From LaMonte’s Facebook Page:
#ThrowbackThursday We’re having some fun today, sharing rare import album/single sleeve artwork…”all the world over” The Original 5th Dimension resounded with “harmony & understanding!” 
Enjoy everyone! ~~Robert-Allan for Team Mac 
(Forever 5th Dimension by Robert-Allan Arno, a production of The Soul of The Voice, Ltd, all rights reserved copyright 2008-21)
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Tagged Billy Davis Jr., Florence LaRue, LaMonte McLemore, Marilyn McCoo, The 5th Dimension
3/18: Happy Birthday to the man with the “golden ears,” Mr. Bones Howe, the Grammy-winning mega-producer of The Original 5th Dimension. I’d always tell Bones, “Keep doin’ what you’re doin’!” and he’d always smile humbly in appreciation of his “Mac.” When you’d see “Production & Sound by Bones Howe” on our albums, you could expect some patent leather perfect Champagne Soul! It was Bones’ genius that put together “Aquarius” with “Let the Sunshine In,” making it a Platinum mash-up for the generations. Did you know one of his favorite album cuts is “Summer’s Daughter” off our “Magic Garden” album? Bones was always the kindest, most assuring, and mellow gentleman whose musical vision helped to unite diverse people. Please join us in wishing him special blessings on his special day. We Love ya, Mr. B! ~~LaMonte McLemore with Robert-Allan Arno for Team Mac
(Photo Collage: Top–“Up-Up & Away” recording session, l to r: Florence, Ron, Marilyn, Billy, LaMonte, Bones, Jimmy Webb); “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” single sleeve–Production & Sound by Bones Howe; The Original 5th Dimension; LaMonte at home amid gold/platinum records; Bottom–Bones Howe)
(Forever 5th Dimension by Robert-Allan Arno, a production of The Soul of The Voice, Ltd., copyright 2008-2021, Intellectual Property, All Rights Reserved)
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Tagged Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In, Bones Howe, LaMonte McLemore, The 5th Dimension
Courtesy of LaMonte McLemore: KUDOS to the gifted artist & music curator, Questlove — @questlove for his vision in excavating footage and producing “Summer of Soul” now at the @sundancefest…2nd showing Sat. Jan 30, 10am, est*! The 5th Dimension will never forget our participation at the Harlem Cultural Festival in 1969.
*Get tix here: https://festival.sundance.org
Three months before Woodstock, iconic performers such as Stevie Wonder, Mahalia Jackson, BB King, Sly & the Family Stone, Gladys Knight & The Pips, The Staple Singers, Nina Simone–AND The Original 5th Dimension who had the #1 hit at the time with “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” graced the festival. Only “bootleg” footage has been available over the years…until now with the unveiling of “Summer of Soul.” 1969 will be remembered as a year of change of conscientiousness and a continuation of the Civil Rights movement with a verve of pride reflected in the musical prowess that blazed onstage. As part of the movie, Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis, Jr.’s joyfully emotional reactions to seeing their performance with The 5th Dimension and the huge outdoor audience’s response has been heralded by critics as one of the docu-film’s highlights.
–Robert-Allan Arno, “Forever 5th Dimension”
(Forever 5th Dimension, a production of The Soul of The Voice, Ltd., Intellectual Property, All Rights Reserved, copyright 2008-2021)
From LaMonte McLemore’s Facebook page:
#HolidayCool Many thanks to our good friends at the #1 oldies internet station, Rewound Radio. Their year-end Top 77 hits of all time for 2020 is in, and “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In,” “Stoned Soul Picnic,” and “One Less Bell to Answer” by The 5th Dimension all made the Top 77 with “Aquarius/Sunshine” at #19! With special appreciation to program director Allan Sniffen, and YOU, the wonderful fans who voted for their fave all-time Rock n’ Soul hits! You can listen to Rewound and enjoy the Top 77 all this week through New Year’s day at: www.rewoundradio.com
#OrderforChristmas #Thankyou to special fans, music aficionado Tony Spriglia, writer/blogger Monica Haynes, and entertainer extraordinaire Alton Fitzgerald White (of “The Lion King” fame!) for their recent holiday purchases of LaMonte McLemore’s hit memoir, “From Hobo Flats to The 5th Dimension.” Each will receive an autographed bookplate to affix in their book. When you order from Amazon, let us know and we’ll mail you a bookplate!
Explore the music of The 5th Dimension, the climate of the times, the laughs, the romance, the love…and even Mac’s grandma’s Top 10 “Wisdom Hits!” Recommended by Johnny Mathis, Nancy Sinatra, Neil Sedaka, Marilyn & Billy….and Tony (above) who shares: “Every 5th fan should have a copy. It’s fascinating, entertaining & easy to read…and enjoy!”
Order in time for Christmas (press above)…and thank you to our worldwide fans & friends for making “From Hobo Flats to The 5th Dimension” the hip, hit memoir…as “Mac” says, “Right on!”
#TuesdayToDo #VoteRewound Happy New Month, fans & friends! Our good friends at the top internet oldies radio station, Rewound Radio are conducting their exciting annual Top 77 of all-time survey. Program Director Allan Sniffen has been so kind to the legacy of The 5th Dimension & so many other legendary groups & singers. And now it’s your chance to support Rewound and your favorite artists & songs of the Rock n’ Soul era. Vote for your Top 10…it’s fun n’ easy…at this link. Results will play Christmas to New Year week on Rewound! Vote here: https://musicradio77.com/voting2020.html
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Tagged Greatest Hits, Rewound Radio, The 5th Dimension, Top 77 Rewound Radio, Vote Rewound
From LaMonte McLemore’s Facebook page:
#SunshineSunday Wishing you a happy, peaceful Labor Day weekend as we pray for our essential workers and those who are unemployed. Along with this classic “flower cart reflection” of The Original 5th Dimension, we provide the link to our performance on the Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day telephone. We had just completed a major summer tour and were so happy to be there with “Light Sings,” “Never My Love,” and more so to help an important cause for Muscular Dystrophy. What seems like yesterday was 49 years ago! Yet it is always the right time to reach out and help one another. ❤ ~~LaMonte & Team
Enjoy “Light Sings” and “Never My Love” here: https://youtu.be/6FSQpjVddVM
#ThrowbackThursday Here’s a treat from our good pal Arnie Lee, an acclaimed photographer who was a pretty ingenious “student photog” when he took these now, iconic shots of The Original 5th Dimension circa ’71 performing at the Dr. Martin Luther King Benefit Concert at Eastern Michigan University. Some of them are at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture alongside of the fringed jacked LaMonte McLemore donated!
Photos Courtesy Arnie Lee Collection, all rights reserved
Forever 5th Dimension by Robert-Allan Arno, a production of The Soul of The Voice, Ltd., copyright 1998-2020, all rights reserved
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)
Dateline June 3: Today is the 106th birthday (yes 106!) of LaMonte McLemore’s cherished mother who is warmly known as “Mama June.” Mac smiles, “Always beautiful with a mind as sharp as a tack, my mother is still offering us good advice!” LaMonte’s lovely wife, Mieko fills us in on today’s festivities in St. Louis where Mama June resides: “Her grandchildren, great grandchildren and their families & friends will be conducting a drive-by parade through her street while Mama June watches & waves from her front porch!” Mac & Mieko agree, “The young McLemore generation surely knows how to step-up to show their love for this great woman!” And please show your love, Fans & Friends, and post your Happy 106th Birthday messages to Mama June on LaMonte’s popular Facebook page…her grace is a blessing to us all.
–Robert-Allan Arno for “Team Mac”
FOREVER 5TH DIMENSION 
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