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McCoo and Davis Jr. put spin on holiday concert
By John Benson
Around the holidays, The 5th Dimension’s hit “Up, Up & Away” takes on a new meaning with Santa Claus’ global trek.
Another high-profile act hitting the road during the Yuletide season is Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. with their brand-new “Holiday Celebration” show, which comes to New Wilmington, Pa., Monday at Westminster College’s Orr Auditorium.
Married for nearly 45 years, McCoo and Davis — former lead singers of the internationally recognized 5th Dimension known for hits “Up & Away,” “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In,” “Wedding Bell Blues” and more — are successful recording artists, performers, actors and authors.
Combined, they have seven Grammy Awards — including one for their post-5th Dimension No. 1 hit single “You Don’t Have to be a Star [To Be In My Show]” — as well as numerous gold and platinum records, and are even honored on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The Vindicator talked to both artists recently about the upcoming holiday show and the lasting success of The 5th Dimension.
Q. First of all, how long have you been thinking about doing a show like “Holiday Celebration?
Marilyn: We have participated on and off in a Christmas show called “The Colors of Christmas.” Our manager kept saying, “You guys should do your own show.” So this is our first time doing it. Ours is a very different presentation. The first half of our concert will be our hits and some of our favorite music. Then the second half of our concert will be all Christmas music. We’re going to see how well it’s received. And if people like it and are enjoying it, we may do it again.
Q. With “Holiday Celebration” in mind, what does the Christmas season mean to you?
Marilyn: We want to give a feeling of the joy of the season. We love the Christmas standards, but then there is a lot of wonderful new Christmas music out there, so we mix up our program. We want to give the audience a sense of family just from among all of our people. We just want to make it a real kind of celebratory experience.
Q. Regarding The 5th Dimension, what is it about the ’70s act that still attracts fans new and old today?
Billy: You know, I think the 5th Dimension songs hit everybody. It wasn’t like it was an R&B song or a pop song. We kind of had a flavor that was family like, family music, and it was clean and timely. I think 5th Dimension music was a little different from a lot of people’s music that was out there. That’s one of the things that kind of keeps it going.
Q. Can you hear the sounds of The 5th Dimension in today’s contemporary music?
Marilyn: What’s happening is the music is coming back to what The 5th Dimension did and stood for in terms of the harmonies. It seemed like in the ’80s and ’90s the younger groups got back to really basic three-part harmonies. That was fine, and it worked for Boyz II Men and acts like that. People liked it and it was fresh for the young ear, but now people are starting to get into more of the complex harmonies, which is what The 5th Dimension always did. We believe the sound of the group is going to appeal to the younger ear because it is new to them.
Q. Marilyn, your career is diverse. This includes hosting ’80s show “Solid Gold” as well as performing on Broadway. Also, early on you toured with Ray Charles. What did you learn from watching this legend?
Marilyn: Ray Charles was an amazing artist. He was funny, his music was just fresh and I learned about discipline and the importance of being on the job, on your game every night when you hit that stage. You can’t go out there and slough off. And Ray Charles didn’t slough off even when he was in the middle of dealing with personal problems. His music never suffered. I could sit out there and watch him every night. I really enjoyed it. Another thing was, as soon as we got off the road, I went back to school and finished because I learned it’s rough out there if you’re not prepared.
Q. What’s next for Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr.?
Billy: Right now we have a live CD (“Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis, Jr. Live”) that was just released. We’re hoping that will catch on and people will get a chance to enjoy that.