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They had SUCH a great start when Up Up and Away hit the charts in May of '67. Then "Stone Soul Picnic" and "California Soul" led up to the song that really defined them--"Aquarius." The only thing that might have hurt them in the end was longevity--but it shouldn't have. By 1975 Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis left the group and hit the charts big with "You Don't Have To Be A Star Baby (to Be In My Show".)
But longevity doesn't mean squat to the selection committee. I bring you two examples--Percy Sledge and the Lovin' Spoonful.
Percy Sledge had a nice but a brief career with Atlantic Records. "When A Man Loves A Woman" is basically his signature song-a classic song as well. It went to number 1 on the charts in May of 1966. The problem I have with his selection is that he never had another top ten record again. By 1970 Atlantic Records dropped him and he released an album on the Capricorn Label and a few others on small local type labels. He released a couple other songs that I really like--"Take Time To Know Her" and "Warm and Tender Love". In a decades time sadly he was an afterthought.
The Lovin' Spoonful had a more productive career but it only lasted about half as long as Percy Sledge's career did. They came on the scene strong with "Do You Believe In Magic" around October 1965. IIRC it went to number one on the charts and after a few weeks it got bumped off with the Beatles 'Yesterday" going to the top of the charts. Will have to check that stat. They released some solid songs, then went to number one again with "Summer In The City", IMO their signature song.
But from that point forward the hits became only top 50 and not top ten. I loved what came out of their last year--particularly "Nashville Cats" and "Money." By the Spring of '68 John Sebastian bailed on the group, started his solo career with Reprise Records and unfortunately all his solo lp's hit the cutout bins basically two years after they were released. And for some reason some record reviewers tarred and feathered him when John's song "Welcome Back" was released, that song of course connecting to the ABC series "Welcome Back Kotter." Never mind the fact that it went to the top of the charts, I didn't get the criticism. Well, after that Sebastian went silent for a long time. The only other member that put out a recording was Zal Yanovsky, that lp came out on 2 labels-Kama Sutra and Buddah. Zal died in 2002. As a group their recordings lasted a little more than two and a half years.
Do I have a dislike for these people. Hell, no. I bought their recordings when they were released, I still have them, I still play them, I still will always like them. I saw the Spoonful (without Sebastian) two years ago last December as part of a 4 group oldies show in Phoenix--and were great!
A body of work in a short career speaks for something but so does longevity. Pulling strings for people and politics shouldn't be a factor when it comes to the HOF induction. Bat sadly it is.
That's an interesting discussion on Lovin' Spoonful. Their hit, "Do You Believe In Magic" is a huge classic. Even the much younger generation is familiar with it because Disney teens created a cover for it.
As an interesting side note, I was surprised to learn the same vocalist sang the opening to "Welcome Back Kotter". I watched that show when it was prime time and eagerly awaited the opening song. I had never known it was the same vocalist from Lovin' Spoonful until this year. Go figure. This was John Sebastian still going strong on sitcoms in the 1970s - a huge one with John Travolta who catapulted to "Saturday Night Fever" at its height of popularity.
I agree. I thought it was great that they were added in the "Forrest Gump "scene with the moon landing.
They were also in an Oliver Stone film - "Up Up and Away" at the parade scene with the paralyzed Vietnam Veteran in "Born on the 4th of July".
I had the impression they were not a "Rock" group but more of a "top 40 pop" genre of music. But still, they were very talented in an era when "Auto Tune" software was not used to make bad voices sound good like now (e.g. Taylor Swift, Keisha, etc). The vocalists back then (1960s to 1970s) were usually far more talented than modern singers because computer technology did not exist to make up for bad voices. There was no mainstream internet, no modern microprocessors, desktop computers were usually absent, and audio recording equipment was limited compared to now. But they could compensate for the huge lack of computer technology by finding voicalists with legitimate talent. A few years ago, a biographical film was planned for Joni Mitchell to star Taylor Swift. But Joni refused because Taylor does not have the vocal talent to match the standards of an era in the 1970s when there was no Auto Tune software to fix bad voices.
It should be noted that Marilyn's marriage went the distance when many celebrity marriages fail. I was shocked they lasted that long until now given the temptations of that musician lifestyle. For example, Sonny and Cher used to have a show as a couple and made a hit called "I've got you babe" but got divorced long ago in the 1970s. By contrast, Marilyn and Bill went the distance.
The last I remember about Marilyn's career was that she was on Solid Gold in the early 80s. By then she was in her 40s. Then that was it. But the 5th dimension definitely should be in the Hall of Fame for the music style of that time. Their music always generates memories of very early childhood.
The criticisms of the HOF display a basic misunderstanding of how museums work, and these same criticisms can be made of literally any museum in the world. In every case, someone is making decisions about what is or is not included in a given museum, and lots of things that are worthy of being included get left out. That's true for every museum on Earth. I'm no fan of Jan Wenner, but c'mon.
Wow! That's a talented list of artists! It seems rap artists are now getting priority for induction.
It's a talented list, alright, but at least half of those are not Hall of Fame material. If the Hall is to mean anything, that is.
The second group below lists the undebatables.
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Deep Purple, Yes, Dire Straits, Linda Rondstadt, the Guess Who, Thin Lizzy, Peter Frampton, Three Dog Night, Poco, The Moody Blues, KISS, John Denver, Journey, The Fifth Dimension, Iron Maiden, Johnny Rivers, Rush, Dan Fogelberg, Mott the Hoople, Lionel Richie, Joe Cocker, Heart, Dionne Warwick, Gram Parsons, Chic, The Cure, Moby Grape, Barry White, Procol Harum, The Association, Boston, Charlie Daniels, Blood, Sweat & Tears, The Hollies, Megadeath, Cheap Trick, Little Feat, The Monkees, Grand Funk Railroad, The Doobie Brothers, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Jethro Tull, Cat Stevens, Billy Idol, Steppenwolf, Bon Jovi, Gram Parsons, America, Donna Summer, Steve Miller, Edgar Winter, Fairport Convention, Foreigner, Peter, Paul and Mary, Bad Company, Spirit, Herman’s Hermits, Humble Pie, J. Geils Band, New Order, The Spinners, Jimmy Buffett, Joan Baez, REO Speedwagon, Tower of Power, Arlo Guthrie, Joe Jackson, John Mayall, The Buckinghams, The Turtles, The Cars, Johnny Winter, Kraftwerk, Kool & the Gang, Kenny Loggins, Loggins & Messina, Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels, Judas Priest, Paul Revere & the Raiders, Chaka Khan, Spencer Davis Group, The Stylistics, Styx, Tommy James & the Shondells, Warren Zevon, Ted Nugent, Hall & Oates. And Jamie Reno.
Quote:
Deep Purple, Yes, Dire Straits, Linda Rondstadt, the Guess Who, Peter Frampton, Three Dog Night, The Moody Blues, John Denver, Journey, The Fifth Dimension, Johnny Rivers, Rush, Lionel Richie, Heart, Barry White, The Association, Boston, Blood, Sweat & Tears, The Hollies, The Monkees, Grand Funk Railroad, The Doobie Brothers, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Cat Stevens, Steppenwolf, Donna Summer, Steve Miller, Foreigner, Peter, Paul and Mary, Herman’s Hermits, Joan Baez, REO Speedwagon, The Turtles, The Cars, Kool & the Gang, Paul Revere & the Raiders, Tommy James & the Shondells.
As for the 5th Dimension, they simply aren't on Jann Wenner/Rolling Stone's radar; never were. So, they are out. While I have nothing against them personally, I would not include them in my own Hall of Fame either. They had some great singles (many written by Jimmy Webb, who has a better argument for inclusion), but their albums could be very spotty and uneven (I bet most people reading this would be hard-pressed to even name a 5th Dimension album). And a lot of their singles really weren't all that great either. They were too close to easy-listening to really be called "soul", and there was nothing "rock" at all about their songs or stage presentation. They sounded dated before the 60's were even over too, although I don't necessarily take points off for that.
The 1960s were all about radio singles, and so that's the important thing with many groups like the 5th Dimension. The albums are spotty, except perhaps for Magic Garden and Aquarius, and maybe Portrait. For most people I recommend getting the singles collection: "The Singles (1966-1975)". The 5th Dimension were very versatile, so I can always point people to interesting tracks with great arrangements. Try "Lovin' Stew" and "Half Moon" for something harder edged, and dare I say it, more Rockin'. For Funk: "I Just Want to be Your Friend" and "Harlem" are great. "Black Patch" has a great groove too, though I'm not sure it's exactly Funk. For jazzy numbers: "Dimension 5ive", "Sea & Sky" and "The Hideaway". For Broadway stylings, "The Rainmaker", Light Sings", and "Orange Air" (which also happens to Rock). For a Motown sound: "I'll Be Lovin' You Forever" and maybe "Together Let's Find Love" which is rather R&B. And "On The Beach (In The Summertime)" is just a great vibe with a 'groovy' Joe Osborn bassline. "Another Day, Another Heartache" is straight Mamas & Papas Folk-Rock. And then there's the various well known Laura Nyro and Bacharach tracks. I like McCoo's renditions of "If I Could Reach You" and "Everything's Been Changed" as well as the better known "One Less Bell to Answer". The disco era "No Love In the Room" is interesting for its dark lyrics. So the biggest sellers are not necessarily the most memorable tracks. Bones Howe and the Wrecking Crew do some of their best work for the 5th Dimension. Note that Hal Blaine and Joe Osborn were the permanent rhythm section for the group up though 1975 - they're on all tracks.
Two other, imo, great tracks (that are difficult to categorize) would be "The Girl's Song" and "Winds of Heaven". "Girl's Song" is a kind of sophisticated Pop music, in the Bacharach vein, while "Winds" has got a kind of Jazz-Rock fusion thing going on. Great drumming and bass-work from misters Blaine and Osborn on those. The point being that it's not that hard to come up with at least 30 really strong tracks - something that most groups can't match. So for me, they belong in the RRHOF.
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