A LOVE LIKE OURS by The 5th Dimension (A Tribute to LaMonte McLemore)

FOREVER 5th DIMENSION presents..."It comes from a moment in time. The feeling of being a singer on the road where it's very, very hard to have a true relationship. There was one lady...we wanted to be together, yet I wanted to be with the group, to have freedom," describes Lamonte McLemore about A LOVE LIKE OURS, the fan favorite he penned with 5th Dimension vocal arranger Bob Alcivar for the seminal PORTRAIT album. And in many ways, A LOVE LIKE OURS is "The Guys' Song" counterpart to "The Girls' Song." Continues "Mac", "I always loved when the guys--Billy, Ron and myself-- got to sing together; it was so much fun blending."

Mr. Lamonte McLemore--unforgettable member of The 5th Dimension, everyone's favorite mellow bass, multi-Grammy winner, "The Visionary Dimension" whose impeccable sense of style and charmingly mischievous sense of humor is his trademark. Not to mention an indomitable "eyes on the prize" spirit that never allows "negativity" in this star's personal dictionary. Early on, when an injury sidelined a professional career in baseball, Lamonte's gift for photography not only catapulted his work onto the pages of "Harper's Bazaar," "Ebony," "People," and "Jet" but in many ways magically sparked his muse for uniting St. Louis pals Billy Davis, Jr. and Ron Townson with Marilyn McCoo and Florence LaRue, essentially founding The 5th Dimension.

Hi, I'm Robert-Allan Arno, biographer of The 5th Dimension and I produced our latest video to accompany my in-depth interview, "Visit with a Visionary: Through the Lens of Lamonte McLemore," featured at the Blog-Magazine FOREVER 5th DIMENSION at http://www.myspace.com/thesoulofvoice. (Debuting 12/19) What's so memorable about A LOVE LIKE OURS besides its pathos-tinged musical arrangement, is that Lamonte writes conceptually: "So close and yet, so far apart. So sure in mind yet uncertain at heart. Wanting to be together, yet wanting to be free. A love like ours could never be." But those concepts provoke the listener to see the couple and their "playground"...experience the rush of the relationship with shades and colors that make A LOVE LIKE OURS a sensory song, perfect for PORTRAIT, perfect for a man who essentially writes a song in the same style he snaps his renowned shots. In fact, in this YouTube production, look for some of Mac's photos: a playful McCoo & Davis plus a fashion-forward LaRue & Townson, the latter taken during The 5th's historic good will tour of Eastern Europe. "That stylized shot of Florence and Ron was intended for Vogue," recalls Lamonte. And when you think of it, A LOVE LIKE OURS could be metaphorically intended for Vogue in its visionary essence as only a visionary could compose!

Robert-Allan Arno
copyright 2009

With holiday blessings, love and thanks to Lamonte & Mieko, Marilyn & Billy, Florence, The Townson Family. And special thanks to my mentor, Bones Howe, the great Bob Alcivar, Rob Santos & Jeremy Holiday at Sony, Mr. David Brokaw at The Brokaw Co. and Mr. Randall Jeffries.
And to the fans, your interest, support and kindness is appreciated; because of you, there are many more 5th surprises on the new year horizon!

Visit the world of Lamonte McLemore at http://www.LamontePhotography.com You'll find all the classic 5th CD's plus Marilyn & Billy's latest, THE MANY FACES OF LOVE at the store: http://www.MccooDavis.com.

FOREVER 5th DIMENSION is a copyrighted production of The Soul of the Voice, Ltd. Photos contained in the Blog-Magazine and videos are from the Arno-5th Dimension-McCoo-Davis Legacy Collection, All Rights Reserved, not to be re-printed.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• The 5th Dimension
• Lamonte McLemore
• Marilyn McCoo
• Billy Davis Jr. Florence LaRue
• JET Magazine Photographer
• Beauty of the Week
• Bones Howe
• Bob Alcivar
• 5th DIMENSION PORTRAIT
• Robert-Allan Arno
• TheSoul of Voice
• Save the Country
• Puppet Man
• One Less Bell to Answer

[actormanic]

A true gem...

[robbybobbyoh]

@actormanic --Thank you, friend...LaMonte appreciates your kind remarks about his tune!

[bearfed]

Wow. 40 years ago. I was 10. Such a wonderful memory of Christmas 1970when I opened one of my gifts to find this LP. Almost a full year of this LP in the record slots at the local Woolco Department Store. I believe this was their only album of that year. I have both the LP and CD version. Too bad ' People Gotta Be Free ' was not released as a single. That song , from the medley on side two , always gets me movin' and groovin' as much as California Soul does with the rockin' and reelin'.

[robbybobbyoh]

Thanks for sharing your warm memories...I bet many of us can relate to having a "5th Dimension Christmas!"

Blessings!

[robbybobbyoh]

@bearfed Please check out our latest FOREVER 5th video, "A Change is Gonna Come/People Gotta Be Free," saluting the artistry of Billy Davis, Jr. By the way, this medley was indeed the flip side to the single of "The Declaration;" as the proverbial "Independence Medley" from PORTRAIT was issued on 45 in 1970.

[stage7]

As SOON as I saw this, it brought a mist to my eye! Don't know why, but it's just BEAUTIFUL and the pics are awesome to see! Thank you sooo much for this!

C.J.

[robbybobbyoh]

I know exactly what you mean, C.J. and so many do as we celebrate the literal 40th Anniversary of The 5th's PORTRAIT album...it goes down in time edifying the concept of freedom on so many levels and the pen of Mr. McLemore nailed a particular pathos-tinged feeling here! PS...Your work in general and w/ Miss Mary Wilson is powerful...kudos, my kind Bro!

[casey3234]

The vocals, flute, drums and horns on this tune are fantastic!

[robbybobbyoh]

Yes, this song has been a tasty, sentimental 5th fan favorite for officially 4 decades now...I'm so pleased you are just discovering it's enigmatic allure!

[robbybobbyoh]

Thank you kindly, Mr. B for your ever classy support...can u believe this indeed is the official 40th of PORTRAIT!