-1983, lol.
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