By MARILYN McCOO
Born in Jersey City, NJ
The legacy continues with singer Marilyn McCoo, co-founder of the legendary Grammy award-winning group, the 5th Dimension. Born in Jersey City, NJ, Marilyn and her family resided in the Garden State before relocating to California in the mid-1950’s. By the beginning of the 1960’s, McCoo was a budding model, beauty contest winner and graduate of UCLA when she co-founded the singing group, the Hi-Fi’s, which included colleague Lamonte McLemore. After that group disbanded, Marilyn and Lamonte joined forces with Florence LaRue, Ron Townson and Billy Davis Jr. as the Versatiles, later renamed the 5th Dimension. After signing with Johnny Rivers’ Soul City Records, the quintet began a run of million-selling hits between 1967 and 1969 – “Up-Up & Away”, “Stoned Soul Picnic”, “Sweet Blindness”, “Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In” and “Wedding Bell Blues.” Switching to Bell Records in early 1970, the hits continued – “One Less Bell To Answer”, “Puppet Man”, “Love’s Lines, Angles & Rhymes”, “(Last Night) I Didn’t Get To Sleep At All” – with Marilyn singing lead. In 1968, Marilyn married fellow 5th Dimension co-founder Billy Davis Jr. and several years later the two left the group in 1976. As a duo, Marilyn and Billy scored the #1 Grammy Award winning hit, “You Don’t Have To Be A Star (To Be In My Show)”. The couple will celebrate their 55th wedding anniversary this year.
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