Friday, March 29, 2024

Valentine’s Special: The 5th Dimension’s Billy Davis Jr. and Marilyn McCoo Cover Paul McCartney’s “Silly Love Songs”

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I have a deep affection for the 5th Dimension’s Billy Davis, Jr. and Marilyn McCoo. They are highly underrated, and the whole group — which introduced many of Laura Nyro and Jimmy Webb’s classic songs — should be in the Rock Hall and Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Questlove of the Roots just featured them in his documentary, “Summer of Soul,” and rightly so. They were pioneers of pop R&B with amazing voices.

Marilyn and Billy have just recorded an album of songs by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, a great idea called “Blackbird: Lennon-McCartney Icons.” Their first single, for Valentine’s Day, is “Silly Love Songs.” Billy really gets to show off his still amazing tenor. The rest of the album is coming this spring with some leads of course by Marilyn, one of the great pop singers of all time.

You know, the 5th Dimension was like the flipside to the Mamas and vice versa. Only the 5th D actually was more successful.

Stay tuned for rest of this album, it’s going to be a great one.

And what a Valentine this is! Marilyn and Billy have been happily married for 51 — yes FIFTY ONE — years!!!!

photo: Jon Carrasco

 

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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