CoronaVinyl Day 259 (#): The Age of Aquarius by The 5th Dimension

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Today's CoronaVinyl category is "#," meaning artists whose name starts with a number, and not artists with sweet hashtags.  I had previously only had one -- .38 Special's Tour De Force, which I featured nearly a hundred albums ago, back in November -- but one of my recent acquisitions from my neighbor was The 5th Dimension's 1969 psychedelic soul classic, The Age of Aquarius.

The 5th Dimension was an LA-based vocal group that had a good bit of success in the late '60s and early '70s.  They blended soul, R&B, pop, and jazz, and their sound was pretty crisp.  Their original "classic" lineup (i.e., during their most successful years, 1966 to 1975) featured two women -- Florence LaRue and Marilyn McCoo, who I think should have branched out to have their own buddy detective TV show called LaRue and McCoo's Clues -- and three men, Billy Davis, Jr., LaMonte McLemore, and Ron Townson.  Of them, LaRue and Townson were Aquariuses.

They hit the ground running in 1966, with their first single, a cover of The Mamas & The Papas' "Go Where You Wanna Go," which reached #16 on the Billboard Hot 100.  Their success continued over the next several years, climaxing with The Age of Aquarius, their fourth album.  Backed by the famed session musicians The Wrecking Crew, with The Age of Aquarius, they delved further into the poppy psychedelic soul sound that they featured on their prior album, 1968's Stoned Soul Picnic, and it worked out quite well for the group.

The Age of Aquarius is a beautifully produced and performed album, showcasing the group's excellent vocal interplay, with a backdrop of music provided by some of the best session musicians there have ever been.  It went to #2 on both the regular Billboard album chart and the Billboard R&B album chart -- their best showing on either chart.  All four singles from the album were hits, with the "Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In" medley and "Wedding Bell Blues" both reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, "Workin' On a Groovy Thing" reaching #20, and "Blowing Away" reaching #21.  There are also some covers of other artists' songs, like Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love," the aforementioned "Workin' On a Groovy Thing" (which was co-written by Neil Sedaka and originally recorded by Patti Drew), "Let It Be Me" (originally a French song that was later recorded by The Everly Brothers), and "Those Were The Days" (an English adaptation of a Russian song that was recorded by various artists, most popularly by Mark Hopkin in 1968).

The group would continue to have success into the early '70s, but then had various lineup changes beginning in 1975, when McCoo and Davis (who were married and still are!) left to pursue their own music (and had success as a duo).  McCoo went on to be the longtime host of the syndicated '80s music TV show Solid Gold.  LaRue is the only remaining original member of the group.

In total, between 1966 and 1973, The 5th Dimension had 19 Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including 7 Top 10s and two #1s (both of which were on this album).

The Spotify version of the album features one bonus track.

Favorite song on Side 1:  "Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In"
"Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In" is an instantly recognizable classic that was originally featured in the famous '60s Broadway show Hair.  It spent 6 weeks at #1, was ranked #66 by Billboard on its Greatest Songs of All Time list, won two Grammy Awards (including Record of the Year), and has been featured in countless movies, TV shows, and commercials over the years.  It's kind of a beacon of '60s love and hope.  While the "Aquarius" part is great," I think the soulful jam of "Let The Sunshine In" makes the song.

Favorite song on Side 2:  "Let It Be Me"
Davis handles lead vocals on the group's soulful take on the song.