A 5th Dimension take on The Beatles MARILYN MCCOO AND BILLY DAVIS JR.
Maintaining a career that spans the better part of 60 years is unusual enough in the music world, but when the bulk of that career is spent married to your personal and professional partner, suffice it to say it could be considered something of an anomaly. In that regard, the singing duo Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. could be considered that particular anomaly. Both were key members of the Grammy-winning, hit-making singing group The 5th Dimension, whose series of ’60s chart-topping singles such as “Up, Up and Away,” “Stoned Soul Picnic,” “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In,” “One Less Bell to Answer,” “Worst Thing That Could Happen” and “Wedding Bell Blues” helped spark the careers of iconic songwriters Jimmy Webb and Laura Nyro in particular.
McCoo was originally a member of a group called the Hi-Fi’s, who regularly opened for Ray Charles on tour. Davis was an original member of The 5th Dimension when they were originally known as the Versatiles and it was there, three years after McCoo joined the budding ensemble, that the two were married.
McCoo and Davis left the, and . It not only became a gold record, it earned the same distinction for , the album from which it came, and reaped a Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus.
