Marilyn McCoo

Marilyn McCoo (born September 30, 1943 in Jersey City, New Jersey) is an American singer and actress, who is well known for being the lead female vocalist in the group The 5th Dimension, as well as hosting the 1980s music countdown series Solid Gold. In the early and mid-1960s, McCoo was a member of the Hi-Fi's, who often opened for Ray Charles. This group included Lamonte McLemore, who would join McCoo in The 5th Dimension, as well as Harry Elst... more

Marilyn McCoo (born September 30, 1943 in Jersey City, New Jersey) is an American singer and actress, who is well known for being the lead female vocalist in the group The 5th Dimension, as well as hosting the 1980s music countdown series Solid Gold. In the early and mid-1960s, McCoo was a member of the Hi-Fi's, who often opened for Ray Charles. This group included Lamonte McLemore, who would join McCoo in The 5th Dimension, as well as Harry Elston and Floyd Butler, who would go on to form The Friends of Distinction. She met Billy Davis, Jr. in 1966 when he established the group, then called The Versatiles. The group's first big hit was with 1967's "Up, Up and Away", written by Jimmy Webb. The song won four 1968 Grammy Awards and was the title track to 5th Dimension's first hit LP. Their follow-up was a cover of Laura Nyro's "Stoned Soul Picnic". "Wedding Bell Blues", featuring McCoo's most prominent vocal of that period, and a medley of "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" (from the... less