8/17–During an emotional day while the world mourned the passing of the incomparable musical icon, Aretha Franklin, it was an honor for me to help coordinate the tributes from our stars of The Original 5th Dimension, to be featured on various social media platforms, yesterday. And today, it’s an equal honor to present them here, compiled, for FOREVER 5th DIMENSION. As we celebrate our 10th year of the blog, it’s this very spirit of “cooperative, collaborative generosity” that is the essence of what we appreciate about our featured 5th stars–in this case, reflecting on those they have loved, like Ms. Franklin. –Robert-Allan Arno
Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis, Jr.: “For well over 50 years, Aretha Franklin’s incredible sound and vocal gift have influenced the world of music in every form she touched, from gospel to rhythm & blues to rock & roll, pop, & even opera. She had her own fresh take on anything she sang. You can hear the influence of Aretha in young singers today on The Voice, American Idol, etc. We feel so blessed to have known her and to consider her our contemporary. We will all miss her. Our prayers go out to her family; her loss is tremendous!” –Billy & Marilyn
Florence LaRue: “What can I say that has not been said?!! She’ll always be ‘The Queen of Soul!’ She inspired me like no other!~~It was not only her fabulous voice, but her heart and honesty that shone in everything she sang. My vocal coach used to tell me, ‘Just be yourself ~~~ There’s only one Aretha Franklin and she’s the greatest!!’ And my vocal teacher was right!” –Florence LaRue
LaMonte McLemore: “Long live the Queen of Soul…
now soaring higher than ever, in heaven above.”
With love & special prayers,
LaMonte & Mieko
(Forever 5th Dimension by Robert-Allan Arno, a production of The Soul of The Voice, Ltd,, all rights reserved, copyright 2008-2018, all rights reserved)
FOREVER 5TH DIMENSION 
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