Founding member of the 5th Dimension, whose hits defined a generation, dies aged 90

LaMonte McLemore, the Grammy-winning singer and founding member of the 5th Dimension whose smooth harmonies helped define pop music in the late 1960s, has died aged 90.

McLemore died on Tuesday at his home in Las Vegas after suffering a stroke, his representative Jeremy Westby said. He was surrounded by family and died of natural causes, bringing to a close a life that spanned some of the most transformative decades in American popular music.

As a member of the 5th Dimension, LaMonte McLemore helped create a sound that blended pop, soul, and a hint of psychedelia, allowing the group to cross racial and genre boundaries at a time of enormous cultural change. Their polished harmonies and optimistic themes made them one of the most successful vocal groups of the era.

The group won six Grammy awards, including record of the year twice, for Up, Up and Away in 1967 and Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In in 1969. Both songs became defining anthems of their time. Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In, drawn from the musical Hair, spent six weeks at number one on the US charts and became a symbol of the late-1960s counterculture.

Born in St Louis, Missouri, McLemore’s early life followed a very different path from the one that would later make him famous. He served in the US Navy, where he worked as an aerial photographer, developing skills that would later underpin a successful second career behind the camera. After leaving the service, he played baseball in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ farm system before settling in Southern California.

Music and photography ran in parallel through his life. McLemore sang in a jazz ensemble known as the Hi-Fis alongside Marilyn McCoo, who would later become his bandmate in the 5th Dimension. The group opened for Ray Charles in 1963, offering McLemore an early glimpse of life on major stages, but they disbanded the following year.

In 1965, McLemore reunited with McCoo, along with childhood friends Billy Davis Jr and Ronald Towson, and schoolteacher Florence LaRue. Performing under the name the Versatiles, they signed to Soul City Records, the label founded by singer Johnny Rivers. Rivers encouraged the group to adopt a more contemporary name, and Towson suggested the 5th Dimension, a title that reflected the group’s embrace of new musical ideas and the emerging hippy aesthetic.

The group’s breakthrough came in 1967 with “Go Where You Wanna Go,” a song originally recorded by the Mamas & the Papas. Later that year, Up, Up and Away, written by Jimmy Webb, became their signature hit, reaching the top ten and earning four Grammy awards.

Away from the stage, McLemore built a respected career as a sports and celebrity photographer. His work appeared in magazines including Jet, allowing him to document many of the same cultural figures who defined the era he helped soundtrack.

McLemore is survived by his wife of 30 years, Mieko McLemore, his daughter Ciara, his son Darin, his sister Joan and three grandchildren. His death marks the passing of a performer whose voice helped lift pop music into a brighter, more expansive dimension.