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.
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