LaMonte McLemore, founding member of The 5th Dimension, dead at 90

Music News Group3 hours ago

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(L-R) Ronald Townson, Lamonte McLemore, Marilyn McCoo, Florence LaRue, Billy Davis, Jr, The 5th Dimension, on ‘The 5th Dimension Traveling Sunshine Show’ television special. (Photo by Andy Sackheim /Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)

LaMonte McLemore, one of the founding members of the popular ’60s/’70s soul and R&B group The 5th Dimension, died Tuesday at the age of 90.

According to McLemore’s representative, he passed away at his Las Vegas home from “natural causes following a stroke suffered several years ago.”

The 5th Dimension, whose original members also included Marilyn McCoo and husband Billy Davis Jr., Florence LaRue and Ronald Townson, scored 20 top-40 hits between 1967 and 1973. Those include the #1 track “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In,” a medley of songs from the musical Hair, which also won the Grammy for record of the year.

Other hits included “Up, Up and Away,” a cover of “One Less Bell To Answer,” “Stoned Soul Picnic,” “Wedding Bell Blues” and “Never My Love.”

“Up, Up and Away” and “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2003 and 2004, respectively.

Remembering McLemore, McCoo and Davis said in a statement, “All of us who knew and loved him will definitely miss his energy and wonderful sense of humor.” Davis added, “[H]e will certainly be missed.”

“We were more like brother and sister than singing partners,” LaRue added. “I didn’t realize the depth of my love for Lamonte until he was no longer here. His absence has shown me the magnitude of what he meant to me and that love will stay in my heart forever.”

In addition to music, McLemore was a well-known photographer in areas of entertainment, sports and editorial portraiture, with his photos featured in Jet magazine.