Marilyn McCoo Discography

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Marilyn McCoo (born September 30, 1943 in Jersey City, New Jersey) is an American singer and actress, who is well known for being the lead female vocalist in the group The 5th Dimension, as well as hosting the 1980s music countdown series Solid Gold. In the early and mid-1960s, McCoo was a member of the Hi-Fi`s, who often opened for Ray Charles. This group included Lamonte McLemore, who would join McCoo in The 5th Dimension, as well as Harry Elston and Floyd Butler, who would go on to form The Friends of Distinction. She met Billy Davis, Jr. in 1966 when he established the group, then called The Versatiles. The group`s first big hit was with 1967`s "Up, Up and Away", written by Jimmy Webb. The song won four 1968 Grammy Awards and was the title track to 5th Dimension`s first hit LP. Their follow-up was a cover of Laura Nyro`s "Stoned Soul Picnic". "Wedding Bell Blues", featuring McCoo`s most prominent vocal of that period, and a medley of "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" (from the musical Hair) both reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1969 with "Aquarius/Let The Sun Shine In" winning the Grammy for `Record of the Year`. By the early 1970s, McCoo began to sing lead on the group`s remaining chart-topping singles, "One Less Bell to Answer", "(Last Night) I Didn`t Get to Sleep At All" and "If I Could Reach You."

In 1975, McCoo and Davis left The 5th Dimension and began performing as a duo. Landing a contract with ABC Records, they recorded their 1976 debut album, I Hope We Get to Love in Time. The first single was the title track, which was a mid-chart hit. Their follow up, "You Don`t Have to Be a Star (To Be in My Show)" was an even bigger hit, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1977. McCoo and Davis were awarded a gold single and a gold album as well as a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. They also hosted their own television program, The Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis, Jr Show, on CBS in Summer 1977. After one more album on ABC in 1978, the pair signed with CBS Records the following year and released their last album as a duo until October 2008 when the pair released The Many Faces of Love, a collection of hit songs from the 1960s and 1970s.

She was the first to record "Saving All My Love for You" in 1978, later sung by Whitney Houston. The album "Marilyn and Billy", featured that track as well as a disco hit, "Shine On Silver Moon". The pair decided to go solo professionally in the early 1980s with McCoo hosting the popular American syndicated television series Solid Gold from 1981 through 1984 and again from 1986 through 1988.

McCoo has acted in a number of movies, including Grizzly Adams and the Legend of Dark Mountain (1999), My Mom`s a Werewolf (1989) and a number of television movies, often playing herself. She has appeared on stage in productions of Anything Goes, A...My Name is Alice, Man of La Mancha, and the Broadway production of Show Boat in 1995 through 1996. McCoo appeared together with Davis on The Jamie Foxx Show as Fancy`s parents, the Monroes. McCoo married fellow bandmate Billy Davis, Jr., and they are still together. On July 26 2009, they celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary. The couple shared their story of love and faith in the 2004 book, Up, Up and Away. They continue to perform together in venues around the country. McCoo is a member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority.