LaMonte McLemore has died at the age of 90. He was a founding member of "The 5th Dimension," who were a huge success during the 60s and 70s. According to Jeremy Westby, McLemore's representative, he suffered a stroke and thus died of natural causes.
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During their heyday, "The 5th Dimension" scooped a total of six Grammy Awards. They included two "record of the year" awards, the first in 1967 and the second in 1969. Outside of music, McLemore was also a talented photographer.
McLemore primarily worked as a sports and celebrity photographer, with his work appearing in multiple magazines throughout the years. Still, it was his work with "The 5th Dimension" that brought him global fame. To this day, the group still amasses over 690,000 monthly streams on Spotify alone. "Aquarius/Let The Sunshin In" has been played over 80 million times on the platform.
In 1963, before the formation of "The 5th Dimension," McLemore and bandmate Marilyn McCoo were part of a jazz band called "The Hi-Fi's," who opened up for the legendary Ray Charles. And while "The Hi-Fi's," broke up the following year, it was clear that McLeMore and McCoo would be successful in the industry. After all, opening for Ray Charles was a huge deal.
Lamonte McLemore and 'The 5th Dimension' Overcame Racial Hurdles
As an all-black group in the 60s and 70s, "The 5th Dimension" had a lot of hurdles and stereotypes to overcome. However, they somehow managed to grow their popularity with people of all races, despite the difficulties that those times provided.
However, success always comes with hurdles, and "The 5th Dimension" had its fair share.
"We were constantly being attacked because we weren't, quote-unquote, 'Black enough,' " McCoo said when speaking in the "Summer of Soul." "Sometimes, we were called the Black group with the white sound ... we didn't like that ... because, how do you color a sound?...That was one of the reasons why performing in Harlem was so important to us. Because we wanted our people to know what we were about."
McLemore and "The 5th Dimension" were pioneers of their industry. He will be missed by all who knew him. Currently, no details regarding his funeral have been made public. They will likely remain private for just close friends and family.
