Lamonte McLemore is the creator of the legendary six time Grammy Award winning vocal group, The Fifth Dimension.
He was born in St. Louis, Mo. under the zodiac sign of Virgo. As one of four children, he only dreamed of playing baseball and pitching for the Cardinals was the fastest way he knew to escape the poverty.
“Maybe even try my other fascination, the art of photography… I was lucky enough early in my career to photograph models for Harper’s Bazaar in Los Angeles, to shoot for Johnson’s publications, Jet and Ebony, and to land a few photo assignments for Playboy Enterprises. During this time, along with a few other people on the rise, we started our own fashion magazines, Elegant and Elegant Teen. The concept was the first of its kind.”
In 1960 Lamonte McLemore and Marilyn McCoo together with Fritz Baskett, Rex Middleton, Harry Elston and Lawrence Summers formed their first group “Hi-Fis”. In 1964 Ray Charles took them on a tour and he produced a single by the group, “Lonesome Mood”.
In 1967 the now known group The 5th Dimension, consisting of five members, Lamonte McLemore, Marilyn McCoo, Billy Davis, Jr., Ron Townson and Florence LaRue, won five Grammy Awards with the song “Up, Up and Away”, a top 10 hit.
Other hits include singles with Laura Nyro’s “Stoned Soul Picnic” (U.S. #3) and “Sweet Blindness” (U.S. #13). They received a gold record for their album Stoned Soul Picnic, which also included the Ashford & Simpson-written “California Soul” and in 1969, they had two number one singles: “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” from the musical Hair and the Nyro composition “Wedding Bell Blues”. Later hits included “One Less Bell to Answer” (U.S. #2) (1970), “Love’s Lines, Angles and Rhymes” (U.S. #19), “Never My Love” (U.S. #12) (1971), “If I Could Reach You” (U.S. #10), and “(Last Night) I Didn’t Get to Sleep at All” (U.S. #8) (1972).
The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2002 and in 2006 Lamonte left the group. Lamonte has written: “A Love like ours” could never be (Portrait 1970) and “The Singer” (Love’s Lines Angles & Rhymes 1971)
His love for photography has been a constant in his life and he has had a 50 year freelance relationship with Jet Magazine photographing Jet Beauties. Lamonte says he always knew he wanted to be a photographer. He lived in Los Angeles for many years and in the mid 90s he wed Mieko Tone and now lives in Nevada where he has a photography studio.
He says the mystery of woman has always fascinated him. Only years of experience have taught him that the mystery is easier to enjoy than understand. He was onced asked during an interview: “After photographing so many beautiful women, what kind did he like most?”
His response? “Well, actually there are two kinds, foreign and domestic.”
Join us as we welcome Lamonte McLemore to our BlogTalkRadio and talk to him about his successful career as a singer and photographer.
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