The Eye of The 5th Dimension Has Closed: LaMonte McLemore Dead at 90

The 5th Dimension features (clockwise from top left) Ron Townson, Florence LaRue, Marilyn McCoo, LaMonte McLemore and Billy Davis Jr. in a promotional photo. McLemore, who recruited the members to form the "Champagne Soul" quintet that broke racial barriers in pop music, died Tuesday at age 90. (Photo by John Engstead/Courtesy of 2911 Media)

The smooth, anchoring bass of “Champagne Soul” has gone silent.

LaMonte McLemore, the founding member of The 5th Dimension whose vision — both musical and photographic — helped define the aesthetic of the 1960s and 70s, died Tuesday at his home in Las Vegas. He was 90.

According to a statement confirmed by Jeremy Westby of 2911 Media, McLemore passed peacefully from natural causes, surrounded by his family. He had been recovering from a stroke suffered several years ago.

It is impossible to overstate just how critical “Mac” was to the architecture of pop culture. He wasn't just he figure with the warm baritone on “Up, Up and Away.” He was the connector, the scout and the glue. McLemore was the one who assembled the Avengers of vocal harmony. A former minor league baseball pitcher with a golden ear, he first recruited Marilyn McCoo — whom he met during a photo shoot — for a group called the Hi-Fi’s. When that dissolved, he called up his old St. Louis friends Billy Davis Jr. and Ron Townson, and then brought in a schoolteacher named Florence LaRue.

LaMonte McLemore, the founder and bass vocalist of The 5th Dimension, poses for a portrait. McLemore, known as the "glue" of the six-time Grammy-winning group and a groundbreaking photographer, died Tuesday at his home in Las Vegas. He was 90. (Photo by Benny Clay/Courtesy of 2911 Media)

The result was The 5th Dimension, a group that smashed the color barrier of pop radio. In an era when Black artists were often boxed into specific R&B lanes, McLemore’s group wore colorful bell-bottoms and sang Jimmy Webb and Laura Nyro songs with a sophistication that forced the world to listen. They were “Black joy” before the term existed, winning six Grammys and topping the charts with anthems like “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” and “Stoned Soul Picnic.”

McLemore’s legacy extended far beyond the grooves of a vinyl record. For over 40 years, he was the lens behind the legendary “Beauty of the Week” feature in Jet magazine. He didn't just take pictures; he celebrated the Black woman in a way that mainstream fashion magazines of the era refused to do. He shot the cover of Stevie Wonder’s first album, became the first African American photographer hired by Harper’s Bazaar and saw the culture when the rest of the media looked away.

LaMonte McLemore looks through his camera lens in this undated photo. Beyond his musical legacy, McLemore was a celebrated visual artist who spent four decades shooting the iconic "Beauty of the Week" feature for Jet magazine and became the first African American photographer hired by Harper’s Bazaar. (Courtesy of 2911 Media)

In a joint statement, his longtime friends and bandmates Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. said, “All of us who knew and loved him will definitely miss his energy and wonderful sense of humor.” Florence LaRue added that his “cheerfulness and laughter often brought strength and refreshment to me in difficult times,” noting that they were “more like brother and sister than singing partners.”

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