A founding member of the vocal group The 5th Dimension, who enjoyed chart success in the 1960s and 1970s, on Tuesday (2.03,) LaMonte McLemore passed away of natural causes at his home in Las Vegas. He was 90 years old.
Born in St. Louis, and served in the US Navy – where he worked as an aerial photographer – before finding success in the music business, McLemore first ventured into the music business with the Hi-Fi’s, a jazz ensemble that also featured his future 5th Dimension bandmate Marilyn McCoo. In 1963, the group opened for Ray Charles, before going their separate ways in the following year.
LaMonte and Marilyn subsequently joined forces with two of their childhood friends, Billy Davis Jr. and Ronald Towson, to form a group known as the Versatiles who were later joined by Florence LaRue, whom McLemore met through his photography work.
Signed to Soul City Records in 1965, the band changed their name to The 5th Dimension before they enjoyed their breakthrough 1967 single, with a cover version of Mamas and the Papas’ song ‘Go Where You Wanna Go.’ Later that year, the pop act released ‘Up, Up and Away,’ which peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned them four Grammy Awards, including record of the year, best contemporary single, best performance by a vocal group and best contemporary group performance.
It was in 1969 that The 5th Dimension’s commercial success peaked with the release of ‘Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In,’ the iconic single that represented the ideals of love and peace that spent six weeks at #1 in the United States, winning the Grammy for record of the year and best contemporary vocal performance by a group.
LaMonte McLemore is survived by his wife of 30 years, Mieko McLemore, their daughter Ciara and their son Darin.
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Author: Al Dente
Photo: Soul Train. A note in upper left says that the section was sponsored by the friends and associates of Soul Train. This separates it from Billboard’s editorial content – Public Domain