Marilyn Mccoo

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In the early and mid-1960s, McCoo was a member of the Hi-Fi's, who often opened for Ray Charles. She had been invited to join the group by photographer Lamonte McLemore, who would himself join McCoo in The 5th Dimension. Other Hi-Fi members included Harry Elston and Floyd Butler, who would go on to form The Friends of Distinction. She met Billy Davis, Jr. in 1966 when he established The 5th Dimension, then called The Versatiles, which would also include Ron Townson and Florence LaRue (who had won the title of "Miss Bronze California" in 1963). The group's first big hit was with 1967's "Up, Up and Away", written by Jimmy Webb. The song won four 1968 Grammy Awards and was the title track to 5th Dimension's first hit LP. Their follow-up was a cover of Laura Nyro's "Stoned Soul Picnic". "Wedding Bell Blues", featuring McCoo's most prominent vocal of that period, and a medley of "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" (from the musical Hair) both reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1969 with "Aquarius/Let The Sun Shine In" winning the Grammy for 'Record of the Year'. By the early 1970s, McCoo began to sing lead on the group's remaining chart-topping singles, "One Less Bell to Answer", "(Last Night) I Didn't Get to Sleep At All" and "If I Could Reach You."