re: Endless Sleep - The Obituary Thread

LaMonte McLemore, singer and founding member of The 5th Dimension, dies at 90

By ANDREW DALTON
Updated 6:25 PM CST, February 4, 2026

Singer LaMonte McLemore, a founding member of vocal group The 5th Dimension, whose smooth pop and soul sounds with a touch of psychedelia brought them big hits in the 1960s and ’70s, has died. He was 90.

McLemore died Tuesday at his home in Las Vegas surrounded by family, his representative Jeremy Westby said in a statement. He died of natural causes after having a stroke.

The 5th Dimension had broad crossover success and won six Grammy Awards including record of the year twice, for 1967’s “Up, Up and Away” and 1969’s “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In.” Both were also top 10 pop hits, with the latter, a mashup of songs from the musical “Hair,” spending six weeks at No. 1.

McLemore had a parallel career as a sports and celebrity photographer whose pictures appeared in magazines including Jet.

Born in St. Louis, McLemore served in the Navy, where he worked as an aerial photographer. He played baseball in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ farm system and settled in Southern California, where he began making use of his warm bass voice and skill with a camera.

He sang in a jazz ensemble, the Hi-Fi’s, with future 5th Dimension bandmate Marilyn McCoo. The group opened for Ray Charles in 1963 but broke up the following year.

McLemore, McCoo and two of his childhood friends from St. Louis, Billy Davis Jr. and Ronald Towson, later formed a singing group called the Versatiles. They also recruited Florence LaRue, a schoolteacher McLemore met through his photography, to join them. In 1965 they signed to singer Johnny Rivers’ new label, Soul City Records, and changed their name to The 5th Dimension to better represent the cultural moment.

Their breakthrough hit came in 1967 with the Mamas & the Papas’ song “Go Where You Wanna Go.”

That same year they released the Jimmy Webb-penned “Up, Up and Away,” which would go to No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and win four Grammys: record of the year, best contemporary single, best performance by a vocal group and best contemporary group performance.

In 1968 they had hits with a pair of Laura Nyro songs, “Stoned Soul Picnic” and “Sweet Blindness.”

1969 brought the peak of their commercial success with “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In,” which along with its long run at No. 1 won Grammys for record of the year and best contemporary vocal performance by a group.

That same year they played the Harlem Cultural Festival, which has become known as the “Black Woodstock.” The festival, and The 5th Dimension’s part in it, were chronicled in the 2021 documentary from Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, “ Summer of Soul.”

The 5th Dimension also had a rare level of success with white audiences for a group whose members were all Black. The phenomenon came with criticism.

“We were constantly being attacked because we weren’t, quote, unquote, ‘Black enough,’” McCoo said in “Summer of Soul.” “Sometimes we were called the Black group with the white sound, and we didn’t like that. We happened to be artists who are Black, and our voices sound the way they sound.”

The group had hits into the 1970s including “One Less Bell to Answer,” “(Last Night) I Didn’t Get to Sleep at All” and “If I Could Reach You.”

They became regulars on TV variety shows and performed at the White House and on an international cultural tour organized by the State Department.

The original lineup lasted until 1975, when McCoo and Davis left to make their own music.

“All of us who knew and loved him will definitely miss his energy and wonderful sense of humor,” McCoo and Davis, who married in 1969, said in a statement.

LaRue said in her own statement that McLemore’s “cheerfulness and laughter often brought strength and refreshment to me in difficult times. We were more like brother and sister than singing partners.”

McLemore is survived by his wife of 30 years, Mieko McLemore, daughter Ciara, son Darin, sister Joan and three grandchildren.

Fredrick Edward Lefkowitz (April 10, 1948 – February 5, 2026), known professionally as Fred Smith, was an American bass guitarist, best known for his work with the rock band Television.

He was the original bassist with Angel and the Snake, which changed names to Blondie and the Banzai Babies, and then Blondie. He quit on March 7, 1975 to replace Richard Hell who had left Television over disputes with Tom Verlaine. Hell went on to form The Heartbreakers with Johnny Thunders and Jerry Nolan of the New York Dolls. At the time, Television played at CBGB along with Blondie.

Smith released his first song with Television, “Little Johnny Jewel,” on Ork Records in 1975. It became an underground hit and, crucially, drew the eyes of major labels. After releasing an EP on Stiff Records in 1976, Television signed with Elektra and began work on their debut album, 1977’s influential Marquee Moon. The record became a foundational release in post-1970 alt-rock, heavily influencing the post-punk and new wave scenes that flourished in the US in the 1980s and becoming a touchstone album for generations to follow. Smith remained with the band on through their second album, 1978’s Adventure, until their split that same year. When Television reunited in 1992 to release their third, self-titled album, Smith was right there alongside the founding members, and he continued touring with them into the 2000s.


According to Smith, "Blondie was like a boat that was sinking and Television was my favourite band". He stayed with the band until they broke up in 1978 and rejoined them when they reunited in 1992; the band has played off and on ever since. Smith also participated in the solo albums of the Television guitarists Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd, and played with such artists as The Roches, Willie Nile, Peregrins, and The Revelons. From 1988 to 1989 he played bass, recorded, and toured with The Fleshtones.

In 1999, he and his wife, artist Paula Cereghino, started making wine in their apartment on Houston Street in New York City's East Village. In 2003 they shifted production to Bloomington, New York, and in 2007 formally established their artisanal winery, Cereghino Smith.

Smith died of cancer at a hospital in Manhattan, New York on February 5, 2026, at the age of 77.

His son claimed the entire family "knew about his lifestyle, it was accepted and just never spoken about".

Sedaka

As in gay?

He certainly came across that way.

Don’t know about the gay. I do remember that he was on the cover of Steely Dan’s “The Royal Scam” as the dude on the bench.

Tells you how much I know!

Augie Meyers, one of the most distinctive keyboard players in American rock, known for his unmistakable Vox Continental organ sound and his deep roots in Tex-Mex, Chicano rock, and roots music died in his sleep on March 7th at the age of 85.

Meyers first rose to prominence in the mid-1960s as a founding member of the Sir Douglas Quintet, led by fellow Texan Doug Sahm. Their breakthrough hit She’s About a Mover (1965) became a classic of the era, driven by Meyers’ gritty Vox Continental organ riff. In the late 1980s Meyers reunited with Sahm as part of the Texas Tornados, alongside Freddy Fender and Flaco Jiménez. The group became a Tex-Mex supergroup and scored hits with songs like: “Who Were You Thinkin’ Of?” and “(Hey Baby) Que Paso. Check out Augie on a couple of well-known cuts, including his sturdy take on lead vocals on the latter….

That seems kind of a cursed slot, now. Brad was 55. Tommy was 60. That's a low average age, even for rock and roll. And, died the same day.

:spooky: