Over the past 12 weeks, I’ve had the great honor & pleasure, as his biographer, to present with LaMonte McLemore on his Facebook page, “LaMonte’s Music Mondays.” Our goal was to bring joy during these unpresented times, but we found ourselves helping to bring revelation, as evidenced in today’s entry…one Mac and I are most proud to feature. I’m so pleased to share it here too, at FOREVER 5th DIMENSION. –Robert-Allan Arno
Welcome Back to “LaMonte’s Music Mondays” for June 8. Hosted by multi-Grammy winning LaMonte McLemore, founding member of The 5th Dimension, and his biographer Robert-Allan Arno…
LaMonte: First, my wife and I want to thank each and everyone of my fans and friends for the outpouring of birthday greetings for my mother’s 106th birthday this past week, we read them all—over 400! And thank you, Robert for the moving social media you did for this event.
Robert: The essence of “Mama June” symbolizes so much, may I share your lovely wife Mieko’s quote: “Mama June has seen all and still observes the current events of the day. She is a lady of grace, beauty and inclusivity who does not ‘look the other way,’ and that makes her incredibly special.”
LaMonte: That’s my mama, and I get emotional…so I’m glad Mieko expressed that for both of us! (laughs)
Robert: And how wonderful that TV news host Kelly Wright featured your song, “Cease Fire (Enough is Enough)” on his broadcast this past weekend.
LaMonte: Thank you Kelly and also Dr. Julio Hanson who sings my song and helps represent it in the media so well, too. “Cease Fire” is more relevant than ever with all that is going on. I narrate the beginning of the song saying: “There is a weapon of mass destruction and it’s easy to find…just look in the mirror, because it’s us mankind.” We must look at ourselves objectively, halt our judgements, halt the violence…and choose compassion. We are marching in the streets, thousand upon thousands for this…
Robert: As we stand for justice and that #BlackLivesMatter…for equality and unity.
LaMonte: Right on! Seems my dream for a “Billion Man March,” and my song accompanying it, is near!
Robert: Which leads us to this week’s song choice by The 5th Dimension
: “The Declaration.”
LaMonte: We usually feature this for 4th of July weekend, but we can’t wait, it is too timely.
Robert: You found the song, essentially a musical interpretation, using the preamble of the Declaration of Independence as the lyrics.
LaMonte: It was in a play I had seen; I was always bringing things to our producer Bones Howe…Robert you remember these things better than I… (laughs)
Robert: Ha, the play was “Bread, Beans and Things.”
LaMonte: Dynamite! And Bones placed it as part of The Independence Medley before “A Change is Gonna Come” and “People Gotta Be Free.” It was our version of protest music, the side 2 of our PORTRAIT album.
Robert: Yes, which even started with “Save the Country” before the medley. I had written at the FOREVER 5th DIMENSION blog that “The Declaration” was a precursor to the vibe of Broadway’s “Hamilton.”
LaMonte: I’ll say The 5th Dimension was often ahead of our time, sometimes in ways people didn’t even realize! (laughs)
Robert: Interesting that “The Declaration” (which was released as a single) was banned on Armed Forces Radio, it is that revolutionary of a statement.
LaMonte: Most fans know we performed it at the White House, and at first it was met with silence before resounding applause, even government dignitaries didn’t know what to make of it!
Robert: But the young fans did, so many had reported that they learned to recite “The Declaration of Independence” for school because of The 5th Dimension. I recall our beloved Ron Townson telling me how proud he was of this fact.
LaMonte: Yes, the members of The Original 5th Dimension—Florence, Marilyn & Billy, and I—we still hear about this. I’ll confess, I learned to recite the Declaration of Independence, myself by singing our own musical version! (laughs)
Robert: The performance on record, and on TV in this clip certainly speaks volumes.
LaMonte: It was one of the few times The 5th Dimension was not smiling…
Robert: Its message carried such weight.
LaMonte: Fans and friends, please watch as well as listen to the words of “The Declaration” …yes, it’s more important than ever.
Watch The 5th Dimension perform “The Declaration” with “People Gotta Be Free” here: https://youtu.be/oOUxNAexRzs
Listen to “Cease Fire,” written by LaMonte McLemore, here: https://youtu.be/JuKzxJTl3Tg
LaMonte McLemore’s historic memoir as told to Robert-Allan Arno, “From Hobo Flats to The 5th Dimension” is available at Amazon, here: https://www.amazon.com/Hobo-Flats-5th-Dimension-Photography/dp/0692307362
(“LaMonte’s Music Mondays, copyright 2020 by McLemore and Arno, all rights reserved)
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