At FOREVER 5th DIMENSION, September is always a spectacular month with the birthdays of LaMonte McLemore on the 17th and Marilyn McCoo on the 30th. We are celebrating Mac’s special day early (due to personal travel plans that have me arriving back in the country on the night of LaMonte’s birthday!) Surely, it’s time for LaMonte to get his own Top 5 curated playlist, press the player here, for non-stop musical memories (and a bonus.) Including an exclusive glossary of the selections (below):
Forever 5th Dimension Exclusive Liner Notes:
- “A Love Like Ours,” co-written by LaMonte, a top fan-favorite from the seminal PORTRAIT album, with the guys (Mac, Sweets & Billy) in full force for The 5th Dimension. “Wanting to be together yet wanting to be free” is the eternal theme.
- “Cease Fire,” written by LaMonte, a recent “viral hit” is a potent plea for peace. LaMonte provides the spoken-word intro & outro, the talented Julio Hanson sings lead.
- “Black Patch” is an all-time favorite masterpiece album cut written by Laura Nyro, from INDIDUALLY & COLLECTIVELY. It features LaMonte’s solo punctuating the panoramic party with a mischievous, full-out bass line. In his memoir “From Hobo Flats to The 5th Dimension” LaMonte laughs, “It’s my most notable recorded solo spot…and I never, ever smoked reefer!”
- The Tonight Show appearance of The 5th Dimension featuring Florence, Ron, LaMonte, Joyce and Michael. Wait for the medley from Broadway’s “Ain’t Misbehavin’” and LaMonte’s charming MC and solo moment. In his memoir Mac proudly stated about The 5th Dimension’s innovative touring with such a musical show, “It’s the hardest I ever worked on the road…we kept a true Broadway schedule! A rewarding experience.”
- “The Singer,” co-written by LaMonte from The 5th Dimension’s LOVE’S LINES, ANGLES & RHYMES album is touchingly emoted with Billy in the lead. Mac shares, “Frank Sinatra strongly considered recording the tune, instead my dear friend Gladys Knight did a version with the Pips on the ALL I NEED IS TIME album.”
- BONUS 1: Lamonte refers to The 5th Dimension’s “Ashes to Ashes” as a “turntable hit”…from the LIVING TOGETHER, GROWING TOGETHER album, it’s a song about changing times and ultimate forgiveness…themes near and dear to Mac. This is a casual, yet staged performance as featured on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson providing the tune more “oomph” and social relevance.
- BONUS 2: The Original 5th Dimension took part in many high-profile commercials, whether for radio jingles like Coca Cola or on TV for JELLO and Chevrolet. From ’69, this is LaMonte’s personal “Move Along with Me” favorite, where each member gets a spoken word part, too!
–Curated by Robert-Allan Arno, Biographer, The Original 5th Dimension and LaMonte McLemore
“LaMonte, it’s been an honor of a lifetime to co-pen your memoir, curate your social media, and above all, have your mentorship and trusting friendship of many years. You are a true role model who has taught me (and so many others in your wide sphere) life lessons, the most important being: ‘We are only in the world to help one another.’ Thank you, too, for gracing our Board at the America to Africa Higher Education Foundation. Love and blessings always, to you, Sir Mac and Mieko.” —“Reverend Arno”
To our many FOREVER 5th DIMENSION fans & friends, please consider a tax-deductible donation to the America to Africa Higher Education Foundation (website link, below). We support the collegiate tuitions & related needs of brilliant Nigerian scholars, making their educational dreams come true. –Robert-Allan Arno, Executive Director
Visit & donate at https://www.AmericatoAfricaHigherEducationFoundation.com
Limited Edition Poster size print, “The World of LaMonte” charcoal composite by Ephraim Udoka now available for a tax-deductible donation to AAHEF, see link for details: https://forever5thdimension.com/2024/08/11/limited-edition-poster-offer-the-world-of-lamonte/
You may also enjoy our good friends at SoulTrack’s birthday tribute to LaMonte at this link: https://soultracks.com/story-lamonte-mclemore-birthday/
Forever 5th Dimension by Arno, a production of The Soul of The Voice, Ltd., copyright 2008-2025, intellectual property, all rights reserved.
LaMonte: That’s my mama, and I get emotional…so I’m glad Mieko expressed that for both of us! (laughs)
Robert: As we stand for justice and that #BlackLivesMatter…for equality and unity.
: “The Declaration.”
I was on the radio with LaMonte McLemore this past spring talking with broadcasting great Jimmy Howes of WGHT and we all came to a simultaneous revelation–not that “The Declaration” somehow foreshadowed “Hamilton” (although we did and it did!), but that “Mac,” Florence (and The current 5th Dimension) and Marilyn & Billy are still here, as vibrant as ever, doing their “groovy thing”…spreading “sunshine”…with “love lines” in every note sung, every interview they do. To the special fans–we who are considered friends, and part of “The 5th Family”–that reality is a true blessing to celebrate. And so we bring you our annual “Greatest Hits” review of ’16 (in no particular order) as we look forward to a new year in grace, with “balloons, picnics and bells” ringing us in! And we also toast the dawning of our 9th year of FOREVER 5th DIMENSION, you’ve made us a global success and we are grateful. —Robert-Allan Arno, Biographer The Original 5th Dimension & LaMonte McLemore
—Florence LaRue & The 5th Dimension continue to present their family-friendly, sophisticated n’ smokin’ evenings of “Champagne Soul” all over the country and the world. This past year, a concert in the Philippines was a highlight for the quintet which features Patrice Morris, Willie Williams, Leonard Tucker & Floyd Smith. 
—Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis, Jr., those eternal sweethearts of Rock n’ Soul, celebrated 47 years of marriage this past July. They have been busy doing what they love best, touring with their contemporary concert presentation of Blues, Torch and Pop-Soul plus an all-new Broadway-like extravaganza, in many ways their musical autobiography titled: “Up-Up and Away: A Musical Fable.” Our “MarBill” appear frequently on radio and TV (a highlight was a visit to “Sandyland” on Sirius hosted by Sandra Bernhard this past spring) and are regular contributors to FOREVER 5th DIMENSION with their touching thoughts and astute commentary peppered all throughout our Blog entries. I thank them wholeheartedly for their continued enthusiasm, care and wise mentoring! Our favorite duo is already gearing up for their winter residency at the Colony in Palm Beach, Florida (Jan. 17-28), and for their 3rd Valentine’s weekend appearance in a row (Feb. 11-12) at the Orleans Casino Hotel in Las Vegas!
–I probably talk to “Mac,” LaMonte McLemore who has nicknamed me “Rev. Arno,” nearly every day. We are bonded for life, my always suave “brother like no other” because of his hit memoir which I had the pleasure to co-author, “From Hobo Flats to The 5th Dimension: A Life Fulfilled in Baseball, Photography and Music,” still doing well, now in its 2nd edition. Mac and I are always coming up with something to confer on, for instance his new song, a powerful anthem of peace, brilliantly produced by Lloyd Tolbert with sweet-soul vocal by Julio Hanson, is called “Cease Fire.” We’ve had much fun promoting this tune (its title is also a chapter name in the memoir), getting the message out to the media & the masses. If you liked “A Love Like Ours” and “The Singer” (both penned by LaMonte), you’ll love his concept of “Cease Fire”–and guess what, Mac even does the spoken-word narration on the recording! LaMonte has appeared on numerous radio /TV shows & podcasts this past year, a highlight was being featured in Kelly Wright’s uplifting “Beyond the Dream” series on Fox news. About the new year, LaMonte says with his mischievously visionary smile, “Let’s do it bigger and better in 2017!”
Order “From Hobo Flats to The 5th Dimension” on Amazon at: 
Download “Cease Fire” at CD Baby: 
But first, a hurrah that just in time for the holidays, our friends at Real Gone Music released the comprehensive 3-CD box set: “The 5th Dimension, The Complete Soul City/Bell Singles–’66-’75” available for order at: 
(Photos: The Arno 5th McCoo/Davis Legacy Collection and courtesy General Bob, Andy Gard, DeniseRose Torres, Getty Images, “LaMonte art” by Kenneth Green; Forever 5th Dimension by Robert-Allan Arno is a production of The Soul of The Voice, Ltd, copyright 2008-17, intellectual property, all rights reserved.)
FOREVER 5TH DIMENSION 
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