Billy Davis Jr. | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Born | June 26, 1938 |
Origin | St. Louis, Missouri, US |
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | Singer, musician |
Years active | 1950s–present |
Labels | |
Spouse | |
Website | mccoodavis |
Billy Davis Jr. (born June 26, 1938) [1] is an American singer and musician, best known as a member of the 5th Dimension. Along with his wife Marilyn McCoo, he had hit records during 1976 and 1977 with "I Hope We Get to Love in Time", "Your Love", and "You Don't Have to Be a Star (To Be in My Show)". Davis and McCoo were married in 1969. They became the first African-American married couple to host a network television series, titled The Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr. Show, on CBS in the summer of 1977, the year "You Don't Have to Be a Star (To Be in My Show)" won a Grammy Award.
Davis joined The 5th Dimension, then called The Versatiles, in 1966. 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 the 5th Dimension's first hit LP. A year later, the group recorded the song "Stoned Soul Picnic". A medley of "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" (from the musical Hair ) reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in April to May 1969 and won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year. The group's recording of "Wedding Bell Blues" topped the US Hot 100 in November 1969. Davis sang the male lead on the group's singles "A Change Is Gonna Come/People Got to Be Free", and "I'll Be Lovin' You Forever".
In 1975, Davis and McCoo left the 5th Dimension and began to perform 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 moderate hit. The 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 US Billboard Hot 100 in January 1977. Davis and McCoo 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 released one more album on ABC in 1978, produced by Frank Wilson and containing the ballad "My Reason to Be". The pair signed with CBS Records the following year and released their last album as a duo until October 2008 when they released The Many Faces of Love, a collection of hit songs from the 1960s and 1970s.
The album Marilyn and Billy featured the song "Saving All My Love for You", later turned into a number one hit by Whitney Houston. It also contained the disco single "Shine On Silver Moon". The pair decided to go solo professionally in the early 1980s.
In 1982, Davis recorded the gospel album Let Me Have a Dream with Rev. James Cleveland. Davis followed that project with a guest appearance on a jazz/pop album by Scott Scheer.
In 2020, Davis and McCoo released their first new album in 30 years, Blackbird: Lennon-McCartney Icons for first time in 30 years. Entrepreneur Kathy Ireland released the album through her record label EE1. [2] The duo said it was a civil rights movement which became a human rights movement with a goal to encourage people to come together during trying times. [2] During an interview about the album on June 29, 2021, Questlove called McCoo and Davis "the first couple of Pop and Soul." They would later appear in Questlove's Academy Award-winning directorial debut, Summer of Soul . [3]
Davis and McCoo were featured in an episode of the TV variety show Captain and Tennille in the 1970s. They also appeared together on "The Love Boat" Season 4 Episode 5 which aired on 10/20/1978.
Davis starred in the musical Blues in the Night at the Old Globe Theatre. In the role of James "Thunder" Early, he also starred in the North Carolina Theatre production of Dreamgirls. Kay McLain, of the Durham Herald-Sun, wrote "Davis made an endearing character of Early…give him a microphone and the spotlight and he's a pro."
In his guest appearances on the WB's Jamie Foxx Show in the 1990s, he and McCoo played the affluent parents of Foxx's girlfriend Fancy. Over the years, Davis has made frequent appearances on national morning and night-time talk and variety shows. Davis also appeared alongside McCoo in the 2021 documentary Summer of Soul where they reflected on their participation and impact of the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival. Davis and McCoo appeared as Brother William and Sister Harriet in "The Waltons: Homecoming" in 2021 and "A Waltons Thanksgiving" in 2022 on The CW Network.
Albums
Year | Title | Chart positions | Certifications | |
---|---|---|---|---|
US [4] | US R&B [5] | |||
1976 | I Hope We Get to Love in Time | 30 | 7 | |
1977 | The Two of Us | 57 | 26 | |
1978 | Marilyn & Billy | 146 | 59 | |
Singles
Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US [7] | US R&B [8] | US A/C [9] | US Dance [10] | NZ [11] | UK [12] | ||||
1976 | "I Hope We Get to Love on Time" | 91 | 37 | 9 | ― | ― | ― | I Hope We Get to Love in Time | |
"You Don't Have to Be a Star (To Be in My Show)" | 1 | 1 | 6 | — | 5 | 7 |
| ||
1977 | "Your Love" | 15 | 9 | 21 | ― | ― | ― | ||
"Look What You've Done to My Heart" | 51 | 27 | 29 | ― | ― | ― | The Two of Us | ||
"Wonderful" | ― | 76 | ― | ― | ― | ― | |||
1978 | "My Reason to Be Is You" | ― | 92 | 38 | ― | ― | ― | ||
"Shine On Silver Moon" | ― | 86 | ― | 32 | ― | ― | Marilyn & Billy | ||
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. |
The 5th Dimension is an American vocal group. Their music encompasses sunshine pop, pop soul, and psychedelic soul.
Earthbound is the twelfth album by American pop group the 5th Dimension, released in 1975 by ABC Records. It is the last album for the group's original line-up of Billy Davis Jr., Marilyn McCoo, Florence LaRue, Lamonte McLemore and Ron Townson. After touring with the 5th Dimension in support of this album, Billy Davis Jr. and Marilyn McCoo left the group to work as a duo and as solo artists.
Up – Up and Away is the debut album by the American pop group the 5th Dimension, released in 1967. The title track was released as a single and became a major pop hit.
The Magic Garden is the second album by the American pop group the 5th Dimension, released in 1967. A concept album, it tells the story of a couple's love and the end of their relationship. In more recent discussions of the album, that love affair is said to be about Jimmy Webb — who composed all but one of the album's songs — and his time with singer and then-girlfriend Susan Horton. The album's one track not credited to Jimmy Webb, a cover of Lennon–McCartney's "Ticket to Ride", was originally intended for the group's debut album, Up, Up and Away.
Portrait is the fifth album by the American pop group the 5th Dimension, released in 1970. This is the group's first album for Bell Records, having switched from the Soul City Records label. The cover features an impressionistic portrait by famous artist LeRoy Neiman.
Frank Edward Wilson was an American songwriter, singer, and record producer for Motown Records.
"Medley: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In " is a medley of two songs written for the 1967 musical Hair by James Rado and Gerome Ragni (lyrics), and Galt MacDermot (music), released as a single by American R&B group the 5th Dimension. The song spent six weeks at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart in the spring of 1969 and was eventually certified platinum in the US by the RIAA. Instrumental backing was written by Bill Holman and provided by a group of session musicians commonly known as "the Wrecking Crew".
"Saving All My Love for You" is a song written by Michael Masser and Gerry Goffin, originally recorded by Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. for their album Marilyn & Billy (1978). American singer Whitney Houston recorded it for her self-titled debut studio album (1985). It was released on August 13, 1985, by Arista Records, as the second single from the album in the United States, and third worldwide.
Marilyn McCoo is an American singer, actress, and television presenter, who is best known for being the lead female vocalist in the group the 5th Dimension as well as hosting the 1980s music television show Solid Gold.
Love's Lines, Angles and Rhymes is the sixth album by the American pop group the 5th Dimension, released in 1971. The title song had been recorded originally by Diana Ross the previous year. It reached #17 on Billboard's Top 200 Album Chart and became the band's third consecutive album to be certified Gold.
Reflections is a compilation album by the American pop group the 5th Dimension, released in 1971. It contains songs from while the band was recording for Soul City Records. It includes four songs that were originally released as A-side singles, although only one was a Top 20 hit. Bell Records released Greatest Hits on Earth the following year, which would include The 5th Dimension's biggest hits from both current label Bell Records and prior label Soul City Records.
"California Soul" is a funk-soul tune written by Ashford & Simpson, issued originally as the B-side of the Messengers' single "Window Shopping" in 1967 under the Motown group of labels.
"Wedding Bell Blues" is a song written and recorded by Laura Nyro in 1966. The best known version was a number one hit for the 5th Dimension in 1969.
"You Don't Have to Be a Star (To Be in My Show)" is a song written by James Dean and John Glover and popularized by the husband/wife duo of Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr., former members of the vocal group The 5th Dimension. Released from their album, I Hope We Get to Love in Time, it became a crossover success, spending six months on the charts and soaring to No. 1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Soul Singles charts during late 1976 and early 1977. It also reached No. 6 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart and No. 7 on the UK Singles Chart. It would eventually be certified gold, selling over one million copies, and winning the couple a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals in 1977.
"Stoned Soul Picnic" is a 1968 song by Laura Nyro. The best-known version of the song was recorded by the 5th Dimension, and was the first single released from their album of the same title. It was the most successful single from that album, reaching No. 3 on the U.S. Pop chart and No. 2 on the Billboard R&B chart. It became a platinum record.
Florence LaRue is an American singer and actress, best known as an original member of the 5th Dimension.
The July 5 Album is the second compilation album by American pop group the 5th Dimension, released in 1970 by Soul City. It is composed primarily of album tracks from amongst the group's four albums of original material for Soul City Records, many of which were B-sides to charting singles. It also includes the group's first top 20 single, a cover of the Mamas & the Papas hit "Go Where You Wanna Go". Choosing that single, and seeing it become successful, became something of a mixed blessing for The 5th Dimension, as they were frequently referred to in the media as "The Black Mamas & the Papas", a label the group sought to escape while creating their own unique identity.
"Your Love" is a song by the husband/wife duo of Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr., former members of the vocal group The 5th Dimension. Released from their album, I Hope We Get to Love in Time, it was the follow-up to their number-one hit, "You Don't Have to Be a Star ".
Individually and Collectively is the seventh album of original material by American pop group the 5th Dimension, released in 1972. The album peaked at No. 58 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart on June 24, 1972. This album includes both of the group's final top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart — "(Last Night) I Didn't Get to Sleep at All" and "If I Could Reach You". Both feature lead vocals by Marilyn McCoo.
Blackbird Lennon-McCartney Icons is a studio album by American singers Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr., released on April 30, 2021. It was their first album under business mogul Kathy Ireland's new record label EE1 in partnership with international music company BMG. Davis credits Ireland and producer Nic Mendoza for bringing the project to life. The duo also felt encouraged to get in a studio due to concerns in the country and similar divisions experienced in the 60s. The duo said it was a civil rights movement which became a human rights movement with a goal to encourage people to come together during trying times.
...my story begins on June 26, 1938, when I was born in St. Louis, Missouri...