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Speaker 1: Quest Love Supreme is a production of iHeartRadio.

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Speaker 2: Ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Quest Love Supreme. I'm your

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Speaker 2: host Quest Love.

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Speaker 1: We got this. Yeah, we still got Team Supreme with us. Yeah.

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Speaker 3: How are you doing good? Doing good?

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Speaker 4: From the from the east, from the East coast, so

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Speaker 4: well looking forward?

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Speaker 1: Yeah, wait, you're you're in the East Coast.

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Speaker 4: Yes, I'm doing I told you to the vaccinated. Visit buddy.

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Speaker 5: Everybody vaccinated.

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Speaker 4: Yes, Mama, daddy, everybody.

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Speaker 1: Welcome back, Welcome back home.

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Speaker 3: That's rank you.

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Speaker 1: I pay bill you.

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Speaker 3: Okay, I'm also vaccinated. I feel fantastic.

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Speaker 1: All right, fan Ticolo, you cool.

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Speaker 6: I'm good man. I'm good man, enjoying some grilled chicken

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Speaker 6: and a salad.

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Speaker 1: Nice.

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Speaker 6: You're not trying to live better, you know?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm on day twelve of salad, just salad. What's up, Steve?

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Speaker 2: How's it going.

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Speaker 6: I'll be the only honest one to here and say

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Speaker 6: I am stressed out this anyway, everybody, I want to

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Speaker 6: get this done.

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Speaker 2: No, we're not stressed out. We're putting good vibrations out there.

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Speaker 2: I will say that our distinguished guests are the founding

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Speaker 2: members of the legendary Grammy award winning Fifth Dimension. Of course,

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Speaker 2: during the mid seventies, our guests left the group and

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Speaker 2: paired down to a duo. Released several Grammy caliber songs

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Speaker 2: like the Inescapable, You don't have to be a star

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Speaker 2: to be My Show your Love, I Hope we get

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Speaker 2: to love and time Shine on Silver Moon, plenty of

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Speaker 2: other seven Grammy nominations in total.

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Speaker 1: I would actually paraphrase and say that.

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Speaker 2: They are They are Jane Beyonce are the Billy and

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Speaker 2: merm mccow of now, not the opposite that they are

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Speaker 2: the Jade bad for real. They are absolute happiness, enjoy.

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Speaker 2: I consider them the first couple of pop and soul.

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Speaker 2: Their marriage has been strong for fifty plus, fifty plus years.

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Speaker 2: I believe fifty second coming this Jill anniversary.

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Speaker 1: That is amazing. And they're still releasing music Lazy and Gentlemen,

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Speaker 1: which is incredible.

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Speaker 2: They released a new collection of Lennon McCartney compositions, aptly

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Speaker 2: titled Blackbird Songs that were inspired by the turbulent experiences

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Speaker 2: that we've been through in the last year or so

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Speaker 2: in twenty twenty.

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Speaker 1: What else can I say?

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Speaker 2: Oh not to mention they are a vital part of

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Speaker 2: the I hear it's an excellent documentary about Cultural Festival.

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Speaker 1: Nineteen sixty nine. I hear it's good, you know.

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Speaker 6: Anyway, this is the week it comes out, too.

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Speaker 1: Really, it comes out this week.

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Speaker 4: I hear it comes out this week.

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Speaker 1: That's amazing. All right, cool, ladies and gentlemen.

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Speaker 2: He's welcome the legendary, the legendary Billy Davis Junior and

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Speaker 2: Marilyn mccou toquest left, Suprie.

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Speaker 3: Yes, thank you, thank you. Listen, you said you heard

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Speaker 3: about the doctor Vennery being good. You heard right.

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Speaker 2: Okay, I'm gonna I'm gonna go see it for myself

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Speaker 2: all those things you said about us.

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Speaker 3: How much do we owe you?

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Speaker 2: I owe you, guys. I owe you guys. I really,

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Speaker 2: really really do love you guys. Actually, you know what

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Speaker 2: that one story? I don't. I know a lot about

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Speaker 2: you guys, But can you guys describe I know that

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Speaker 2: you guys were acquaintances before you got married, of course,

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Speaker 2: like no one starts off being married and then starts,

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Speaker 2: you know, with friends. Can you guys describe the first

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Speaker 2: time that you met each other? Do you guys remember

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Speaker 2: the first day you met each other?

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Speaker 3: I don't.

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Speaker 1: You don't remember the first day you met.

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Speaker 2: It's like the newly white game was to hit him

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Speaker 2: on the head.

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Speaker 3: Well, don't forget, don't forget. It was fifty something years okay, okay,

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Speaker 3: was breaking.

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Speaker 4: Oh no, you're trying to say, gotta keep us mighty.

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Speaker 3: When we got married, I was never going to speak

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Speaker 3: to him again. And guess what.

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Speaker 5: I was walking down the aisle and I looked into

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Speaker 5: his face and I saw red eyes.

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Speaker 1: Oh shots, fine, bachelor, he was. Okay, I get it,

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Speaker 1: I get it. So you remember up to that, right,

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Speaker 1: remember to that point.

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Speaker 5: Okay, before we before we met, I had been hearing

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Speaker 5: about this guy from Saint Louis, because the mont Maclamore

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Speaker 5: from the group and from the group, we're all from

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Speaker 5: Saint Louis, and they were talking about this guy named

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Speaker 5: June Bud who was coming out from Saint Louis looking

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Speaker 5: for a record deal, and that he could say.

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Speaker 1: Right, and that's June bug.

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Speaker 2: I see you're so you're not from Saint Louis, Yeah.

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Speaker 3: Louis, Yeah, yeah.

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Speaker 2: So so the group was formed by and we should

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Speaker 2: also note that uh Ron Malamore, I'm not Ron. I'm sorry.

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Speaker 2: Lamar Macklamore is the week baby, the the legendary what

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Speaker 2: now Beauty the Week Jet Beauty the Week pace He's.

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Speaker 4: He's a photographer or something.

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Speaker 1: He was the original Instagram shut up.

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Speaker 2: Yes, even even to like when whenever Jet went uh,

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Speaker 2: I don't know when Jet stopped uh publication, but he

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Speaker 2: went to the very end.

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Speaker 3: So, yes, the Lama took all.

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Speaker 7: The pictures of all of them, but most of the

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Speaker 7: pictures of that the women in the bathing suits.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, in the middle of Jet Yes career, even at

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Speaker 1: the height of fifth dimensioned them like right, he.

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Speaker 3: Was he was still doing that.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, how can one juggle both and still and still

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Speaker 2: do that. I'm also in the mind state that once

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Speaker 2: you're in the fifth dimension, you're touring all over like

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Speaker 2: nine months out the year. But he was able to

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Speaker 2: maintain both on a weekly basis.

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Speaker 3: Yes, yes, yes, I mean he would.

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Speaker 7: I don't know just how his setup was, but he

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Speaker 7: was definitely still doing it, you know, and still making

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Speaker 7: our rehearsals. And sometimes when we would be out of

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Speaker 7: town he would be all and we had a day

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Speaker 7: off or something, he would find some young lady to

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Speaker 7: shoot you know it, take out somewhere to shoot a

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Speaker 7: you know, and even.

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Speaker 1: The agent that's incredible.

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Speaker 3: Yes, yes, yes.

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Speaker 2: One of the one of the running jokes anytime that

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Speaker 2: you guys were on any show was finding.

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Speaker 1: Lamont a wife.

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Speaker 2: That's always been like the running joke in any Fifth

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Speaker 2: Dimension interview, like this was.

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Speaker 1: This bachelorhood like legendary in the seventies.

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Speaker 3: Like pretty legendary.

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Speaker 1: Yes, Yes, did he eventually get married?

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Speaker 3: Yes he did, he's a number of years now.

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Speaker 2: Okay, I was about to say no, just just based

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Speaker 2: on my Fifth Dimension research, Like every time that was

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Speaker 2: like a running joke.

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Speaker 1: Did he did he get married yet? Is he still

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Speaker 1: a bachelor? Okay, I get it now.

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Speaker 7: Well, Lama was always the one in the male in

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Speaker 7: the group that always had these long range plans with

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Speaker 7: these young ladies.

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Speaker 3: You know.

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Speaker 7: He would meet a young lady and the hero sell

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Speaker 7: long range plans for her, you know. So that's that's

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Speaker 7: that's why we always tease him about getting married.

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Speaker 3: He was waiting, waiting and waiting, but he finally did

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Speaker 3: get married. Yes.

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Speaker 2: Okay, what year did the group officially form? I know

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Speaker 2: that you guys are under the name the Versatiles. It

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Speaker 2: was the Versatiles, correct, that's.

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Speaker 5: Right, that's the way we started. Yes, yes, and that

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Speaker 5: was in nineteen.

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Speaker 1: Sixty five, and then why was it changed to the

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Speaker 1: Fifth Dimension.

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Speaker 5: Well, we were getting ready to come out with this

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Speaker 5: song with our first single, and the man who was

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Speaker 5: the head of the record company thought that the Versatile

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Speaker 5: sounded kind of old, that we needed something edgy and new,

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Speaker 5: and so we all went home and we were supposed

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Speaker 5: to come back with creative ideas for a new name

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Speaker 5: for the group, and ron Townsend and his wife came

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Speaker 5: up with the name the Fifth Dimension. And when we

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Speaker 5: first heard it, everybody loved it, and so we voted

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Speaker 5: on it, because we voted on everything in the group.

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Speaker 5: Dimension one hands down.

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Speaker 2: Was there like sort of a cosmic kind of definition.

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Speaker 2: Was it supposed to intentionally be like psychedelic because of

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Speaker 2: what the times were during that period?

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Speaker 3: Or yeah, pretty much.

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Speaker 5: You know, we were five members of the of a

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Speaker 5: group and.

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Speaker 3: I think Ronald was talking about Dimension.

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Speaker 5: Well, they decided that the Fifth Dimension was supposed to

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Speaker 5: be Fifth Dimension was sound, So we said, okay, that

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Speaker 5: makes sense.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, okay, I see did you guys at all? I

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Speaker 2: know that Bell Records was a label closely associated with

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Speaker 2: Arthur Shimpkin and also with a I believe Clive Davis

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Speaker 2: started or at least work there at the time period.

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Speaker 2: Did you guys work with him at all or have

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Speaker 2: any dealings with him or was he at Columbia by

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Speaker 2: this point?

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Speaker 3: Actually, well, we didn't work with well, we did, we did.

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Speaker 3: We didn't work with.

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Speaker 5: But just from minute you know, actually Saul City was

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Speaker 5: the was the name of the label, and that was

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Speaker 5: the one that started the group. And then uh when

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Speaker 5: and then Bell Records came in.

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Speaker 1: Larry Utah, Larry you Tall, Yeah, I know I know

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Speaker 1: that name.

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Speaker 5: Yes, yeah, Larry U Tah actually started Bell Records and

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Speaker 5: the Fifth Dimension was still there, and then uh, then

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Speaker 5: some transitions took place and Clive Davis came in and.

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Speaker 1: Right when he came in, he turned it into Arista.

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Speaker 3: Correct, exactly, That's what happened, right.

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Speaker 1: Okay, I see now, I see now.

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Speaker 7: I think one of the I think one of the

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Speaker 7: guys that at uh Bail Records was Irgelgel.

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Speaker 3: Yes, he worked with he worked with yeah in the

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Speaker 3: very beginning.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, in the beginning of the group.

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Speaker 2: Who decided the direction because you guys had a really

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Speaker 2: somewhat sophisticated, elegant sound, sort of a step ahead of

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Speaker 2: I guess at the time, like Motown was was the

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Speaker 2: leader of a more classier version of the soul. But

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Speaker 2: you guys were definitely kind of a step ahead of that,

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Speaker 2: Like who decided the direction of the group and how

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Speaker 2: do you guys approach your creativity.

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Speaker 7: Well, one of the things that happened is when we

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Speaker 7: first started the group, and and and and called ourselves

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Speaker 7: the Versatils. But we did that because we were all different.

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Speaker 7: All of us were different singers. I was more gospel

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Speaker 7: r and big blues, Maryland was more pop, and Ronald

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Speaker 7: was more operatic sounding, Florence was more pop, and the

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Speaker 7: Model was a more of a bass kind of singer,

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Speaker 7: and and and and and more of a pop sick.

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Speaker 7: So when we decided we started as Diversal and we

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Speaker 7: went into it as more of a jazz kind of

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Speaker 7: opportunity to do, to just create just different types of

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Speaker 7: music and uh. But when we got signed with Johnny Rivers,

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Speaker 7: we carried that sound with us right on into the

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Speaker 7: record company. And so when he suggested that we do

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Speaker 7: go where you want to go, and we said, well,

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Speaker 7: from the Mamas and Poppers there was a cover for us,

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Speaker 7: and we said, well, you know it's not going to

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Speaker 7: sound like Motole you know, we were we were we

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Speaker 7: went into what was happening for brothers or sisters, you know, right,

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Speaker 7: and even though we know we had a different sound,

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Speaker 7: that's what was the kind of music we were looking for.

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Speaker 3: But he said, no, let's try. It'll be a hit.

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Speaker 3: And when he said.

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Speaker 7: It'll be a hit, well, everybody was looking for a hit,

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Speaker 7: you know, you everb of every artist want to hit it,

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Speaker 7: even if it's pop goals or weasels, you know, you know,

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Speaker 7: So we did go where you want to go and

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Speaker 7: it came out with more of a soul for sound,

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Speaker 7: but not like the pop marmins and poppers. But it

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Speaker 7: created our out.

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Speaker 1: Okay, I see that.

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Speaker 2: I gotta say that because of my my weird obsession

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Speaker 2: with the song MacArthur's Park. I know that was written

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Speaker 2: by Jimmy Webb and if you kind of look at

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Speaker 2: his catalog, which is yeah, like Wichita Lineman and all

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Speaker 2: that stuff, like it's like really weird unorthodox songs, and

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Speaker 2: I know that he wrote up up in a way,

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Speaker 2: so like at the time when you were approached, how

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Speaker 2: did that song come into into the sphere of the

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Speaker 2: fifth dimension and what with the deciding factor that Okay,

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Speaker 2: this fits us because it's it's kind of even though

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Speaker 2: it's it's a hit, it's a really very weird specific song,

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Speaker 2: like we're going to sing about balloons, air balloons or whatever.

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Speaker 1: Like how did how did that? How did you guys

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Speaker 1: come across that song?

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Speaker 5: Well? You know, Uh, Mark Gordon, who was the group's manager,

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Speaker 5: introduced Johnny Rivers, who who was the owner of Soul

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Speaker 5: City Records, to Jimmy Webb because, uh, he was saying,

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Speaker 5: we need somebody creative and new and different. And Mark

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Speaker 5: had worked with Motown Records and had left Motown and

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Speaker 5: it's it's a long story about how we all met.

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Speaker 5: But he liked the group, he liked our direction, and

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Speaker 5: he said that he wanted to manage us. So so

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Speaker 5: when he was talking to Johnny Rivers and he said,

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Speaker 5: and Johnny said, we need somebody young, k new different,

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Speaker 5: Mark said, there's a very talented young man who was

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Speaker 5: trying to get some of his songs recorded at Motown.

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Speaker 5: His name is Jimmy Webb. I'd like for you to

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Speaker 5: meet him. And so they met, and uh, we ended

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Speaker 5: up working together on our first album, which must called

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Speaker 5: Go Where You.

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Speaker 3: Want To go well, actually it ended up being called.

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Speaker 5: And so we were we were working on some music

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Speaker 5: and and there was a hot air balloon festival that

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Speaker 5: took place down in Palm Springs on over a weekend,

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Speaker 5: and Jimmy went down to that that festival, and he

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Speaker 5: came back so inspired by what he had seen that

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Speaker 5: he wrote a song. And he wrote this song called

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Speaker 5: up Up and Away talking about the balloons, right, And

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Speaker 5: so he played the song for the group and we said,

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Speaker 5: oh man, that's a wonderful song. You know, it's a

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Speaker 5: happy feeling. It makes everybody want to dance and feel

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Speaker 5: really good.

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Speaker 3: It will never be a hit.

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Speaker 1: Oh I just thought it was gonna be filler, like

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Speaker 1: just out right.

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Speaker 3: That's all we thought was. You know, we were still

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Speaker 3: listened waiting for some.

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Speaker 7: Motile stuff, you know, up up and a wait and say, man,

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Speaker 7: that'll never be a hit, you know, And come to

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Speaker 7: find out it was.

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Speaker 3: It was. It was a big smash fun.

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Speaker 5: And it won us what for well, we won four

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Speaker 5: Grammy Yeah, and then Bones how well, no Bones wasn't

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Speaker 5: producer on that. Mark Mark Mark and Johnny Rivers won

294
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Speaker 5: Production Grammys and Jimmy Webb won it.

295
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Speaker 3: For the song yeah.

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Speaker 2: Now, I remember you guys previously telling me before that

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Speaker 2: when you guys won the Grammy for the song that

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Speaker 2: you weren't too sure like how important the Grammys were,

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Speaker 2: like or if.

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Speaker 1: It was a big deal, like in the late sixties.

301
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Speaker 2: Were the Grammys as big of a press to each

302
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Speaker 2: thing as we hold it now or was it just like, oh,

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Speaker 2: that's nice, we won a Grammy.

304
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Speaker 1: What's Grammy? Exactly?

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Speaker 3: That's what we felt.

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Speaker 5: Well at that time, the Grammys weren't being televised, so

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Speaker 5: so the record company was so excited, Oh, you've all

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Speaker 5: been nominated for Grammys, and we said.

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Speaker 3: That is so cool. What's great Grammy? We didn't even

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Speaker 3: know what it was, you know. And uh but but

311
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Speaker 3: after we won the first Grammy.

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Speaker 7: And got behind all that excitement, the next one we

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Speaker 7: were we were in line for.

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Speaker 3: We were ready for it, you know, Okay, a Grammys.

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Speaker 1: I see you guys mentioned Mark Gordon because.

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Speaker 2: I'm I'm like a fan slash aficionado of Soul Train.

317
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Speaker 2: I know that oftentimes, like if Val Wilson was on

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Speaker 2: the show, uh, don would talk to Mark or uh

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Speaker 2: he was there I think during the Staples Singers episode

320
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Speaker 2: as well, So like I'm familiar with Mark Gordon. The

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Speaker 2: thing was, I didn't know that he was married to

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Speaker 2: Florence LaRue during that time period. But I was also

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Speaker 2: shocked for you guys to go to the levels and

324
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Speaker 2: the heights that you've gone to. Even in my mind,

325
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Speaker 2: I thought, wow, they really had it like a powerful

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Speaker 2: white manager.

327
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Speaker 1: How was it?

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Speaker 2: How was it that Mark was able to work his

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Speaker 2: magic as as a man, and you know, he's managed

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Speaker 2: everyone like name it, like Tony. This also probably explains

331
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Speaker 2: why you Antonio, Orlando and Don also at your variety shows,

332
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Speaker 2: Like what was Mark like as a manager that he

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Speaker 2: had like further further reached than your average manager where

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Speaker 2: he can get his acts even past mainstream, but just

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Speaker 2: in spaces where you normally don't see black acts.

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Speaker 5: Well, Mark had a lot. You know, Mark came again

337
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Speaker 5: from the Motown background, and so I'm sure he learned

338
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Speaker 5: a lot when he was there, and he was running

339
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Speaker 5: the West Coast office of Motown Records, and that's how

340
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Speaker 5: we met him. And he was also a producer, and

341
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Speaker 5: so we were hoping that maybe he would produce a

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Speaker 5: record on the group and we would end up at Motown.

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Speaker 5: But again, for one reason or another that Mark and

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Speaker 5: Motown agreed to disagree, and so Mark came and said,

345
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Speaker 5: I'd like to manage guys. I like I like your idea,

346
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Speaker 5: I like the sound that you have, and I think

347
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Speaker 5: I can do something with you. And then he and

348
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Speaker 5: Johnny Rivers. Johnny Rivers, who was a who was more

349
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Speaker 5: of a country singer, had some major hits, but he

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Speaker 5: loved R and B and he wanted to produce some

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Speaker 5: R and B music. So he came to Mark and

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Speaker 5: he said, why don't we co produce some projects together?

353
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Speaker 5: And so that was how they ended up producing us,

354
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Speaker 5: and that was how we ended up recording Go where

355
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Speaker 5: You Want to Go and then Up, Up and the Way,

356
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Speaker 5: and Mark introduced Johnny to Jimmy Webb. So so Mark

357
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Speaker 5: Mark was a visionary in so many ways he was.

358
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Speaker 7: He was definitely a good manager and he I think

359
00:19:44,200 --> 00:19:47,800
Speaker 7: the popularity of the group is what kind of got

360
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Speaker 7: him in the in the position to be able to

361
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Speaker 7: open the doors, because I don't forget he was our

362
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Speaker 7: personal manager, but but but we also had an agency.

363
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Speaker 3: Opened the doors too, like William Moore us.

364
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Speaker 7: You know, with our popularity, we would we would, we would,

365
00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:08,880
Speaker 7: we were going pop you know, yes, and we were

366
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Speaker 7: right in the middle of that. So all the doors

367
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Speaker 7: were opening for they had televant shows and all the

368
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Speaker 7: all the all of the white shows that would that

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Speaker 7: was that was happening.

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Speaker 3: They wanted the fifth dimension.

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Speaker 1: So was it ever a struggle? Okay? So one one

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Speaker 1: of the one of the.

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Speaker 2: Kind of a career highlights for most black acts that

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Speaker 2: I've spoken to, especially that have started in the sixties,

375
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Speaker 2: most of them were being groomed to play the copa.

376
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Speaker 2: That was like like one thing is surviving the Apollo,

377
00:20:44,560 --> 00:20:48,399
Speaker 2: the other thing is being able to play the copa,

378
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Speaker 2: which you know, I can only imagine that that that.

379
00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:55,120
Speaker 1: Was a prestigious thing.

380
00:20:56,200 --> 00:20:59,840
Speaker 2: Was that necessarily a goal for this particular group or

381
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Speaker 2: was that not?

382
00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:03,600
Speaker 1: Kind of in your radar?

383
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Speaker 5: Everybody wanted to play the coca. Yeah, everybody wanted to

384
00:21:07,840 --> 00:21:13,200
Speaker 5: play the copa. But what happened was there was another

385
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Speaker 5: club in New York.

386
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Speaker 7: Well actually it was it was a club, but it

387
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Speaker 7: was a room, yes, at the Americana Hotel.

388
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Speaker 5: At it was called the Royal Box, the Royal Box.

389
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Speaker 7: And they ended up hiring us and we would work

390
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Speaker 7: the Royal Box every year, right doing a prim season.

391
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Speaker 7: You know, so they knew that the fifth was at

392
00:21:40,359 --> 00:21:43,280
Speaker 7: that place every year, so it was three or.

393
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Speaker 3: Four years straight that's where we were at.

394
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Speaker 7: So I guess the the copa, but they knew we

395
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Speaker 7: were at the Royal Box.

396
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Speaker 3: They never tried to book us.

397
00:21:52,440 --> 00:21:57,320
Speaker 5: They never tried to book us. Blew our chance by

398
00:21:57,359 --> 00:21:59,199
Speaker 5: working at the Royal Box. But you know why it

399
00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:01,920
Speaker 5: was great because because of the Royal Box, that's how

400
00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:05,480
Speaker 5: we ended up with finding Aquarius.

401
00:22:07,440 --> 00:22:12,560
Speaker 2: Okay, So I know this legendary story and it's definitely

402
00:22:12,600 --> 00:22:15,720
Speaker 2: one of the highlights of summer. And so could you

403
00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:20,480
Speaker 2: please share with our audience the the circumstances that actually

404
00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:23,879
Speaker 2: led you to recording uh, the Age of Aquarius with

405
00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:24,600
Speaker 2: the sunshining.

406
00:22:25,160 --> 00:22:27,880
Speaker 3: And this is a show mouth true story right right.

407
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Speaker 1: I can't believe it, but it's amazing.

408
00:22:30,480 --> 00:22:33,199
Speaker 3: Think we made it up for stage, but we can't.

409
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Speaker 1: You can't make up nothing like this, you know, no,

410
00:22:35,040 --> 00:22:37,640
Speaker 1: you can't know you were working in New York.

411
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Speaker 7: And the funny thing is that I went out to

412
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Speaker 7: shop and and and coming back getting out of the cab,

413
00:22:45,040 --> 00:22:46,960
Speaker 7: I lost my wallet and it fell in the cab.

414
00:22:47,520 --> 00:22:50,240
Speaker 7: So I came up stairs in the hotel room and

415
00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:52,440
Speaker 7: I told Maryland. I was looking at my post, Baby,

416
00:22:52,840 --> 00:22:56,600
Speaker 7: I've lost my wallet. And Maryland said, oh, well you

417
00:22:56,600 --> 00:23:00,520
Speaker 7: can forget that. You ain't gonna never see the wallet.

418
00:23:03,320 --> 00:23:06,480
Speaker 7: And so about an hour after that, I got a

419
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Speaker 7: phone call and the guy.

420
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Speaker 3: Said, is this Billy Davis Junior. And I said, yes

421
00:23:11,560 --> 00:23:11,919
Speaker 3: it is.

422
00:23:12,520 --> 00:23:17,880
Speaker 7: And he said, I got your wallet, wow, wallet. And

423
00:23:18,119 --> 00:23:20,880
Speaker 7: I got all excited because he had found my wallet.

424
00:23:21,280 --> 00:23:22,840
Speaker 7: And I told him, I said, well, just hold on

425
00:23:22,880 --> 00:23:25,520
Speaker 7: to it. I'm coming to your house and get it.

426
00:23:25,560 --> 00:23:28,239
Speaker 7: So I went to his house and I offered him

427
00:23:28,280 --> 00:23:31,680
Speaker 7: some money. He didn't want their money, so I invited

428
00:23:31,760 --> 00:23:34,359
Speaker 7: him to come and see us at the Royal Box

429
00:23:35,480 --> 00:23:36,000
Speaker 7: perform him.

430
00:23:36,040 --> 00:23:39,080
Speaker 3: So he took us up on that. So after the show,

431
00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:40,960
Speaker 3: he came to the show, him and his wife.

432
00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:44,280
Speaker 7: And after the show he came backstage and he said, man,

433
00:23:44,359 --> 00:23:45,440
Speaker 7: you guys are beautiful.

434
00:23:45,520 --> 00:23:46,800
Speaker 3: It's one of I love the show.

435
00:23:47,359 --> 00:23:49,840
Speaker 7: He said, says, you were so nice, Billy, I'd like

436
00:23:49,920 --> 00:23:51,520
Speaker 7: to invite you to see our show.

437
00:23:52,480 --> 00:23:53,359
Speaker 3: I said, what show.

438
00:23:54,400 --> 00:23:57,080
Speaker 7: Come to find out he was one of the producers

439
00:23:57,119 --> 00:24:01,280
Speaker 7: of had Right. Had been trying to get in to

440
00:24:01,359 --> 00:24:03,840
Speaker 7: see hair but I don't know how long.

441
00:24:04,280 --> 00:24:07,080
Speaker 3: No seats. It was like it was like that was

442
00:24:07,119 --> 00:24:08,600
Speaker 3: like the Hamilton of.

443
00:24:11,119 --> 00:24:14,399
Speaker 1: Hamilton with skin that were trying to get in to.

444
00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:19,040
Speaker 7: See hair and well it was the first time they

445
00:24:19,080 --> 00:24:23,720
Speaker 7: ever seen people neked on stage, so everybody was dashing,

446
00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:27,600
Speaker 7: you know. But but we finally got in. He invited

447
00:24:27,720 --> 00:24:29,880
Speaker 7: us over to see it, and we saw this young

448
00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:35,440
Speaker 7: kid by the name of Ronnie Dyson singing aquariums and

449
00:24:35,480 --> 00:24:40,119
Speaker 7: when he he filled the auditorium with that beautiful boss

450
00:24:40,160 --> 00:24:42,560
Speaker 7: of his and when he when he did that, we

451
00:24:42,640 --> 00:24:45,439
Speaker 7: all heard it right there and said, we have to

452
00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:46,240
Speaker 7: do that song.

453
00:24:46,760 --> 00:24:49,440
Speaker 3: That's a fifty minutes song. It's gonna be ah, it's

454
00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:50,119
Speaker 3: gonna be a hit.

455
00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:52,840
Speaker 7: That's what was first time we ever said that it's

456
00:24:52,880 --> 00:24:55,159
Speaker 7: gonna be a hit. And sure enough it was the

457
00:24:55,200 --> 00:24:57,320
Speaker 7: biggest record that we've ever ever recorded.

458
00:24:58,760 --> 00:24:59,400
Speaker 1: That's amazing.

459
00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:00,480
Speaker 3: So how did it?

460
00:25:00,760 --> 00:25:02,920
Speaker 4: How did it go from the stage to your song

461
00:25:03,040 --> 00:25:05,040
Speaker 4: though with that strain with the producer?

462
00:25:06,119 --> 00:25:10,080
Speaker 5: Well, well, we called we called our producer who was Bones,

463
00:25:10,119 --> 00:25:14,280
Speaker 5: how and we said Bones, and I mean everybody when

464
00:25:14,280 --> 00:25:17,720
Speaker 5: we got together at intermission, we were all all five

465
00:25:17,760 --> 00:25:19,720
Speaker 5: months and said this is going to be a hit.

466
00:25:20,440 --> 00:25:22,640
Speaker 5: So we called Bones and said Bones. We found our

467
00:25:22,680 --> 00:25:26,600
Speaker 5: next hit. And he said, what's that and we said Aquarius.

468
00:25:26,640 --> 00:25:29,320
Speaker 5: He said, well, I don't know. He said, there's a

469
00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:30,920
Speaker 5: lot of people that have tried to make a hit

470
00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:34,000
Speaker 5: out of that song and it hasn't worked. And we said,

471
00:25:34,520 --> 00:25:38,720
Speaker 5: but the Fifth Division didn't see it, you know, so

472
00:25:38,920 --> 00:25:41,439
Speaker 5: determined to record that song. So he said, well, let

473
00:25:41,520 --> 00:25:44,680
Speaker 5: me let me listen to it some more and see

474
00:25:44,680 --> 00:25:46,960
Speaker 5: what we can come up with. So then he came

475
00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:48,840
Speaker 5: back to us a little while later, a couple of

476
00:25:48,880 --> 00:25:52,920
Speaker 5: weeks later, and he said, I think I have an

477
00:25:52,960 --> 00:25:55,840
Speaker 5: idea of how to make this work. And he came

478
00:25:55,920 --> 00:25:59,359
Speaker 5: up with the idea of taking Aquarius and putting it

479
00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:04,919
Speaker 5: together with another song Shineyes, that the Sunshining, which was

480
00:26:05,080 --> 00:26:09,120
Speaker 5: from the song Paul flesh Face right, and uh, by

481
00:26:09,560 --> 00:26:13,280
Speaker 5: combining the two of those together, we ended up with

482
00:26:13,320 --> 00:26:14,680
Speaker 5: the biggest hit of our careers.

483
00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:15,320
Speaker 3: Yeah.

484
00:26:15,359 --> 00:26:17,840
Speaker 2: Oh so let's the Sunshine and was not a part

485
00:26:17,880 --> 00:26:21,040
Speaker 2: of Hair. I didn't know that, Okay, well it was.

486
00:26:21,560 --> 00:26:25,280
Speaker 2: It was a part of Hair together. Okay, you just.

487
00:26:26,840 --> 00:26:31,480
Speaker 3: Together like our part what we did with let the Sunshine.

488
00:26:31,920 --> 00:26:33,560
Speaker 5: As a matter of fact, the way that they did

489
00:26:33,560 --> 00:26:34,879
Speaker 5: it in the show was that.

490
00:26:37,840 --> 00:26:39,720
Speaker 3: The sun Shine.

491
00:26:40,240 --> 00:26:43,360
Speaker 1: Yeah, it was one of those ruslow and okay.

492
00:26:43,160 --> 00:26:46,159
Speaker 5: The Sunshine it was a sad song, yeah right, but

493
00:26:46,280 --> 00:26:49,200
Speaker 5: Bones came up with the idea of making it more joyous.

494
00:26:49,280 --> 00:26:51,199
Speaker 5: And then when we were in the studio recording it,

495
00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:54,560
Speaker 5: then he said, okay, the group was singing it like

496
00:26:55,280 --> 00:26:57,800
Speaker 5: the Sunshine. Then he says, okay, Billy, now go and

497
00:26:57,880 --> 00:26:58,600
Speaker 5: take it to church.

498
00:26:58,680 --> 00:27:02,480
Speaker 2: Many yes, yes, that's amazing.

499
00:27:07,359 --> 00:27:10,000
Speaker 1: On an average how many?

500
00:27:10,040 --> 00:27:14,720
Speaker 2: How many gigs just from a touring standpoint, I know,

501
00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:19,560
Speaker 2: touring from more or less like doing five straight months,

502
00:27:19,600 --> 00:27:22,160
Speaker 2: like living on the road never coming home like after

503
00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:23,479
Speaker 2: five straight months or whatever.

504
00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:27,240
Speaker 1: But could you describe to us like what was.

505
00:27:28,640 --> 00:27:33,080
Speaker 2: What was the the gig circuit like during that time

506
00:27:33,200 --> 00:27:37,320
Speaker 2: and around nineteen sixty nine for the group, Like how

507
00:27:37,359 --> 00:27:40,080
Speaker 2: many was it mainly just one night ers or was

508
00:27:40,119 --> 00:27:43,320
Speaker 2: it you know, concentrated time in America then you go

509
00:27:43,440 --> 00:27:45,639
Speaker 2: to other parts of the world, Like what was the

510
00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:48,879
Speaker 2: average touring season like for the Fifth Dimension, Well, it

511
00:27:48,960 --> 00:27:49,399
Speaker 2: was more.

512
00:27:49,280 --> 00:27:52,200
Speaker 5: About America, about the United States. You played a lot

513
00:27:52,240 --> 00:27:55,639
Speaker 5: of college campuses, right, We did a lot of a

514
00:27:55,720 --> 00:27:59,760
Speaker 5: lot of concerts. We dressed, we got dressed in a

515
00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:02,479
Speaker 5: lot of sweaty locker locker rooms.

516
00:28:03,240 --> 00:28:05,000
Speaker 1: Right now, you come in there.

517
00:28:05,080 --> 00:28:07,440
Speaker 7: You come in there after a game, after they left

518
00:28:07,480 --> 00:28:09,919
Speaker 7: from a game, and it would be lit up.

519
00:28:13,119 --> 00:28:14,959
Speaker 3: Well, you know, but you have to go in there.

520
00:28:15,000 --> 00:28:18,480
Speaker 7: And you did dress and you know, young, young, you know,

521
00:28:18,560 --> 00:28:20,960
Speaker 7: you you get past that, you get out there, but

522
00:28:21,080 --> 00:28:23,800
Speaker 7: you worried about doing the best you could do when

523
00:28:23,840 --> 00:28:25,720
Speaker 7: you get in front of that audience, you know.

524
00:28:26,359 --> 00:28:29,320
Speaker 3: But yes, we but we did. We played clubs too.

525
00:28:29,440 --> 00:28:31,520
Speaker 7: We played clubs, but we were out on the road

526
00:28:32,760 --> 00:28:35,800
Speaker 7: maybe about oh boy, seven to eight months out of

527
00:28:35,800 --> 00:28:36,120
Speaker 7: the year.

528
00:28:36,200 --> 00:28:39,120
Speaker 3: We were on the road, I mean moving constantly.

529
00:28:39,800 --> 00:28:44,560
Speaker 5: We also played Las Vegas, yes and UH, which which

530
00:28:44,640 --> 00:28:46,640
Speaker 5: a lot of the artists weren't doing, but that was

531
00:28:46,640 --> 00:28:49,800
Speaker 5: one of the one of the offers that we got

532
00:28:49,880 --> 00:28:54,000
Speaker 5: and uh we ended up playing the Main Room UH

533
00:28:54,840 --> 00:28:57,560
Speaker 5: as one of the healthy acts fort for Frank Sinatra,

534
00:28:58,360 --> 00:29:00,520
Speaker 5: And that was another way that we were introduced to

535
00:29:00,560 --> 00:29:02,760
Speaker 5: the U, to the country at large.

536
00:29:03,360 --> 00:29:06,640
Speaker 3: And then we did a lot of we did We did.

537
00:29:06,520 --> 00:29:10,120
Speaker 5: A number of concerts just around around the country and

538
00:29:10,720 --> 00:29:12,600
Speaker 5: a lot of riding around on buses.

539
00:29:13,040 --> 00:29:18,880
Speaker 2: Right, really, okay, when when you're doing uh, okay, if

540
00:29:18,880 --> 00:29:23,600
Speaker 2: you're opening for Frank Sinatra, I know that we interviewed

541
00:29:23,760 --> 00:29:28,240
Speaker 2: uh the Jackson's some time ago on the show, and

542
00:29:29,320 --> 00:29:33,920
Speaker 2: I know that their experience with doing Vegas was that,

543
00:29:34,040 --> 00:29:38,280
Speaker 2: you know, they had to sort of expand their repertoire somewhat,

544
00:29:38,480 --> 00:29:41,600
Speaker 2: do more show tunes, do more balance.

545
00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:43,880
Speaker 1: Yeah, pretty much.

546
00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:48,360
Speaker 2: So would you have to change the show specifically for

547
00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:52,440
Speaker 2: Vegas audience or was it pretty consistent the same show

548
00:29:52,480 --> 00:29:54,840
Speaker 2: that you would do for colleges? Were they the same

549
00:29:54,920 --> 00:29:58,040
Speaker 2: for Las Vegas or your nightclub act.

550
00:29:58,600 --> 00:30:01,640
Speaker 5: We wouldn't do the for colleges. We would do more

551
00:30:01,640 --> 00:30:06,120
Speaker 5: of our recorded material, our songs that were recorded material.

552
00:30:06,840 --> 00:30:10,480
Speaker 5: Then we would mix mix up our show with songs

553
00:30:10,480 --> 00:30:15,400
Speaker 5: that were high rhythm, high energy, and and uh Billy

554
00:30:15,400 --> 00:30:17,320
Speaker 5: to get out there and start singing a lot of

555
00:30:17,320 --> 00:30:20,920
Speaker 5: his soul things, and Florence and I dancing and shaking.

556
00:30:22,320 --> 00:30:25,160
Speaker 3: So it changed. It depends upon where we were working.

557
00:30:25,160 --> 00:30:27,320
Speaker 3: We would would change for Vegas.

558
00:30:27,320 --> 00:30:32,080
Speaker 7: We would do more of a production kind of a show.

559
00:30:32,520 --> 00:30:37,640
Speaker 7: You know, we would put some production uh quality into

560
00:30:37,720 --> 00:30:41,320
Speaker 7: the into the show, like a song that we did

561
00:30:41,640 --> 00:30:46,600
Speaker 7: called Old to Old to Billy Joe, you know, and each.

562
00:30:45,800 --> 00:30:48,360
Speaker 8: One of us took apart so it looked like a

563
00:30:48,440 --> 00:30:53,360
Speaker 8: theater piece in Vegas, and it kept the audience right there,

564
00:30:53,480 --> 00:30:56,120
Speaker 8: you know, because they wanted to see what each character

565
00:30:56,280 --> 00:30:58,920
Speaker 8: was doing, you know, and then after that piece, we

566
00:30:58,960 --> 00:31:00,840
Speaker 8: would come up with one of our hits or something

567
00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:03,320
Speaker 8: like that, you know, bring them back down to where

568
00:31:03,360 --> 00:31:04,000
Speaker 8: we're at, you know.

569
00:31:04,080 --> 00:31:05,760
Speaker 3: So yeah, we would do that.

570
00:31:06,280 --> 00:31:08,520
Speaker 2: We also know that you're one of the few acts

571
00:31:08,560 --> 00:31:13,800
Speaker 2: that you know, doing doing a residency on Broadway is

572
00:31:13,880 --> 00:31:17,920
Speaker 2: usually a special occasion. I mean, it rarely happens now,

573
00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:21,960
Speaker 2: Like Bruce Springsteen, I had had a one man show

574
00:31:22,080 --> 00:31:25,840
Speaker 2: recently before the pandemic more Broadway, but you guys were

575
00:31:25,880 --> 00:31:29,280
Speaker 2: definitely one of the first acts to do like a

576
00:31:29,280 --> 00:31:32,440
Speaker 2: residency there. Well, I think I'm trying to lead up

577
00:31:32,480 --> 00:31:36,440
Speaker 2: to why you two were so natural when you guys

578
00:31:36,440 --> 00:31:40,480
Speaker 2: got your own variety special in terms of like doing

579
00:31:40,520 --> 00:31:44,080
Speaker 2: more than just performing your songs, like jokes would be

580
00:31:44,440 --> 00:31:47,520
Speaker 2: you know in the show and little sketches and whatnot,

581
00:31:48,120 --> 00:31:51,120
Speaker 2: Like did that prepare you for that, especially with when

582
00:31:51,160 --> 00:31:54,240
Speaker 2: you did your Broadway residency or we.

583
00:31:54,160 --> 00:31:56,640
Speaker 5: Had a wonderful man by the name of Renee Knight

584
00:31:56,800 --> 00:32:00,520
Speaker 5: who worked with the group and helped helped taught us

585
00:32:00,600 --> 00:32:05,600
Speaker 5: a lot about the entertainment business and about what made

586
00:32:05,840 --> 00:32:10,440
Speaker 5: what made shows work, and we would get together and

587
00:32:10,880 --> 00:32:14,600
Speaker 5: come up with with songs that Renee came up.

588
00:32:14,480 --> 00:32:16,240
Speaker 3: With the idea of Odabilly Jill you remember that.

589
00:32:16,320 --> 00:32:18,640
Speaker 5: Oh, she was the one who realized that there were

590
00:32:18,680 --> 00:32:21,040
Speaker 5: five characters and that in the song.

591
00:32:21,200 --> 00:32:22,720
Speaker 3: And then and we.

592
00:32:22,560 --> 00:32:25,280
Speaker 5: Were able to put those five characters together and and

593
00:32:25,720 --> 00:32:28,680
Speaker 5: do that song. And h he had been with a

594
00:32:28,680 --> 00:32:31,440
Speaker 5: group called the Delta Rhythm Boys who were very, very

595
00:32:31,440 --> 00:32:36,479
Speaker 5: successful h in Europe, and he when he came and

596
00:32:36,520 --> 00:32:38,520
Speaker 5: saw us and saw what we were about, he just

597
00:32:38,560 --> 00:32:41,640
Speaker 5: felt like, you know, he wanted to work with us

598
00:32:41,720 --> 00:32:43,480
Speaker 5: and teach us some of the things that he knew

599
00:32:43,520 --> 00:32:47,600
Speaker 5: about how to make live shows really work for your

600
00:32:47,640 --> 00:32:51,960
Speaker 5: audiences and how to mix the music up. And Renee.

601
00:32:53,000 --> 00:32:55,520
Speaker 5: We give a lot of credit to Renee for helping

602
00:32:55,560 --> 00:32:58,080
Speaker 5: to teach us about the business and about how it

603
00:32:58,160 --> 00:33:00,920
Speaker 5: worked and and how to make it work. You know

604
00:33:00,960 --> 00:33:05,320
Speaker 5: when you talk about when we did that residency on Broadway, Yeah,

605
00:33:05,480 --> 00:33:08,400
Speaker 5: we were working with a dancer. His name was Jojo Smith.

606
00:33:08,480 --> 00:33:09,720
Speaker 3: You remember jo Smith?

607
00:33:10,800 --> 00:33:12,120
Speaker 1: I can't say I've heard of them.

608
00:33:12,480 --> 00:33:17,520
Speaker 5: Okay, Well, Jojo Smith had a dancing company and one

609
00:33:17,560 --> 00:33:20,240
Speaker 5: of the members of his dancing dancing company was a

610
00:33:20,280 --> 00:33:22,840
Speaker 5: young woman by the name of Debbie Allen.

611
00:33:25,680 --> 00:33:25,960
Speaker 1: Wow.

612
00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:27,280
Speaker 3: And that was how we.

613
00:33:27,160 --> 00:33:31,200
Speaker 5: Met Debbie and we when we did our residency, we

614
00:33:31,200 --> 00:33:34,640
Speaker 5: were on Broadway for a month and we had came

615
00:33:34,720 --> 00:33:38,200
Speaker 5: up with the idea of having a dancing company be

616
00:33:38,520 --> 00:33:41,840
Speaker 5: our opening for the show, because again, it was a

617
00:33:41,960 --> 00:33:48,240
Speaker 5: nice balance and a difference of entertainment and it made

618
00:33:48,240 --> 00:33:52,120
Speaker 5: for a very entertaining show. And that was how we

619
00:33:52,360 --> 00:33:54,440
Speaker 5: That was, That was what we did on Broadway.

620
00:33:54,480 --> 00:33:57,840
Speaker 3: That was yes, yes, yes, it was.

621
00:33:58,760 --> 00:33:59,600
Speaker 1: I see, I see.

622
00:34:00,120 --> 00:34:01,840
Speaker 4: Can I just ask how did you? I just want

623
00:34:01,880 --> 00:34:04,480
Speaker 4: to know how you guys figured out your life physical aesthetic,

624
00:34:04,600 --> 00:34:07,880
Speaker 4: like for your live shows, for your album covers, like

625
00:34:07,920 --> 00:34:10,840
Speaker 4: what was the decision behind the outfits and how everything

626
00:34:10,880 --> 00:34:11,640
Speaker 4: would come together?

627
00:34:12,600 --> 00:34:15,240
Speaker 7: Well, you know, when when it when it came to

628
00:34:15,239 --> 00:34:18,120
Speaker 7: to our live shows, we we were known for wearing

629
00:34:18,160 --> 00:34:23,160
Speaker 7: these different type of outfits, you know, right from the beginning.

630
00:34:23,360 --> 00:34:25,319
Speaker 7: I mean, you know, they dressed us funny, you know,

631
00:34:26,120 --> 00:34:30,919
Speaker 7: but they were dressers in the same colors, but more

632
00:34:30,960 --> 00:34:33,400
Speaker 7: to our personalities.

633
00:34:33,080 --> 00:34:35,479
Speaker 3: You know, So what was your color? What was your color?

634
00:34:35,520 --> 00:34:39,520
Speaker 7: Billy outfit would be a little different, and that that

635
00:34:39,640 --> 00:34:41,719
Speaker 7: was our theme, you know, And and then all of

636
00:34:41,800 --> 00:34:44,399
Speaker 7: a sudden, they got a little bit more sophisticated as

637
00:34:44,440 --> 00:34:47,400
Speaker 7: we as we stayed into the business well longer, you know,

638
00:34:47,800 --> 00:34:51,920
Speaker 7: they became sleeker and you know, different colors like that,

639
00:34:52,440 --> 00:34:53,960
Speaker 7: and they would and they would put those on the

640
00:34:54,000 --> 00:34:58,080
Speaker 7: album covers and and I guess the rec the record

641
00:34:58,080 --> 00:35:00,600
Speaker 7: company would say, hey, you know, put on the album.

642
00:35:00,680 --> 00:35:03,279
Speaker 7: Come because if they see it at album, they know

643
00:35:03,400 --> 00:35:04,760
Speaker 7: they'll notice the fit dimension.

644
00:35:06,280 --> 00:35:07,279
Speaker 3: I would love to say that.

645
00:35:07,440 --> 00:35:10,800
Speaker 5: You know. The idea for that of dressing and different

646
00:35:11,280 --> 00:35:16,560
Speaker 5: different in the themes was actually Lamont's Lamont Matamore because

647
00:35:17,640 --> 00:35:20,160
Speaker 5: we were getting ready to work in a club in

648
00:35:20,360 --> 00:35:24,920
Speaker 5: la and the group was not It was nothing famous

649
00:35:24,960 --> 00:35:28,600
Speaker 5: at that time, and so we had this job, but

650
00:35:28,640 --> 00:35:30,920
Speaker 5: we didn't have any outfits, and so it was like,

651
00:35:31,160 --> 00:35:32,880
Speaker 5: oh my god, what are we going to do? So

652
00:35:33,040 --> 00:35:36,000
Speaker 5: Lamont came up with this idea. He said, hey, well,

653
00:35:36,040 --> 00:35:40,480
Speaker 5: everybody has got something black and white in your closet,

654
00:35:40,880 --> 00:35:44,040
Speaker 5: so why don't we take take an outfit and everybody

655
00:35:44,080 --> 00:35:45,279
Speaker 5: wear black and white.

656
00:35:45,000 --> 00:35:46,919
Speaker 3: And you just wear whatever you want to wear.

657
00:35:46,960 --> 00:35:50,200
Speaker 5: And that was what we worked that night at that

658
00:35:50,320 --> 00:35:53,480
Speaker 5: club and we all had on black and white and

659
00:35:53,520 --> 00:35:55,200
Speaker 5: there was a guy in the audience by the name

660
00:35:55,200 --> 00:35:59,040
Speaker 5: of Boyd Clapton and he was a designer. And he

661
00:35:59,160 --> 00:36:03,080
Speaker 5: came backstage afterwards and he said, I love your idea.

662
00:36:03,160 --> 00:36:06,520
Speaker 5: You know, you took this theme about black and white, but.

663
00:36:06,560 --> 00:36:08,560
Speaker 3: You each wore your own personalities.

664
00:36:09,040 --> 00:36:11,280
Speaker 5: And he said, I would love to try to design

665
00:36:11,360 --> 00:36:14,160
Speaker 5: something for you. He said, would you let me design

666
00:36:14,239 --> 00:36:16,720
Speaker 5: an outfit using that kind of idea?

667
00:36:17,000 --> 00:36:20,560
Speaker 3: And that was how that evolved. And he would come

668
00:36:20,640 --> 00:36:22,839
Speaker 3: up with sketches and different things like that and show

669
00:36:22,920 --> 00:36:24,359
Speaker 3: him to us before he would make them.

670
00:36:24,400 --> 00:36:29,200
Speaker 5: You know, we would okay, and and each one shot

671
00:36:29,280 --> 00:36:32,040
Speaker 5: that would be more in keeping with the with the

672
00:36:32,040 --> 00:36:33,880
Speaker 5: personality of the singer.

673
00:36:34,239 --> 00:36:35,920
Speaker 4: Wow, how long did he stay with you guys?

674
00:36:36,400 --> 00:36:41,520
Speaker 3: Make that was with us for a long time at least.

675
00:36:41,640 --> 00:36:45,360
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, yeah, Actually, I'm glad you asked that, Like

676
00:36:45,640 --> 00:36:46,640
Speaker 2: I always wanted to know.

677
00:36:49,920 --> 00:36:50,280
Speaker 1: Questions.

678
00:36:50,920 --> 00:36:53,600
Speaker 5: There were so many amazing things that that happened, the

679
00:36:53,640 --> 00:36:56,320
Speaker 5: people that we met, the people who came involved became

680
00:36:56,360 --> 00:36:58,960
Speaker 5: involved with the group, the people who crossed our paths,

681
00:36:59,000 --> 00:37:02,760
Speaker 5: and it was truly I feel like the fifth dimension

682
00:37:02,880 --> 00:37:03,680
Speaker 5: was truly blessed.

683
00:37:03,760 --> 00:37:07,880
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, yeah, well I always wanted to know. Okay,

684
00:37:08,040 --> 00:37:11,719
Speaker 2: so I know again, in today's the times that we

685
00:37:11,760 --> 00:37:16,640
Speaker 2: live in today. There are entourages, there's you know, assistance,

686
00:37:16,920 --> 00:37:18,640
Speaker 2: there's wardrobe people, there's blah.

687
00:37:18,440 --> 00:37:20,440
Speaker 1: Blah blah blah blahlah blah blah blah.

688
00:37:20,520 --> 00:37:24,160
Speaker 2: But I know that at least back then, it was

689
00:37:24,200 --> 00:37:28,319
Speaker 2: sort of like self contained and artists were responsible for

690
00:37:28,400 --> 00:37:33,080
Speaker 2: their own outfits and whatnot. So when you are extensively

691
00:37:33,160 --> 00:37:37,080
Speaker 2: touring and you have these outfits and whatnot, like, how

692
00:37:37,080 --> 00:37:40,560
Speaker 2: do you how do you how's the upkeep? Like, are

693
00:37:40,600 --> 00:37:44,600
Speaker 2: you guys the ones that have to iron your stuff

694
00:37:44,640 --> 00:37:47,160
Speaker 2: before the show? Run to the cleaners in between cities

695
00:37:47,200 --> 00:37:51,000
Speaker 2: and whatnot? Like or was there a wardrobe person on detail?

696
00:37:51,320 --> 00:37:51,560
Speaker 3: No?

697
00:37:51,760 --> 00:37:54,440
Speaker 7: No, we's no way could we had done, but we

698
00:37:54,480 --> 00:37:57,319
Speaker 7: would do because we ended up having to.

699
00:37:57,280 --> 00:37:59,680
Speaker 3: Take a wardrobe person with us on the road.

700
00:38:00,080 --> 00:38:03,000
Speaker 7: You know, they took care of all the while we

701
00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:06,560
Speaker 7: were doing our sound checks and getting into the theaters

702
00:38:06,560 --> 00:38:09,680
Speaker 7: and different things like that. They were backstage taking the

703
00:38:09,719 --> 00:38:16,200
Speaker 7: outfits out of the trump and and you know of them.

704
00:38:16,280 --> 00:38:18,319
Speaker 1: So you guys were high level. Okay, I get it.

705
00:38:22,000 --> 00:38:24,120
Speaker 1: They did their own stuff to that point.

706
00:38:24,280 --> 00:38:26,680
Speaker 4: Was there ever pressure on you Maryland and Florence to

707
00:38:26,719 --> 00:38:28,839
Speaker 4: make sure that y'all looked as amazing as y'all did

708
00:38:29,080 --> 00:38:30,000
Speaker 4: in these outfits.

709
00:38:31,160 --> 00:38:34,240
Speaker 5: Well, we you know, we we would sit in that

710
00:38:34,400 --> 00:38:35,480
Speaker 5: in that mirror and make.

711
00:38:35,360 --> 00:38:42,800
Speaker 3: Sure we look. Yeah. The pressure that I mean.

712
00:38:42,760 --> 00:38:45,960
Speaker 5: Not to not to not to make iron the dresses

713
00:38:46,000 --> 00:38:47,000
Speaker 5: and iron the guards.

714
00:38:47,719 --> 00:38:50,120
Speaker 4: No, no, no, no, I meant to look good in

715
00:38:50,160 --> 00:38:50,760
Speaker 4: the outfits.

716
00:38:50,840 --> 00:38:52,920
Speaker 1: Not yes, yes, that's what I meant.

717
00:38:53,320 --> 00:38:54,239
Speaker 3: Well, we tried our.

718
00:38:54,160 --> 00:38:57,560
Speaker 5: Best, and of course, uh with with BOYD coming in

719
00:38:57,600 --> 00:39:01,400
Speaker 5: with his ideas, you know, looking at our bodies and

720
00:39:01,880 --> 00:39:03,680
Speaker 5: trying to think what's going.

721
00:39:03,680 --> 00:39:05,719
Speaker 3: To work the best on the body? Right right?

722
00:39:07,200 --> 00:39:10,719
Speaker 7: You know that's that's the great part of having a designer,

723
00:39:10,800 --> 00:39:16,240
Speaker 7: because they fit the outfit to your body.

724
00:39:16,680 --> 00:39:19,240
Speaker 4: Yeah, I'm learning that's a grown up thing, learning about

725
00:39:19,239 --> 00:39:21,080
Speaker 4: tailors and whatnot and has.

726
00:39:22,360 --> 00:39:26,240
Speaker 1: Man. Yeah, it's great.

727
00:39:26,480 --> 00:39:29,680
Speaker 2: Wait, okay, I know, okay, so I know that that

728
00:39:29,880 --> 00:39:34,680
Speaker 2: uh Laura Niro wrote the song, but I always wanted

729
00:39:34,680 --> 00:39:38,080
Speaker 2: to know, and you know, I've seen you guys performing

730
00:39:38,320 --> 00:39:41,440
Speaker 2: millions of times on the show and and whatnot, but

731
00:39:42,719 --> 00:39:47,319
Speaker 2: the significance of wedding bell Blues and and its popularity,

732
00:39:48,160 --> 00:39:52,600
Speaker 2: I'm certain that you guys always get asked like, was

733
00:39:52,600 --> 00:39:55,360
Speaker 2: was this song just a platform from Maryland to put

734
00:39:56,040 --> 00:39:58,839
Speaker 2: Billy on the spot about marriage and whatnot, even though

735
00:39:58,880 --> 00:40:01,279
Speaker 2: I believe you guys were probably married at the time.

736
00:40:02,840 --> 00:40:04,319
Speaker 1: Sixty nine when that came up, So it was the

737
00:40:04,320 --> 00:40:04,799
Speaker 1: same year.

738
00:40:05,360 --> 00:40:10,880
Speaker 2: Yes, whose idea was it to do that song and

739
00:40:10,920 --> 00:40:13,319
Speaker 2: the whole marry Me bill and all those things like,

740
00:40:13,880 --> 00:40:16,879
Speaker 2: because it was kind of unheard of at the time

741
00:40:16,920 --> 00:40:19,719
Speaker 2: where it's in reverse and the woman is asking the

742
00:40:19,960 --> 00:40:24,120
Speaker 2: man to for you know, marriage.

743
00:40:26,560 --> 00:40:30,200
Speaker 5: Well, actually, Lauren Niro wrote that for a bill in

744
00:40:30,239 --> 00:40:31,719
Speaker 5: her life.

745
00:40:32,680 --> 00:40:36,319
Speaker 2: Oh okay, right, I thought you customized it just for

746
00:40:36,400 --> 00:40:40,240
Speaker 2: the years that I didn't realize that, okay.

747
00:40:39,280 --> 00:40:39,480
Speaker 3: You know.

748
00:40:39,600 --> 00:40:42,200
Speaker 5: She wrote it, and she released it as a single

749
00:40:42,800 --> 00:40:46,320
Speaker 5: and it it did well in California, but not across

750
00:40:46,320 --> 00:40:49,879
Speaker 5: the country because Bones, how our producer came to us

751
00:40:49,920 --> 00:40:51,719
Speaker 5: with the idea of, you know, Billy and I were

752
00:40:51,760 --> 00:40:54,640
Speaker 5: going together and he thought, oh, how cute it would

753
00:40:54,640 --> 00:40:57,080
Speaker 5: be for Maryland to sing wedding belt blues to Billy.

754
00:40:57,920 --> 00:41:00,520
Speaker 5: So and we said the Bones it sar been out

755
00:41:00,560 --> 00:41:02,440
Speaker 5: and it wasn't a hit. He said, no, it wasn't.

756
00:41:02,600 --> 00:41:02,919
Speaker 3: He said.

757
00:41:02,920 --> 00:41:04,680
Speaker 5: It was a hit in California, he said, but it

758
00:41:04,760 --> 00:41:08,000
Speaker 5: wasn't a hit across the country. So we went in

759
00:41:08,160 --> 00:41:11,279
Speaker 5: and recorded it and put it on the album, and

760
00:41:11,360 --> 00:41:15,120
Speaker 5: it ended up being picked as one of the singles.

761
00:41:16,280 --> 00:41:17,319
Speaker 1: I see now.

762
00:41:17,680 --> 00:41:21,160
Speaker 6: I read in another interview that you two did that Maryland.

763
00:41:21,160 --> 00:41:22,960
Speaker 6: You were the one that was actually a little skittish

764
00:41:22,960 --> 00:41:24,799
Speaker 6: about marriage, but Billy was all in.

765
00:41:25,440 --> 00:41:28,319
Speaker 3: Is that? Yeah?

766
00:41:28,360 --> 00:41:31,600
Speaker 7: I was all into it, you know? But you know

767
00:41:31,680 --> 00:41:37,279
Speaker 7: how many bills that I've met since we got married? Man?

768
00:41:37,560 --> 00:41:37,919
Speaker 3: For real?

769
00:41:39,360 --> 00:41:45,560
Speaker 2: Because you guys were bandmates before you became married. Was

770
00:41:45,600 --> 00:41:49,719
Speaker 2: there ever ever a thought of this might be a

771
00:41:49,719 --> 00:41:55,279
Speaker 2: conflict of interest? Like if you're dating now, then if

772
00:41:55,320 --> 00:41:57,480
Speaker 2: we break up, then it's going to be awkward in

773
00:41:57,480 --> 00:41:57,880
Speaker 2: the group.

774
00:41:58,040 --> 00:42:00,800
Speaker 1: Like how what was the awkward factor?

775
00:42:01,360 --> 00:42:04,680
Speaker 2: Because I mean, you guys have been in the band

776
00:42:04,719 --> 00:42:07,600
Speaker 2: since sixty five, but you got married in sixty nine.

777
00:42:07,640 --> 00:42:11,600
Speaker 1: Like what eventually led to that marriage?

778
00:42:12,880 --> 00:42:17,640
Speaker 2: How do you maintain a business relationship and you know,

779
00:42:17,840 --> 00:42:21,400
Speaker 2: keep the marriage happy so to speak?

780
00:42:24,160 --> 00:42:26,799
Speaker 1: Now I need Jill and I.

781
00:42:26,719 --> 00:42:30,600
Speaker 5: Started becoming friends, right. We would go to rehearsal together,

782
00:42:31,280 --> 00:42:34,480
Speaker 5: and we would we spend a lot of time driving

783
00:42:34,520 --> 00:42:37,080
Speaker 5: back and forth to rehearsal. And not only that, but

784
00:42:37,160 --> 00:42:40,960
Speaker 5: after rehearsal sometimes we go to parties and Billy and

785
00:42:40,960 --> 00:42:44,520
Speaker 5: I found ourselves, spending a lot of time with each

786
00:42:44,520 --> 00:42:48,480
Speaker 5: other just talking and laughing and talking about our lives

787
00:42:48,560 --> 00:42:51,399
Speaker 5: and you know, how we felt about music and how

788
00:42:51,400 --> 00:42:53,680
Speaker 5: we'd wanted to sing all of our lives.

789
00:42:53,719 --> 00:42:55,960
Speaker 7: And what we wanted to do and like and you know,

790
00:42:56,160 --> 00:42:59,359
Speaker 7: just share it with each other in our dreams, you know,

791
00:42:59,560 --> 00:43:03,719
Speaker 7: and and our passions. But but we would be at

792
00:43:03,800 --> 00:43:06,320
Speaker 7: parties and the party would be jumping in Maryland and

793
00:43:06,880 --> 00:43:08,200
Speaker 7: sitting on the couch talking.

794
00:43:08,719 --> 00:43:13,160
Speaker 3: People must have thought, were weird. That's stuff, that's stuff

795
00:43:13,280 --> 00:43:17,920
Speaker 3: right into ourselves, you know, And uh, we've been like

796
00:43:18,040 --> 00:43:18,760
Speaker 3: that ever since.

797
00:43:18,960 --> 00:43:19,160
Speaker 7: You know.

798
00:43:19,760 --> 00:43:21,640
Speaker 3: So we were we were friends.

799
00:43:21,960 --> 00:43:25,080
Speaker 5: Yeah, and then when we started really kind of realizing

800
00:43:25,160 --> 00:43:29,200
Speaker 5: that it was developing into something more than friendship, we

801
00:43:29,360 --> 00:43:30,760
Speaker 5: kind of thought.

802
00:43:30,640 --> 00:43:33,239
Speaker 3: We said to each other, are we going to mess

803
00:43:33,360 --> 00:43:39,520
Speaker 3: this outh? Yeah, this is a dangerous thing to do.

804
00:43:39,840 --> 00:43:43,120
Speaker 3: You know, you mess this up, this thing up, because

805
00:43:43,200 --> 00:43:46,359
Speaker 3: you know, you can create a mess in the group.

806
00:43:46,480 --> 00:43:48,000
Speaker 3: That's that's that's going strong.

807
00:43:48,280 --> 00:43:48,440
Speaker 5: You know.

808
00:43:48,880 --> 00:43:50,920
Speaker 3: We all we need is a big argument, you know,

809
00:43:51,080 --> 00:43:54,839
Speaker 3: it's anything crazy and it's over, you know. But uh,

810
00:43:55,280 --> 00:43:59,040
Speaker 3: but but by that time, we we couldn't stop our friendship.

811
00:43:59,160 --> 00:44:02,000
Speaker 3: Our friendship a stronger than anything else.

812
00:44:02,200 --> 00:44:05,319
Speaker 5: Yeah, and you know my parents, My parents had been

813
00:44:05,480 --> 00:44:08,080
Speaker 5: married for twenty four years and then they got a divorce,

814
00:44:08,160 --> 00:44:10,960
Speaker 5: and I thought, I don't know if this marriage thing

815
00:44:11,120 --> 00:44:11,400
Speaker 5: is just.

816
00:44:13,280 --> 00:44:16,080
Speaker 1: Scary, right, But you know.

817
00:44:16,160 --> 00:44:18,640
Speaker 7: On the other hand, I wasn't worried about it because

818
00:44:18,680 --> 00:44:20,719
Speaker 7: my parents have been married for sixty eight years.

819
00:44:22,960 --> 00:44:25,239
Speaker 3: Wow, from my own you.

820
00:44:25,280 --> 00:44:28,200
Speaker 4: Know, that's a lot of pressure on your kids.

821
00:44:30,960 --> 00:44:34,640
Speaker 6: Yeah, man, I was curious to know how y'all keep from, say,

822
00:44:34,640 --> 00:44:37,400
Speaker 6: if y'all have an argument or disagreement about something in

823
00:44:37,440 --> 00:44:40,880
Speaker 6: the studio, over something musically, or something in your career,

824
00:44:41,360 --> 00:44:43,800
Speaker 6: how do you keep those disagreements in your person and

825
00:44:43,880 --> 00:44:47,640
Speaker 6: your professional life from bleeding over into your personal life.

826
00:44:48,800 --> 00:44:51,000
Speaker 7: It's a good question, you know, a very good question,

827
00:44:51,120 --> 00:44:55,080
Speaker 7: because those things have happened, you know, but when they

828
00:44:55,200 --> 00:44:58,040
Speaker 7: do happen, we have to realize that that's a moment,

829
00:44:58,680 --> 00:45:01,239
Speaker 7: that's a moment in time. Those things happen to people

830
00:45:01,280 --> 00:45:04,040
Speaker 7: who are in the in the industry, especially people who

831
00:45:04,160 --> 00:45:07,839
Speaker 7: work together. You know, that has when when things has

832
00:45:07,880 --> 00:45:11,319
Speaker 7: happened for one and and and hasn't happened for the other,

833
00:45:11,760 --> 00:45:14,480
Speaker 7: you just have to live with that, you know. Most

834
00:45:14,480 --> 00:45:17,200
Speaker 7: of all, you have to be thankful. The easiest way

835
00:45:17,239 --> 00:45:19,399
Speaker 7: to get over that is be thankful for that one

836
00:45:19,480 --> 00:45:22,719
Speaker 7: that's getting it, you know, and uh, and then you

837
00:45:22,800 --> 00:45:25,520
Speaker 7: can get over the right quick of being thankful.

838
00:45:25,840 --> 00:45:27,560
Speaker 3: Did it always come that easy to y'all?

839
00:45:29,920 --> 00:45:32,800
Speaker 5: Well, you know, like sometimes before we go on stage,

840
00:45:33,280 --> 00:45:35,920
Speaker 5: Billy and I would be angry, we would be locked.

841
00:45:35,640 --> 00:45:40,800
Speaker 2: In battle, right, But then how do you sing Wedding

842
00:45:40,840 --> 00:45:43,680
Speaker 2: bell Blues to him? Because I know you want to

843
00:45:43,760 --> 00:45:46,480
Speaker 2: kill him. I know that song is such a staple

844
00:45:46,719 --> 00:45:49,400
Speaker 2: for your careers and you have to sell it like

845
00:45:49,520 --> 00:45:51,640
Speaker 2: you're singing to him and he's doing the act or whatever,

846
00:45:52,120 --> 00:45:55,040
Speaker 2: like if if there's an argument that happens, how do

847
00:45:55,120 --> 00:45:56,040
Speaker 2: you sell that song?

848
00:45:56,920 --> 00:45:59,400
Speaker 3: Well, you know you can't take that out on the stage.

849
00:45:59,680 --> 00:45:59,960
Speaker 3: You can't.

850
00:46:00,440 --> 00:46:07,560
Speaker 9: And so we say, I say, you know, you know

851
00:46:07,719 --> 00:46:10,279
Speaker 9: that's that's always the word. Yeah, you're right, Yeah we will.

852
00:46:10,480 --> 00:46:14,960
Speaker 9: You know, when you get out on.

853
00:46:15,040 --> 00:46:20,920
Speaker 3: Stage and start singing, disappear, you can't be angry. But

854
00:46:21,000 --> 00:46:22,360
Speaker 3: could you be angry afterwards?

855
00:46:22,920 --> 00:46:24,880
Speaker 1: Like if you have done all that on stage? Like

856
00:46:24,960 --> 00:46:28,680
Speaker 1: could you could you? Could you get back in? Yes?

857
00:46:29,520 --> 00:46:32,640
Speaker 2: Boy Bill, I can't wait till we do the new

858
00:46:32,800 --> 00:46:35,160
Speaker 2: edition episode because I got a story from you for that.

859
00:46:36,480 --> 00:46:38,160
Speaker 3: I was like, now we got to get back into this.

860
00:46:38,320 --> 00:46:40,040
Speaker 3: And then you get backstage and you say.

861
00:46:40,719 --> 00:46:44,279
Speaker 1: We are we're working, Remember yeah, because I work with

862
00:46:44,400 --> 00:46:46,560
Speaker 1: my girlfriend. It's the same thing, like I don't know

863
00:46:46,719 --> 00:46:47,680
Speaker 1: what we're arguing about.

864
00:46:48,120 --> 00:46:51,880
Speaker 7: And then and then you you know that being anyway,

865
00:46:52,200 --> 00:46:55,840
Speaker 7: you know most of the arguments that that couples have

866
00:46:56,040 --> 00:46:59,600
Speaker 7: a pendy they really are. But I'll tell you think

867
00:46:59,600 --> 00:47:01,920
Speaker 7: about it once the argument is over and you get

868
00:47:01,920 --> 00:47:04,719
Speaker 7: away from it, and you think, well, what was that about?

869
00:47:04,760 --> 00:47:05,520
Speaker 3: Why did I do that?

870
00:47:06,040 --> 00:47:08,799
Speaker 7: It didn't mean nothing if I could have only thought

871
00:47:08,840 --> 00:47:11,080
Speaker 7: about that before we got into it. But a lot

872
00:47:11,120 --> 00:47:13,000
Speaker 7: of times our egos won't let us do that, so

873
00:47:13,120 --> 00:47:16,720
Speaker 7: we've got to carry it out. We can win the battle,

874
00:47:16,760 --> 00:47:20,440
Speaker 7: but you might lose the wallow write.

875
00:47:20,200 --> 00:47:21,560
Speaker 1: That down wise words.

876
00:47:23,920 --> 00:47:28,000
Speaker 2: Amen, But in a group, from a group standpoint, and

877
00:47:28,120 --> 00:47:32,080
Speaker 2: it's five of you, how are you guys able to

878
00:47:33,719 --> 00:47:36,920
Speaker 2: like is it all of us have to be unanimous

879
00:47:37,000 --> 00:47:41,200
Speaker 2: and deciding on something like how how are sort of

880
00:47:41,320 --> 00:47:42,520
Speaker 2: decisions made for.

881
00:47:44,040 --> 00:47:48,879
Speaker 1: Songs or album titles or you know, can we make

882
00:47:48,920 --> 00:47:49,359
Speaker 1: this gig?

883
00:47:49,600 --> 00:47:50,640
Speaker 5: Like? Is it?

884
00:47:52,160 --> 00:47:53,120
Speaker 1: Is it democracy?

885
00:47:53,280 --> 00:47:55,800
Speaker 2: Or is it like is there someone that actually is

886
00:47:55,920 --> 00:47:58,719
Speaker 2: the the alpha leader of the group that makes the

887
00:47:59,160 --> 00:48:00,480
Speaker 2: decisions for the things.

888
00:48:01,840 --> 00:48:02,440
Speaker 3: Democracy.

889
00:48:02,760 --> 00:48:05,120
Speaker 5: Yeah, you know, we used to we used to laugh about.

890
00:48:05,840 --> 00:48:08,080
Speaker 5: We used to say laugh about how we would say

891
00:48:08,200 --> 00:48:09,120
Speaker 5: we met more.

892
00:48:09,000 --> 00:48:14,520
Speaker 3: Than the u N Yeah, it was definitely a democracy.

893
00:48:14,600 --> 00:48:18,560
Speaker 7: I mean we we agreed that the one who, uh,

894
00:48:19,160 --> 00:48:21,080
Speaker 7: the majority who who came up with it.

895
00:48:21,160 --> 00:48:22,520
Speaker 3: That was the way we went.

896
00:48:22,680 --> 00:48:25,360
Speaker 7: You know, yeah, we we we talked about all of

897
00:48:25,440 --> 00:48:28,719
Speaker 7: our jobs. You know, we agreed to disagree whatever.

898
00:48:29,280 --> 00:48:31,720
Speaker 5: But most of the time, like with with the things

899
00:48:31,760 --> 00:48:35,000
Speaker 5: that pertain to uh to the career part, like with

900
00:48:35,160 --> 00:48:38,480
Speaker 5: the title of the album and what with the songs,

901
00:48:38,560 --> 00:48:41,800
Speaker 5: the final songs that were going to be on the project.

902
00:48:42,400 --> 00:48:45,440
Speaker 3: Most of the time, the the record company.

903
00:48:45,200 --> 00:48:48,759
Speaker 5: Would make that decision, you know, we we would work

904
00:48:48,800 --> 00:48:50,919
Speaker 5: on it and then we'd say, you know what, we're

905
00:48:51,040 --> 00:48:53,759
Speaker 5: not record you know, we don't know how to run

906
00:48:53,800 --> 00:48:56,240
Speaker 5: a record company. We know how to make the music

907
00:48:56,640 --> 00:49:00,319
Speaker 5: and let them choose what's gonna what's gonna self.

908
00:49:00,640 --> 00:49:01,919
Speaker 3: Well, that was probably the best.

909
00:49:02,040 --> 00:49:04,520
Speaker 7: That was the best way for the group anyway, because

910
00:49:04,920 --> 00:49:07,480
Speaker 7: putting all five people together talking about which one is

911
00:49:07,520 --> 00:49:08,480
Speaker 7: the best one out there?

912
00:49:08,560 --> 00:49:13,120
Speaker 3: You know, then the fight started, I see it. Yeah,

913
00:49:13,320 --> 00:49:14,080
Speaker 3: we don't want that.

914
00:49:14,360 --> 00:49:17,040
Speaker 2: Yeah, well that okay. So that leads me to nineteen

915
00:49:17,080 --> 00:49:22,880
Speaker 2: seventy five. What was the process of you two leaving

916
00:49:22,960 --> 00:49:25,759
Speaker 2: the group and going duo.

917
00:49:26,840 --> 00:49:30,200
Speaker 7: Well, you know, that was a that was a tough decision,

918
00:49:31,480 --> 00:49:35,920
Speaker 7: very tough for us, because I don't remember all three

919
00:49:35,960 --> 00:49:38,239
Speaker 7: of the guys from Saint Louis. I mean, we were

920
00:49:38,320 --> 00:49:40,760
Speaker 7: like family. We knew each other when we were kids,

921
00:49:41,400 --> 00:49:44,800
Speaker 7: you know, and uh kind of migrated to Los Angeles

922
00:49:44,880 --> 00:49:48,160
Speaker 7: at different times and ended up being in a group

923
00:49:48,560 --> 00:49:51,759
Speaker 7: and so and and and and and meeting Maryland and

924
00:49:51,880 --> 00:49:54,000
Speaker 7: Florence and being a part of the family. So they

925
00:49:54,160 --> 00:49:57,360
Speaker 7: we were like a family. But we were a family

926
00:49:57,480 --> 00:50:01,160
Speaker 7: who's who had dreams. It's like any families somebody who

927
00:50:01,280 --> 00:50:03,759
Speaker 7: have dreams. Like my whole dream was to come out

928
00:50:04,000 --> 00:50:07,440
Speaker 7: to be a solo singer with more time, you know.

929
00:50:08,239 --> 00:50:10,320
Speaker 7: But Maryland's dream was to be a solo singer with

930
00:50:11,000 --> 00:50:13,480
Speaker 7: whatever we called and come that she could get what

931
00:50:13,640 --> 00:50:17,000
Speaker 7: that would receive her as her as a solo singer,

932
00:50:17,200 --> 00:50:18,640
Speaker 7: you know, a pop singer.

933
00:50:18,760 --> 00:50:21,560
Speaker 3: But and uh, so we thought about it.

934
00:50:21,600 --> 00:50:25,560
Speaker 7: And after ten years, we thought, will we ever fulfilled

935
00:50:25,640 --> 00:50:28,880
Speaker 7: the dream that we really started with? Uh, you know,

936
00:50:29,520 --> 00:50:32,200
Speaker 7: would we be the ones to come up with the

937
00:50:32,320 --> 00:50:34,880
Speaker 7: saying that said, if I had only I should have

938
00:50:34,920 --> 00:50:36,520
Speaker 7: would have should have I should have?

939
00:50:38,000 --> 00:50:39,480
Speaker 3: You know, you always had it in the back of

940
00:50:39,560 --> 00:50:42,080
Speaker 3: your mind. Could we have done this on our own?

941
00:50:42,400 --> 00:50:42,560
Speaker 1: You know?

942
00:50:43,520 --> 00:50:45,799
Speaker 7: So we decided and then that at the particular time

943
00:50:46,360 --> 00:50:48,640
Speaker 7: that that was, that was everybody in the group wanted

944
00:50:48,719 --> 00:50:52,080
Speaker 7: to do more, you know, so that that thing was happening,

945
00:50:52,239 --> 00:50:55,279
Speaker 7: you know, so we decided, well, you know, it's it's

946
00:50:55,280 --> 00:50:58,360
Speaker 7: about time for us to to to kind of strike

947
00:50:58,440 --> 00:51:01,319
Speaker 7: out on our own and see what we can do ourselves.

948
00:51:02,200 --> 00:51:05,959
Speaker 2: Did you guys still maintain the friendship after you guys

949
00:51:06,080 --> 00:51:10,080
Speaker 2: left the group in seventy five, Yeah, yes, we did.

950
00:51:10,200 --> 00:51:12,320
Speaker 5: It took a couple It took a couple of years

951
00:51:12,520 --> 00:51:14,920
Speaker 5: before we you know, because there were hurt feelings and

952
00:51:16,120 --> 00:51:17,279
Speaker 5: which was understandable.

953
00:51:17,320 --> 00:51:18,120
Speaker 3: We could understand that.

954
00:51:18,680 --> 00:51:21,080
Speaker 5: But we're very close as family now.

955
00:51:21,160 --> 00:51:23,000
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, you know, we got through.

956
00:51:23,680 --> 00:51:27,040
Speaker 6: We're just still surviving members. Just who's still surviving alone

957
00:51:27,080 --> 00:51:29,040
Speaker 6: with you guys of the group? Is everyone still alive?

958
00:51:29,920 --> 00:51:32,439
Speaker 3: Not everyone? Ron Townshend has passed away.

959
00:51:33,680 --> 00:51:36,840
Speaker 1: They gave a big one with the beard, right, Yeah, yeah.

960
00:51:36,960 --> 00:51:39,239
Speaker 7: That's the way and all the rest of the other

961
00:51:39,320 --> 00:51:42,800
Speaker 7: four are still living, so is like, in fact, we

962
00:51:42,920 --> 00:51:47,080
Speaker 7: talked to her, but did so Ago and Lamont is

963
00:51:47,280 --> 00:51:49,080
Speaker 7: staying in Las Vegas, and we talked to him not

964
00:51:49,160 --> 00:51:52,719
Speaker 7: too long ago, so we are still were still very close.

965
00:51:52,840 --> 00:51:53,560
Speaker 3: We're very close.

966
00:51:54,440 --> 00:51:58,600
Speaker 2: I have one fifth Dimension question that actually has to

967
00:51:58,719 --> 00:52:03,080
Speaker 2: do with when you guys left left the group, Okay,

968
00:52:03,360 --> 00:52:05,719
Speaker 2: but I'm hoping you can answer this for me because

969
00:52:05,719 --> 00:52:09,440
Speaker 2: it's been killing me. Okay, So this came out when

970
00:52:09,440 --> 00:52:12,799
Speaker 2: I was five years old, so I really even though

971
00:52:13,320 --> 00:52:16,080
Speaker 2: I kind of had an adult's knowledge of music.

972
00:52:16,080 --> 00:52:22,560
Speaker 1: At the age of five, this always killed me. Am I?

973
00:52:22,920 --> 00:52:23,880
Speaker 1: Am I dreaming?

974
00:52:25,080 --> 00:52:28,520
Speaker 2: Or did the Fifth Dimension actually have a version of

975
00:52:28,680 --> 00:52:33,400
Speaker 2: Love Hangover before Dinah Ross did? Because I could have

976
00:52:33,560 --> 00:52:37,080
Speaker 2: sworn I've seen them on American Bandstand doing Love Hangover?

977
00:52:38,120 --> 00:52:40,799
Speaker 2: And I was just confused at the time, and it's

978
00:52:41,000 --> 00:52:43,800
Speaker 2: almost like I didn't hear of it. Am I dreaming

979
00:52:43,840 --> 00:52:44,000
Speaker 2: of that?

980
00:52:44,239 --> 00:52:48,080
Speaker 3: Or this was after Billy and I had left the girl.

981
00:52:48,200 --> 00:52:50,239
Speaker 2: After you left. I was just hoping you might know

982
00:52:50,360 --> 00:52:52,680
Speaker 2: the answer to that. You're going to give you the answer,

983
00:52:54,520 --> 00:52:55,920
Speaker 2: So I wasn't dreaming, Okay.

984
00:52:57,360 --> 00:53:00,520
Speaker 3: Did have a version of Love hang Over?

985
00:53:00,680 --> 00:53:04,560
Speaker 5: And Florence sang the lead on it right, and they

986
00:53:04,680 --> 00:53:09,839
Speaker 5: released it as a single right around the same time

987
00:53:10,880 --> 00:53:18,359
Speaker 5: Motown decided to release Diana Ross's version of Love Right.

988
00:53:18,560 --> 00:53:22,160
Speaker 5: And that's why you were confused as a child, because

989
00:53:22,280 --> 00:53:22,960
Speaker 5: you said.

990
00:53:22,800 --> 00:53:26,320
Speaker 1: Wait a minute, now, I wasn't crazy.

991
00:53:26,400 --> 00:53:27,680
Speaker 4: It doesn't sound so different.

992
00:53:29,040 --> 00:53:29,560
Speaker 1: You listen to it.

993
00:53:29,880 --> 00:53:33,880
Speaker 2: Yeah, why did I just bothered to Yeah, all right,

994
00:53:36,800 --> 00:53:38,759
Speaker 2: I'm asking that question. And I was like, number one

995
00:53:38,800 --> 00:53:39,400
Speaker 2: that occur.

996
00:53:39,239 --> 00:53:39,600
Speaker 7: To me to.

997
00:53:41,800 --> 00:53:43,879
Speaker 1: Number ones that I did occur to me. Why don't

998
00:53:43,920 --> 00:53:45,160
Speaker 1: you just YouTuber.

999
00:53:48,000 --> 00:53:50,360
Speaker 2: You're learning of mirror one day you go into the

1000
00:53:50,400 --> 00:53:54,120
Speaker 2: stores where not what I was saying, like, I remember

1001
00:53:54,520 --> 00:53:57,839
Speaker 2: them doing it on American Bandstand. I remember my mom

1002
00:53:58,600 --> 00:54:03,560
Speaker 2: really loving that song when they did it, and I

1003
00:54:03,640 --> 00:54:06,440
Speaker 2: remember them doing a few times on like variety shows,

1004
00:54:06,640 --> 00:54:10,080
Speaker 2: and then like yeah, when I was in first grade,

1005
00:54:10,120 --> 00:54:12,879
Speaker 2: like a year when I was six, and suddenly like, oh,

1006
00:54:12,920 --> 00:54:14,879
Speaker 2: it was Dona Ross's song. And then in my mind,

1007
00:54:14,880 --> 00:54:17,120
Speaker 2: I was like, wait, was I watching Dona Ross do

1008
00:54:17,200 --> 00:54:19,200
Speaker 2: it the whole time? And maybe not, but I knew

1009
00:54:20,280 --> 00:54:22,800
Speaker 2: in my mind I always associated love Hangover with the

1010
00:54:22,880 --> 00:54:23,520
Speaker 2: Fifth Dimension.

1011
00:54:24,200 --> 00:54:26,800
Speaker 4: I just thought I was and although this is the

1012
00:54:26,840 --> 00:54:29,120
Speaker 4: Fifth Dimension version with the mones y'all cold, y'all put

1013
00:54:29,120 --> 00:54:31,640
Speaker 4: the mones in there too. No, I mean, okay, okay,

1014
00:54:33,360 --> 00:54:36,160
Speaker 4: I'm sorry, inappropriate and inappropriate excuse me?

1015
00:54:36,400 --> 00:54:36,680
Speaker 3: Sorry?

1016
00:54:38,280 --> 00:54:38,560
Speaker 1: Okay.

1017
00:54:38,719 --> 00:54:42,600
Speaker 2: So in going solo, well, first of all, let it

1018
00:54:42,719 --> 00:54:45,759
Speaker 2: let it be known that the very first time that

1019
00:54:45,880 --> 00:54:49,000
Speaker 2: I ever saw Jay Leno.

1020
00:54:50,320 --> 00:54:54,160
Speaker 1: Was on the Billy Davis Junior Marilyn mccous show. Could

1021
00:54:54,160 --> 00:54:54,960
Speaker 1: you all right?

1022
00:54:55,120 --> 00:54:57,760
Speaker 2: So for our listeners out there that are that are listening,

1023
00:54:58,640 --> 00:55:03,880
Speaker 2: can you explain the the value or the importance of

1024
00:55:04,880 --> 00:55:09,520
Speaker 2: the variety show in the seventies? Like, I know that

1025
00:55:09,640 --> 00:55:14,080
Speaker 2: now we live in a reality show kind of environment,

1026
00:55:14,400 --> 00:55:17,839
Speaker 2: But when I was growing up, I remember like Last

1027
00:55:17,960 --> 00:55:20,960
Speaker 2: Night and the Pips having a variety show. I remember

1028
00:55:21,239 --> 00:55:26,480
Speaker 2: Flip Wilson, Tony Orlando and Dawn like Shields and Yard Nell,

1029
00:55:26,600 --> 00:55:31,839
Speaker 2: like everyone had the Jackson's. Everyone had a variety show.

1030
00:55:33,160 --> 00:55:36,000
Speaker 2: What was the like, was that a desire for you

1031
00:55:36,120 --> 00:55:37,879
Speaker 2: guys or was it like this is going to take

1032
00:55:37,920 --> 00:55:39,000
Speaker 2: you guys to the next level?

1033
00:55:39,880 --> 00:55:41,760
Speaker 1: What was the big deal with variety shows?

1034
00:55:43,680 --> 00:55:45,960
Speaker 5: I think that, yeah, I think that that was that

1035
00:55:46,120 --> 00:55:47,560
Speaker 5: was the thing to do at that time.

1036
00:55:47,680 --> 00:55:48,520
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think that.

1037
00:55:48,680 --> 00:55:48,879
Speaker 5: Yeah.

1038
00:55:49,080 --> 00:55:52,520
Speaker 3: We would basically the first black couple to really have

1039
00:55:52,960 --> 00:55:53,919
Speaker 3: a variety show.

1040
00:55:54,560 --> 00:55:56,880
Speaker 1: Yeah, in the industry, you know.

1041
00:55:57,160 --> 00:56:01,440
Speaker 7: And it was a summer replacement show, and we had

1042
00:56:01,520 --> 00:56:03,320
Speaker 7: six shows to do and we and we and we

1043
00:56:03,440 --> 00:56:08,040
Speaker 7: completed that and uh, but but doing television was was

1044
00:56:08,320 --> 00:56:10,520
Speaker 7: was good. The only thing that that that was a

1045
00:56:10,600 --> 00:56:13,399
Speaker 7: little a bit confusing for us was having to learn

1046
00:56:13,520 --> 00:56:16,600
Speaker 7: songs so quick, you know, because for the television you

1047
00:56:16,680 --> 00:56:19,239
Speaker 7: have to learn the song almost like that week and

1048
00:56:19,400 --> 00:56:22,880
Speaker 7: then performing that way that week, you know. And uh,

1049
00:56:23,000 --> 00:56:24,880
Speaker 7: we used to spend a little bit more time on

1050
00:56:25,080 --> 00:56:27,640
Speaker 7: songs to kind of make those songs us you know,

1051
00:56:27,800 --> 00:56:29,719
Speaker 7: make it, make it, we can get some meat out

1052
00:56:29,760 --> 00:56:30,920
Speaker 7: of it, you know, right.

1053
00:56:31,600 --> 00:56:33,440
Speaker 3: But that that was the only thing outside of that.

1054
00:56:34,520 --> 00:56:36,560
Speaker 7: We were ready for it because we love We enjoyed

1055
00:56:36,640 --> 00:56:39,480
Speaker 7: doing the skits and you know, all of the funny

1056
00:56:39,520 --> 00:56:41,800
Speaker 7: stuff and the love songs.

1057
00:56:41,880 --> 00:56:45,040
Speaker 3: And yeah, it was good. It was good. But that

1058
00:56:45,400 --> 00:56:48,279
Speaker 3: us being the first one. Then after that a lot

1059
00:56:48,360 --> 00:56:50,239
Speaker 3: of these other shows started coming on.

1060
00:56:50,680 --> 00:56:53,400
Speaker 5: Yeah, but like you were saying about Jay Meno, so

1061
00:56:53,800 --> 00:56:56,640
Speaker 5: so what we did with our skits, because you always

1062
00:56:56,680 --> 00:56:58,520
Speaker 5: had to have a little humor in the show, right,

1063
00:56:58,680 --> 00:57:01,360
Speaker 5: And so the idea was, since we had spent so

1064
00:57:01,480 --> 00:57:04,560
Speaker 5: much time on the road. Why not make the road

1065
00:57:04,640 --> 00:57:08,239
Speaker 5: experience be part of your your humor in the show.

1066
00:57:08,800 --> 00:57:12,000
Speaker 5: And uh, Jay Leno came along. He was a young

1067
00:57:12,200 --> 00:57:16,000
Speaker 5: unknown comic at the time, and we ended up he

1068
00:57:16,200 --> 00:57:19,160
Speaker 5: ended up being our playing our tour managed.

1069
00:57:21,240 --> 00:57:24,800
Speaker 1: And he would always give you guys like weird assignments.

1070
00:57:24,880 --> 00:57:29,560
Speaker 3: That was like remember that we get lost somewhere, you know,

1071
00:57:29,680 --> 00:57:30,160
Speaker 3: on the road.

1072
00:57:31,680 --> 00:57:32,800
Speaker 1: Yeah, I totally remember that.

1073
00:57:33,400 --> 00:57:35,800
Speaker 2: And you guys were in the show the same way, right,

1074
00:57:35,960 --> 00:57:38,120
Speaker 2: Like you guys would say good night like was it

1075
00:57:38,240 --> 00:57:40,320
Speaker 2: in like in bed?

1076
00:57:40,520 --> 00:57:43,080
Speaker 10: Like yeah, that was like it would be like at

1077
00:57:43,120 --> 00:57:45,640
Speaker 10: the end of the day, like right, you know, and

1078
00:57:45,840 --> 00:57:47,960
Speaker 10: getting ready to say good night to one another, you know,

1079
00:57:48,360 --> 00:57:52,160
Speaker 10: singing a song, singing the love and then turning off

1080
00:57:52,200 --> 00:57:52,640
Speaker 10: the light.

1081
00:57:52,720 --> 00:57:52,880
Speaker 5: You know.

1082
00:57:53,520 --> 00:57:56,440
Speaker 1: Right. Wait, you said that was only six episodes in

1083
00:57:56,520 --> 00:57:56,880
Speaker 1: the summer.

1084
00:57:57,480 --> 00:57:59,320
Speaker 3: Yes, yes, yes, so weird.

1085
00:57:59,400 --> 00:58:03,120
Speaker 2: Like am I again like in my mind I'm thinking like,

1086
00:58:03,240 --> 00:58:05,480
Speaker 2: oh that that was on for like four or five years.

1087
00:58:05,560 --> 00:58:10,040
Speaker 2: I I well, I mean we watched it religiously in

1088
00:58:10,120 --> 00:58:11,000
Speaker 2: the crit in the house.

1089
00:58:11,040 --> 00:58:12,880
Speaker 1: So okay. I see.

1090
00:58:12,960 --> 00:58:16,080
Speaker 7: That's the power of television because you know, you can

1091
00:58:16,120 --> 00:58:18,640
Speaker 7: show them over and over and over every run.

1092
00:58:19,040 --> 00:58:21,440
Speaker 3: Yeah, people think that they happened. There's something there's more

1093
00:58:21,520 --> 00:58:22,880
Speaker 3: than just six you know.

1094
00:58:28,000 --> 00:58:32,680
Speaker 2: Are you guys aware of the kind of the status

1095
00:58:33,240 --> 00:58:37,320
Speaker 2: I'll say that in in like dancehall reggae culture, I

1096
00:58:37,440 --> 00:58:40,600
Speaker 2: Hope we get to Love and Time kind of has

1097
00:58:40,760 --> 00:58:45,560
Speaker 2: a different meaning in the Islands, Like that song it's

1098
00:58:45,640 --> 00:58:49,720
Speaker 2: been covered so many times by like various singers in

1099
00:58:49,840 --> 00:58:53,160
Speaker 2: Jamaica that were you guys even aware of how big

1100
00:58:53,240 --> 00:58:55,880
Speaker 2: that song is over there or at least the mountain covers,

1101
00:58:56,040 --> 00:58:56,560
Speaker 2: Like there's.

1102
00:58:56,400 --> 00:58:56,960
Speaker 1: A least.

1103
00:59:00,000 --> 00:59:01,560
Speaker 3: We've never heard it. I'd love to hear it.

1104
00:59:02,680 --> 00:59:05,320
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's it's it's almost it's kind of like a

1105
00:59:05,400 --> 00:59:08,800
Speaker 2: staple like that's that's that's one of the ballots you

1106
00:59:09,080 --> 00:59:12,919
Speaker 2: have to sing, if you you know, if you're kind

1107
00:59:12,960 --> 00:59:17,320
Speaker 2: of in the at least around like the early eighties,

1108
00:59:17,400 --> 00:59:20,919
Speaker 2: suddenly there was like just a onslought of I Hope

1109
00:59:20,960 --> 00:59:21,919
Speaker 2: we get to Love and Time.

1110
00:59:23,560 --> 00:59:25,280
Speaker 3: No idea, No, we didn't know it.

1111
00:59:25,680 --> 00:59:29,480
Speaker 2: Yeah, oh okay, yeah, I was going to say that

1112
00:59:29,720 --> 00:59:33,400
Speaker 2: with with your Love and You Don't have to be started?

1113
00:59:34,280 --> 00:59:36,800
Speaker 2: Was it was it different or did you guys at

1114
00:59:36,920 --> 00:59:41,560
Speaker 2: least have more creative control in the songs that you

1115
00:59:41,640 --> 00:59:48,480
Speaker 2: wanted to do outside of the Bell label where they

1116
00:59:48,560 --> 00:59:50,840
Speaker 2: mostly made the decisions for you. What was the difference

1117
00:59:51,000 --> 00:59:53,840
Speaker 2: in coming to ABC than it was for Bell.

1118
00:59:54,640 --> 01:00:00,160
Speaker 11: Well, basically, you know what we were with ABC. The

1119
01:00:00,200 --> 01:00:03,040
Speaker 11: smith was the it was what do you call it

1120
01:00:03,240 --> 01:00:03,760
Speaker 11: his position?

1121
01:00:04,600 --> 01:00:05,760
Speaker 3: Ye man?

1122
01:00:06,000 --> 01:00:09,240
Speaker 7: And when he when he picked Don Davis to be

1123
01:00:09,320 --> 01:00:13,760
Speaker 7: our producer. But yeah, well yeah, Don Davis he producer.

1124
01:00:14,520 --> 01:00:17,800
Speaker 7: I hope we get to Love and Time album, but

1125
01:00:17,960 --> 01:00:20,520
Speaker 7: he would. He came to us with a bunch of songs,

1126
01:00:21,400 --> 01:00:23,880
Speaker 7: and you don't have to be a star was was

1127
01:00:24,040 --> 01:00:27,280
Speaker 7: one of them. And right naturally when we heard that.

1128
01:00:27,400 --> 01:00:30,080
Speaker 3: We thought, boy, this is this is clever, you know,

1129
01:00:30,200 --> 01:00:32,240
Speaker 3: what a great saying. You don't have to be a

1130
01:00:32,320 --> 01:00:34,360
Speaker 3: star to be in my show, you know, And it

1131
01:00:34,600 --> 01:00:36,240
Speaker 3: just it just seemed a bit you know.

1132
01:00:36,480 --> 01:00:39,000
Speaker 7: And but we always thought that I hope we get

1133
01:00:39,040 --> 01:00:41,880
Speaker 7: to Love and Time would be the statement that we

1134
01:00:42,000 --> 01:00:43,880
Speaker 7: wanted to make because Maryland and me and knowing from

1135
01:00:43,920 --> 01:00:47,600
Speaker 7: the love songs, you know, and uh, come to find

1136
01:00:47,640 --> 01:00:49,640
Speaker 7: out that you don't have to be a star was

1137
01:00:50,400 --> 01:00:53,000
Speaker 7: was the major hit offs that Yeah you did behind

1138
01:00:53,040 --> 01:00:55,600
Speaker 7: that became another hit was your.

1139
01:00:55,520 --> 01:01:00,760
Speaker 2: Love, Yeah, your Love and your little gospel uh riffs

1140
01:01:00,800 --> 01:01:06,280
Speaker 2: at the end of it. I've seen that a lot

1141
01:01:06,320 --> 01:01:10,920
Speaker 2: in the second grade. Sorry, do you remember it all?

1142
01:01:11,960 --> 01:01:15,960
Speaker 2: I'm I'm a big fan also of Frank Wilson. Uh,

1143
01:01:16,560 --> 01:01:19,120
Speaker 2: his production work, especially what you know he worked on

1144
01:01:20,440 --> 01:01:23,120
Speaker 2: like a lot of Eddie Kendrick's solo stuff.

1145
01:01:23,560 --> 01:01:26,200
Speaker 1: Yes, he's the prime producer. What was it like working

1146
01:01:26,240 --> 01:01:26,920
Speaker 1: with Frank Wilson?

1147
01:01:27,640 --> 01:01:30,800
Speaker 3: Frank was a good friend. Yes, yes, Frank was not

1148
01:01:30,920 --> 01:01:33,440
Speaker 3: only a good friend. You know, Frank ended up becoming

1149
01:01:34,440 --> 01:01:35,520
Speaker 3: a preacher, a pastor.

1150
01:01:36,280 --> 01:01:37,800
Speaker 1: Uh yeah, okay, yeah.

1151
01:01:37,920 --> 01:01:41,880
Speaker 3: Yeah, he was. He was very instrumental in Maryland and

1152
01:01:42,000 --> 01:01:46,960
Speaker 3: me becoming Christians, you know. Okay, that was his assignment,

1153
01:01:47,000 --> 01:01:50,960
Speaker 3: I guess in his life to bring as many entertained

1154
01:01:50,960 --> 01:01:52,080
Speaker 3: as christ as he could.

1155
01:01:52,160 --> 01:01:54,600
Speaker 7: And uh, and that was a good thing for us,

1156
01:01:54,840 --> 01:01:57,400
Speaker 7: you know, because it's one of the things that really

1157
01:01:57,520 --> 01:02:00,760
Speaker 7: kept us even closer than than we really are.

1158
01:02:01,680 --> 01:02:04,920
Speaker 3: Wow, love for our faith, you know.

1159
01:02:05,640 --> 01:02:10,120
Speaker 7: And but Frank was the producer of the two of

1160
01:02:10,240 --> 01:02:14,640
Speaker 7: Us album that we did, and we found out later

1161
01:02:14,720 --> 01:02:18,080
Speaker 7: on that there was a song on on that album

1162
01:02:18,200 --> 01:02:23,440
Speaker 7: called Wonderful right, and it was more of an R

1163
01:02:23,480 --> 01:02:25,640
Speaker 7: and B flavor, you know, kind of kind of song.

1164
01:02:25,800 --> 01:02:27,680
Speaker 7: And we found out that that song was.

1165
01:02:27,680 --> 01:02:30,480
Speaker 3: A major hit in Germany. We never we never even

1166
01:02:30,560 --> 01:02:30,840
Speaker 3: knew it.

1167
01:02:31,520 --> 01:02:33,880
Speaker 1: Oh really no, we never knew it.

1168
01:02:33,960 --> 01:02:38,080
Speaker 12: We were on a ship doing a doing a cruise

1169
01:02:38,680 --> 01:02:41,040
Speaker 12: and this German guy was on on the hit come

1170
01:02:41,720 --> 01:02:43,400
Speaker 12: and he asked us, He said, you guys want to

1171
01:02:43,440 --> 01:02:44,160
Speaker 12: sing wonderful.

1172
01:02:45,360 --> 01:02:49,280
Speaker 1: We looked at and you had no idea show.

1173
01:02:49,360 --> 01:02:51,880
Speaker 3: We hadn't even thought about it, you know, he said, Yes,

1174
01:02:51,960 --> 01:02:53,440
Speaker 3: a big hit in Germany, big hit.

1175
01:02:56,080 --> 01:02:58,480
Speaker 5: One of the fun things about working with Frank was

1176
01:02:58,520 --> 01:03:00,320
Speaker 5: that we love.

1177
01:03:00,440 --> 01:03:01,080
Speaker 3: We all love.

1178
01:03:01,320 --> 01:03:07,040
Speaker 5: We all loved picking unusual songs and uh, Frank would.

1179
01:03:07,280 --> 01:03:09,880
Speaker 5: Frank brought some unusual songs to us and things that

1180
01:03:10,040 --> 01:03:14,200
Speaker 5: we found fun, fun to do and kind of wacky,

1181
01:03:14,320 --> 01:03:14,920
Speaker 5: kind of different.

1182
01:03:16,440 --> 01:03:21,560
Speaker 3: We didn't end up with a hit with a good

1183
01:03:21,600 --> 01:03:24,240
Speaker 3: time singing those songs because they were different, Yes, you know,

1184
01:03:24,360 --> 01:03:27,440
Speaker 3: they were different. But the one love song that we

1185
01:03:27,600 --> 01:03:28,960
Speaker 3: did love was.

1186
01:03:30,840 --> 01:03:31,000
Speaker 7: For you.

1187
01:03:31,720 --> 01:03:32,400
Speaker 3: What what is it?

1188
01:03:32,880 --> 01:03:33,040
Speaker 1: Oh?

1189
01:03:33,160 --> 01:03:34,720
Speaker 2: Now, I was going to ask about saving all my

1190
01:03:34,800 --> 01:03:36,680
Speaker 2: love for you? I know that you guys had that

1191
01:03:36,800 --> 01:03:38,320
Speaker 2: first before Whitney Houston did.

1192
01:03:39,080 --> 01:03:41,360
Speaker 3: Yes, yes, we did, yeah.

1193
01:03:41,920 --> 01:03:45,040
Speaker 1: And yeah, like, how how did you guys come across

1194
01:03:45,080 --> 01:03:45,439
Speaker 1: that song?

1195
01:03:47,080 --> 01:03:47,200
Speaker 5: Oh?

1196
01:03:47,280 --> 01:03:47,760
Speaker 3: My gosh.

1197
01:03:48,920 --> 01:03:55,080
Speaker 5: Michael Master wrote the song and oh gosh, now now

1198
01:03:55,120 --> 01:03:57,120
Speaker 5: you got me, You got me on that one. I

1199
01:03:57,520 --> 01:04:02,240
Speaker 5: don't remember how that's song was brought to us, do

1200
01:04:02,320 --> 01:04:02,760
Speaker 5: you remember?

1201
01:04:03,520 --> 01:04:03,680
Speaker 3: Yeah?

1202
01:04:03,720 --> 01:04:07,440
Speaker 7: I think I think we ran into Michael Mass somewhere

1203
01:04:07,640 --> 01:04:12,200
Speaker 7: and he wanted to produce us and he and he

1204
01:04:12,280 --> 01:04:15,919
Speaker 7: wanted us to do that that song and another song

1205
01:04:16,000 --> 01:04:21,520
Speaker 7: that I did. I forgot the name of it. The

1206
01:04:21,640 --> 01:04:24,600
Speaker 7: song was my reason to be iss.

1207
01:04:28,160 --> 01:04:30,400
Speaker 3: That's Frank songs on the two of Us album.

1208
01:04:30,720 --> 01:04:30,959
Speaker 1: Okay.

1209
01:04:32,240 --> 01:04:34,520
Speaker 7: We always thought that that would be one of the

1210
01:04:34,560 --> 01:04:37,960
Speaker 7: greatest love songs that we had recorded.

1211
01:04:37,800 --> 01:04:41,439
Speaker 5: You know, but saving all my love for you, well, yeah,

1212
01:04:41,640 --> 01:04:45,800
Speaker 5: we went into the studio with Michael and and uh Whitney.

1213
01:04:46,000 --> 01:04:50,240
Speaker 1: Whitney turned that song out, Yes, yes, to say the least,

1214
01:04:50,480 --> 01:04:51,200
Speaker 1: to save the least.

1215
01:04:51,840 --> 01:04:53,640
Speaker 3: He did a beautiful job on that. Yeah.

1216
01:04:54,240 --> 01:04:57,919
Speaker 2: Well, of course, you know, of course we've ever missed.

1217
01:04:57,920 --> 01:05:01,880
Speaker 2: If we didn't mention that, Carlam and Coup I guess

1218
01:05:01,960 --> 01:05:07,440
Speaker 2: around eighty two eighty three replaced Dion Warik as the

1219
01:05:07,560 --> 01:05:09,160
Speaker 2: host of Solid Gold.

1220
01:05:09,200 --> 01:05:09,400
Speaker 3: Thank you.

1221
01:05:09,440 --> 01:05:11,240
Speaker 4: I knew he was going salad go.

1222
01:05:11,880 --> 01:05:16,080
Speaker 3: Yes, could you.

1223
01:05:16,120 --> 01:05:18,640
Speaker 2: Talk about the experience of how that came to be?

1224
01:05:19,800 --> 01:05:24,520
Speaker 2: And I mean, you know that was such a legendary show.

1225
01:05:24,560 --> 01:05:28,720
Speaker 2: And at the time when you were hosting practically any

1226
01:05:28,880 --> 01:05:32,160
Speaker 2: artist worth their weight in gold. I mean even Prince,

1227
01:05:32,200 --> 01:05:36,320
Speaker 2: who was notorious for snubbing shows like had to do

1228
01:05:36,440 --> 01:05:38,000
Speaker 2: Solid Gold twice.

1229
01:05:38,600 --> 01:05:40,600
Speaker 1: So what's that whole experience?

1230
01:05:40,760 --> 01:05:42,440
Speaker 3: Like, I enjoyed it.

1231
01:05:43,200 --> 01:05:45,720
Speaker 5: Of course, Dion did it for the first year and

1232
01:05:46,720 --> 01:05:51,280
Speaker 5: she and well, actually, let's see Dion and I'm going

1233
01:05:51,400 --> 01:05:55,320
Speaker 5: to Gibb, Dion and Glenny Campbell. That did I think

1234
01:05:55,360 --> 01:05:58,040
Speaker 5: they did the first year? The first I don't even

1235
01:05:58,080 --> 01:05:59,640
Speaker 5: think they did the first year. I think they did

1236
01:05:59,720 --> 01:06:03,920
Speaker 5: the I think they they introduced the show. But then

1237
01:06:04,600 --> 01:06:06,920
Speaker 5: I don't know what happened with with Dion and Glenn.

1238
01:06:06,920 --> 01:06:11,760
Speaker 5: But but Dion ended up hosting the first year, right,

1239
01:06:11,880 --> 01:06:16,720
Speaker 5: and then after that, I don't I don't know the

1240
01:06:16,800 --> 01:06:20,920
Speaker 5: inner workings because I came in after all that was

1241
01:06:21,000 --> 01:06:24,560
Speaker 5: going on, and uh, the producers had decided that they

1242
01:06:24,640 --> 01:06:29,160
Speaker 5: wanted to and they wanted Andy Gibb to be the

1243
01:06:30,280 --> 01:06:33,920
Speaker 5: to be the host, and then they thought about combining.

1244
01:06:34,000 --> 01:06:36,480
Speaker 5: They liked the idea of Dion and Glenn.

1245
01:06:37,000 --> 01:06:41,520
Speaker 3: They liked the the the male and female right male

1246
01:06:41,640 --> 01:06:42,240
Speaker 3: female and.

1247
01:06:42,880 --> 01:06:48,080
Speaker 5: Anyway, so they auditioned me with with with Andy and

1248
01:06:48,160 --> 01:06:51,479
Speaker 5: they liked the combination, and so I ended up doing

1249
01:06:51,560 --> 01:06:54,960
Speaker 5: that first year with with Andy and and they liked it.

1250
01:06:55,800 --> 01:06:58,520
Speaker 3: But at the end of the first year, Andy.

1251
01:06:59,120 --> 01:07:01,760
Speaker 5: Moved on he was had having some issues, right, and

1252
01:07:02,360 --> 01:07:06,080
Speaker 5: so then I ended up doing this I don't need

1253
01:07:06,120 --> 01:07:06,720
Speaker 5: to take you through.

1254
01:07:07,800 --> 01:07:11,160
Speaker 1: I mean, that's we're here for it.

1255
01:07:12,240 --> 01:07:15,160
Speaker 3: The Rick Smith and I co hosted the show the next.

1256
01:07:15,120 --> 01:07:21,080
Speaker 1: Year Rick Smith or Rick d No, right, Rex Smith,

1257
01:07:21,600 --> 01:07:25,600
Speaker 1: I toally forgot about that, okay later later right.

1258
01:07:26,120 --> 01:07:28,600
Speaker 3: So then Rex and I did it the second year

1259
01:07:28,880 --> 01:07:30,560
Speaker 3: and then the third year.

1260
01:07:31,200 --> 01:07:36,240
Speaker 5: They were trying to decide who who I should work

1261
01:07:36,320 --> 01:07:38,320
Speaker 5: with on the third year, and then they decided that

1262
01:07:39,200 --> 01:07:42,960
Speaker 5: that they would just go with me, and so then

1263
01:07:43,040 --> 01:07:46,320
Speaker 5: I was I was with a solid goal for those

1264
01:07:46,480 --> 01:07:47,200
Speaker 5: next three years.

1265
01:07:47,400 --> 01:07:49,120
Speaker 4: That's the only years I remember.

1266
01:07:49,440 --> 01:07:53,160
Speaker 2: The years I was Yeah, well, because y'all were children,

1267
01:07:55,560 --> 01:07:59,720
Speaker 2: What was this? What was the scheduling uh into? Because

1268
01:08:00,360 --> 01:08:03,840
Speaker 2: I mean, because they were celebrating the charts. Was it

1269
01:08:04,040 --> 01:08:06,760
Speaker 2: all year round or was it like seasonal?

1270
01:08:07,480 --> 01:08:08,760
Speaker 3: Yeah, it was it was seasonal.

1271
01:08:08,840 --> 01:08:11,280
Speaker 5: We would we would do the shows we would do

1272
01:08:12,120 --> 01:08:15,560
Speaker 5: we would tape every other week and we would go

1273
01:08:15,640 --> 01:08:17,800
Speaker 5: with the charts and what was big at that time,

1274
01:08:18,680 --> 01:08:22,320
Speaker 5: and uh, we would we would tape Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday,

1275
01:08:22,840 --> 01:08:26,400
Speaker 5: and then uh, then the following week would be off.

1276
01:08:26,840 --> 01:08:29,080
Speaker 5: I'd go out and work. Billy and I would go

1277
01:08:29,120 --> 01:08:32,880
Speaker 5: out and work, and then I'd come back and we

1278
01:08:34,080 --> 01:08:37,720
Speaker 5: feature the next songs that were popular then and that

1279
01:08:38,720 --> 01:08:39,080
Speaker 5: I see.

1280
01:08:39,600 --> 01:08:43,519
Speaker 1: Yeah, so but it was basically just it was a

1281
01:08:43,560 --> 01:08:45,040
Speaker 1: good experience in doing that.

1282
01:08:45,800 --> 01:08:49,240
Speaker 5: I enjoy that a lot because, uh, like you said,

1283
01:08:49,560 --> 01:08:53,320
Speaker 5: everybody came on and did the shows and you know

1284
01:08:53,439 --> 01:08:57,360
Speaker 5: your your your. I remember when Madonna came on, and

1285
01:08:57,600 --> 01:09:00,439
Speaker 5: of course I remember Prince being there, and that was

1286
01:09:00,840 --> 01:09:03,600
Speaker 5: that was I don't I didn't get a chance to

1287
01:09:03,680 --> 01:09:06,680
Speaker 5: really spend any time with Prince because he's kind of

1288
01:09:06,800 --> 01:09:07,639
Speaker 5: it was kind of shy.

1289
01:09:08,200 --> 01:09:11,000
Speaker 3: Yeah, but still it was. It was a lot of fun.

1290
01:09:11,080 --> 01:09:13,360
Speaker 3: And the dancers, of course, were just amazing.

1291
01:09:13,680 --> 01:09:16,080
Speaker 2: I was going to say, how nice was Darcel Wayne.

1292
01:09:17,200 --> 01:09:20,320
Speaker 2: She was sort of like a unicorn in that, you know,

1293
01:09:20,560 --> 01:09:24,639
Speaker 2: probably next to Cheryl's song on Soul Train. Darcel Wayne

1294
01:09:24,680 --> 01:09:28,880
Speaker 2: was probably the most popular dancer on Solid Goal. But

1295
01:09:29,560 --> 01:09:31,800
Speaker 2: you never heard of anything I've earned in the press

1296
01:09:31,920 --> 01:09:34,519
Speaker 2: or anything. So it's just like this woman with this

1297
01:09:34,640 --> 01:09:39,160
Speaker 2: beautiful long hair on the show, and then I didn't

1298
01:09:39,200 --> 01:09:41,720
Speaker 2: hear much from her afterwards, like was she.

1299
01:09:42,080 --> 01:09:44,559
Speaker 5: You know, what was she like still out there she's

1300
01:09:44,680 --> 01:09:49,120
Speaker 5: dancing and she I don't. I haven't seen Darcela in

1301
01:09:49,240 --> 01:09:49,880
Speaker 5: quite a while.

1302
01:09:50,280 --> 01:09:50,760
Speaker 1: But she was.

1303
01:09:51,560 --> 01:09:54,120
Speaker 5: She was a pleasure to work with and she was

1304
01:09:54,360 --> 01:09:59,080
Speaker 5: just beautiful, just awesome to watch. I mean, her dancing

1305
01:09:59,240 --> 01:10:04,439
Speaker 5: was just amazing, and uh it was I enjoyed the experience.

1306
01:10:05,200 --> 01:10:07,640
Speaker 7: I enjoyed it too because I got a chance to

1307
01:10:07,680 --> 01:10:09,759
Speaker 7: be on the show quite a few times myself.

1308
01:10:10,160 --> 01:10:16,920
Speaker 3: Right, those are the advantages. We would Billy would come

1309
01:10:16,960 --> 01:10:18,320
Speaker 3: on and we would sing our duets.

1310
01:10:18,400 --> 01:10:19,519
Speaker 6: Oh yeah, I love that.

1311
01:10:19,960 --> 01:10:20,880
Speaker 3: I enjoyed that.

1312
01:10:22,080 --> 01:10:22,280
Speaker 1: Yeah.

1313
01:10:22,360 --> 01:10:27,280
Speaker 2: It should also be noted that Casper the even even

1314
01:10:27,320 --> 01:10:29,840
Speaker 2: though Jeffrey Daniels sort of gets the glory for teaching

1315
01:10:29,880 --> 01:10:32,280
Speaker 2: Michael Jackson how to do the womb Wark moon walk,

1316
01:10:32,360 --> 01:10:35,320
Speaker 2: it was it was actually, uh Casper, who was a

1317
01:10:35,439 --> 01:10:39,960
Speaker 2: dancer on Solid Gold that really, you know, taught Michael

1318
01:10:40,000 --> 01:10:42,320
Speaker 2: the aesthetics on how to do the moon walk.

1319
01:10:42,360 --> 01:10:46,240
Speaker 3: He was also okay, I didn't even know that.

1320
01:10:49,600 --> 01:10:49,960
Speaker 4: Dancers.

1321
01:10:50,000 --> 01:10:53,960
Speaker 13: This is my wealth of useless knowledge right right now,

1322
01:10:57,600 --> 01:11:02,679
Speaker 13: like this moment, right now, only for this specific moment.

1323
01:11:06,520 --> 01:11:09,960
Speaker 1: So also wanted to know. I know that you guys.

1324
01:11:12,479 --> 01:11:17,960
Speaker 2: Went through to your gospel phase shortly thereafter, in the

1325
01:11:18,080 --> 01:11:23,559
Speaker 2: mid to late eighties and in the nineties, I recall

1326
01:11:23,960 --> 01:11:27,520
Speaker 2: I believe you guys as the Fifth Dimension reunited.

1327
01:11:28,200 --> 01:11:33,160
Speaker 1: What was like, What was that process like in reuniting

1328
01:11:33,200 --> 01:11:34,160
Speaker 1: the group, and how was it?

1329
01:11:35,240 --> 01:11:39,120
Speaker 5: There was a special moment moment I think that would

1330
01:11:39,760 --> 01:11:43,320
Speaker 5: that says it all. The first time we got back

1331
01:11:43,360 --> 01:11:47,040
Speaker 5: together and we started talking about we were going to

1332
01:11:47,120 --> 01:11:50,840
Speaker 5: do this reunion tour, and we said, well, first of all,

1333
01:11:51,320 --> 01:11:55,360
Speaker 5: let's see where we are. And so you know, we

1334
01:11:55,520 --> 01:11:59,800
Speaker 5: hadn't sung any harmonies together in many years, and of

1335
01:12:00,080 --> 01:12:01,880
Speaker 5: course you know, we had gotten away from that, so

1336
01:12:02,000 --> 01:12:05,360
Speaker 5: we weren't remembering the harmonies so so well. And so

1337
01:12:06,520 --> 01:12:08,960
Speaker 5: we got around the piano and they said, let's start

1338
01:12:09,040 --> 01:12:11,519
Speaker 5: out with up Up and the way, which is unison

1339
01:12:12,600 --> 01:12:16,880
Speaker 5: and everybody remembers that, and we started to sing would

1340
01:12:16,960 --> 01:12:23,200
Speaker 5: you like to ride in My beautiful and our voices

1341
01:12:23,720 --> 01:12:27,479
Speaker 5: are the blend. We all started looking at one another

1342
01:12:27,600 --> 01:12:28,240
Speaker 5: and saying.

1343
01:12:28,120 --> 01:12:29,840
Speaker 3: Oh my gosh, that's right.

1344
01:12:30,000 --> 01:12:33,040
Speaker 7: Still there, still got it, like we never walked away

1345
01:12:33,080 --> 01:12:34,720
Speaker 7: from each other, you know, it was it was the

1346
01:12:34,800 --> 01:12:35,439
Speaker 7: same sound.

1347
01:12:35,720 --> 01:12:38,800
Speaker 3: It was wow, this is amazing. You know, it was

1348
01:12:39,000 --> 01:12:41,200
Speaker 3: very it was very emotional.

1349
01:12:42,320 --> 01:12:48,560
Speaker 7: And then the democracy started again, you know, you know,

1350
01:12:48,640 --> 01:12:51,920
Speaker 7: we started getting together and doing doing jobs. But it

1351
01:12:52,040 --> 01:12:53,680
Speaker 7: was set up the way we had it set up

1352
01:12:53,720 --> 01:12:56,559
Speaker 7: with the with the Fifth Dimension before we left.

1353
01:12:56,960 --> 01:12:57,160
Speaker 3: Yeah.

1354
01:12:58,680 --> 01:13:02,360
Speaker 1: Wow, So how how long did the reunion tour last?

1355
01:13:02,439 --> 01:13:07,960
Speaker 5: For? Yeah, a couple of years we did. We did

1356
01:13:08,040 --> 01:13:12,000
Speaker 5: some performances together and then and Billy and I still

1357
01:13:12,080 --> 01:13:14,680
Speaker 5: had some some of our duet shows that we had

1358
01:13:14,720 --> 01:13:19,080
Speaker 5: to do, and Florence and Lamont and Ronald. UH had

1359
01:13:19,160 --> 01:13:21,680
Speaker 5: two other members in the group and they had their

1360
01:13:21,800 --> 01:13:24,679
Speaker 5: performances so that, you know, they had bookings, We had bookings.

1361
01:13:25,080 --> 01:13:27,960
Speaker 5: But then we would come together and UH do some

1362
01:13:28,200 --> 01:13:31,920
Speaker 5: original we would call it the original Fifth Dimension and

1363
01:13:33,200 --> 01:13:36,879
Speaker 5: work for different companies and they were it was considered

1364
01:13:36,960 --> 01:13:39,400
Speaker 5: like a very special occasion to have.

1365
01:13:39,479 --> 01:13:43,200
Speaker 3: The Original Fifth Dimension during that time. They called them

1366
01:13:43,560 --> 01:13:46,920
Speaker 3: corporate jobs. You know, we played a lot of job.

1367
01:13:47,120 --> 01:13:49,639
Speaker 1: Trust me that that still exists.

1368
01:13:51,680 --> 01:13:53,920
Speaker 4: It's also kind of dope that y'all didn't agree on

1369
01:13:54,000 --> 01:13:56,960
Speaker 4: that whole original dimension versus the other dimension and let

1370
01:13:57,000 --> 01:13:57,640
Speaker 4: them do their own thing.

1371
01:13:57,880 --> 01:13:59,120
Speaker 2: I was going to say, it was it weird for

1372
01:13:59,200 --> 01:14:03,479
Speaker 2: you to see because even way into the eighties, I

1373
01:14:03,600 --> 01:14:07,759
Speaker 2: kept seeing, you know, like Florence would have another lineup

1374
01:14:07,920 --> 01:14:11,800
Speaker 2: long after ron And and Lamont left the group. Was

1375
01:14:11,880 --> 01:14:15,840
Speaker 2: it kind of weird sort of seeing at least the

1376
01:14:15,960 --> 01:14:21,960
Speaker 2: name uh still carrying on without the four original members

1377
01:14:22,000 --> 01:14:22,400
Speaker 2: in the group.

1378
01:14:22,439 --> 01:14:27,720
Speaker 5: For you guys, it was, Yeah, it sounded different, you

1379
01:14:27,800 --> 01:14:31,639
Speaker 5: know to us, I mean to the audiences, to us too.

1380
01:14:34,160 --> 01:14:35,920
Speaker 1: I'll say it for you it sounded weird to us too.

1381
01:14:38,160 --> 01:14:41,400
Speaker 7: But you know, not only that, we would when we

1382
01:14:41,520 --> 01:14:44,920
Speaker 7: were could, we would go and see them and support

1383
01:14:45,000 --> 01:14:46,759
Speaker 7: them and be there form.

1384
01:14:46,920 --> 01:14:49,320
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, okay, I see.

1385
01:14:50,240 --> 01:14:54,960
Speaker 2: Also we should mention what was it like playing I'm

1386
01:14:54,960 --> 01:14:57,360
Speaker 2: a big fan of the original Jamie Fox Show.

1387
01:14:58,080 --> 01:15:02,280
Speaker 1: Yes, I know that. Yeah, you guys, Fancy's parents parents.

1388
01:15:03,800 --> 01:15:07,720
Speaker 5: We enjoyed that so much. That was a that was

1389
01:15:07,760 --> 01:15:10,600
Speaker 5: a great group of people to be working with. Producers.

1390
01:15:10,760 --> 01:15:12,200
Speaker 5: Jamie was delightful and.

1391
01:15:14,600 --> 01:15:17,720
Speaker 3: We got to kick out of that. Yes, yes, you

1392
01:15:17,840 --> 01:15:18,000
Speaker 3: know what.

1393
01:15:18,160 --> 01:15:21,280
Speaker 7: Jamie is so talented, my god, I mean, just to

1394
01:15:21,360 --> 01:15:23,800
Speaker 7: see him work and the stuff that comes off the

1395
01:15:23,840 --> 01:15:27,080
Speaker 7: top of his head, I mean, he's just he's a creative,

1396
01:15:27,240 --> 01:15:29,360
Speaker 7: you know, it just comes out of him, you know.

1397
01:15:30,280 --> 01:15:33,559
Speaker 5: Uh, they might need a song for a special moment

1398
01:15:34,080 --> 01:15:37,599
Speaker 5: in the show, and uh so then they would say, oh,

1399
01:15:37,720 --> 01:15:40,400
Speaker 5: we need a song here, and Jamie would go off

1400
01:15:40,479 --> 01:15:44,599
Speaker 5: somewhere and he'd come back and it's a brilliant song.

1401
01:15:44,800 --> 01:15:53,800
Speaker 1: Yes, wow, yeah, that's good. So I'll say that. Oh,

1402
01:15:53,960 --> 01:15:56,840
Speaker 1: I'm sorry, we got we got to mention Blackbird. What

1403
01:15:57,200 --> 01:15:58,519
Speaker 1: what was the what was the.

1404
01:16:00,120 --> 01:16:03,360
Speaker 2: Sort of the idea and in covering Lennon McCartney songs

1405
01:16:03,400 --> 01:16:09,280
Speaker 2: for the Blackbird project, especially in light of when, when

1406
01:16:09,320 --> 01:16:13,120
Speaker 2: it was and why it was released last year or

1407
01:16:14,200 --> 01:16:19,400
Speaker 2: this year? We came out, well, it's just earlier, earlier

1408
01:16:19,479 --> 01:16:23,160
Speaker 2: this year. You recorded last year, though, What was the

1409
01:16:23,280 --> 01:16:27,679
Speaker 2: significance behind or at least the process and in recording

1410
01:16:27,760 --> 01:16:28,960
Speaker 2: that that album.

1411
01:16:30,360 --> 01:16:34,599
Speaker 5: Well, our our producer, our management company, we had been

1412
01:16:34,640 --> 01:16:38,880
Speaker 5: talking about a project. A young man by the name

1413
01:16:38,920 --> 01:16:42,960
Speaker 5: of Nick Mendosa, uh had been introduced to us and

1414
01:16:43,240 --> 01:16:46,160
Speaker 5: and our management company thought that he would be a

1415
01:16:46,280 --> 01:16:50,600
Speaker 5: wonderful producer to work with. And now Nick is a

1416
01:16:50,680 --> 01:16:58,320
Speaker 5: millennial producer, yes, a very young but very you know,

1417
01:16:58,520 --> 01:17:02,320
Speaker 5: interesting knowledge of the two of them who we were,

1418
01:17:02,640 --> 01:17:08,559
Speaker 5: our voices, our sounds, and and you know, we started

1419
01:17:08,600 --> 01:17:13,360
Speaker 5: talking about ideas and we were very concerned and troubled

1420
01:17:13,400 --> 01:17:16,600
Speaker 5: by what's what's been going on in our country, and

1421
01:17:17,439 --> 01:17:19,640
Speaker 5: we felt like, if we're going to do something, we

1422
01:17:19,760 --> 01:17:23,439
Speaker 5: want to do something that speaks to what is going

1423
01:17:23,600 --> 01:17:27,679
Speaker 5: on right now. As we told Nick how we felt

1424
01:17:27,920 --> 01:17:31,479
Speaker 5: and what we would love to do, Nick was very

1425
01:17:32,000 --> 01:17:34,320
Speaker 5: very much interested because he said, well, you know, you

1426
01:17:34,400 --> 01:17:36,680
Speaker 5: guys are talking about the things that that people my

1427
01:17:36,880 --> 01:17:40,120
Speaker 5: age are worried about, you know, about what's happening to

1428
01:17:40,240 --> 01:17:42,360
Speaker 5: our country and why are you know, why are we

1429
01:17:42,479 --> 01:17:46,200
Speaker 5: so at odds and what's the what is.

1430
01:17:46,240 --> 01:17:49,439
Speaker 7: The division about it? You know, it's not young people

1431
01:17:49,520 --> 01:17:53,600
Speaker 7: don't know. They haven't lived what we have lived, but

1432
01:17:53,680 --> 01:17:56,519
Speaker 7: they still want to know what it's all about. And

1433
01:17:57,479 --> 01:18:01,160
Speaker 7: we had been doing Blackbird and having Beatles Medley in

1434
01:18:01,240 --> 01:18:04,240
Speaker 7: our live show, and so we were familiar with with

1435
01:18:04,439 --> 01:18:08,679
Speaker 7: Blackbird and what it meant because uh, Lennon and McCartney

1436
01:18:08,920 --> 01:18:11,519
Speaker 7: wrote it as a as A as A as A

1437
01:18:11,880 --> 01:18:14,960
Speaker 7: as an anthem, the civil rights anthem, you know, and

1438
01:18:15,160 --> 01:18:16,839
Speaker 7: so we just, hey, that's that's.

1439
01:18:17,400 --> 01:18:22,600
Speaker 3: This is really ah uh a movement, you know.

1440
01:18:23,479 --> 01:18:25,640
Speaker 7: Uh, it's a civil rights movement, is the way we

1441
01:18:25,760 --> 01:18:29,640
Speaker 7: looked at it, you know, because everybody everybody needs to

1442
01:18:29,840 --> 01:18:32,880
Speaker 7: know what's going on out here, you know. So we

1443
01:18:33,040 --> 01:18:36,040
Speaker 7: decided to go ahead and start doing putting Blackbird in,

1444
01:18:36,240 --> 01:18:39,000
Speaker 7: and we started listening to more of the Beatles songs

1445
01:18:39,680 --> 01:18:45,360
Speaker 7: and started putting stories kind of like behind these these songs,

1446
01:18:45,479 --> 01:18:51,040
Speaker 7: like uh uh ticket to Ride with Rose of parks

1447
01:18:51,120 --> 01:18:54,280
Speaker 7: Man when she wouldn't give give up a seat on

1448
01:18:54,360 --> 01:18:57,040
Speaker 7: the bus and she she she just you know, and

1449
01:18:57,240 --> 01:19:00,519
Speaker 7: and and and her being uh going to jail and her.

1450
01:19:00,479 --> 01:19:03,479
Speaker 14: Husband waiting for her, you know, and you don't know

1451
01:19:03,560 --> 01:19:08,400
Speaker 14: the story about her husband. That was another story, you know.

1452
01:19:08,920 --> 01:19:12,640
Speaker 14: So Blackbird is and and in the front of the

1453
01:19:12,680 --> 01:19:14,640
Speaker 14: album portrays.

1454
01:19:14,280 --> 01:19:14,760
Speaker 3: All of the.

1455
01:19:16,240 --> 01:19:19,360
Speaker 7: The the people who were killed and and and and

1456
01:19:20,000 --> 01:19:22,920
Speaker 7: and and just for no reason at all, you know,

1457
01:19:23,120 --> 01:19:28,200
Speaker 7: just because of the color. And it's created a lot

1458
01:19:28,240 --> 01:19:31,439
Speaker 7: of division in our society, and that we just prayed

1459
01:19:31,520 --> 01:19:35,879
Speaker 7: at this album will be a healing project.

1460
01:19:36,439 --> 01:19:39,400
Speaker 5: We're so we were so inspired and encouraged by the

1461
01:19:39,520 --> 01:19:43,000
Speaker 5: young people and how they were coming together and protesting together,

1462
01:19:43,640 --> 01:19:50,400
Speaker 5: you know, across racial lines, across across cultural lines, and

1463
01:19:50,640 --> 01:19:51,479
Speaker 5: we're saying that this.

1464
01:19:52,000 --> 01:19:55,719
Speaker 3: Is what our country needs. We've got to come together,

1465
01:19:55,800 --> 01:19:58,080
Speaker 3: We've got to draw together and make the.

1466
01:19:58,160 --> 01:20:02,280
Speaker 5: Statement understood and heard, and we just felt like we

1467
01:20:02,439 --> 01:20:03,920
Speaker 5: want like you said, we wanted to make it.

1468
01:20:04,160 --> 01:20:08,240
Speaker 3: Like a movement, and that's human rights, human rights movement.

1469
01:20:08,920 --> 01:20:12,040
Speaker 4: Congratulations for another number one album on the R and

1470
01:20:12,120 --> 01:20:14,040
Speaker 4: B charts. That's pretty pretty great.

1471
01:20:16,600 --> 01:20:21,080
Speaker 5: Excited about the response that we've been seeing because I mean,

1472
01:20:21,320 --> 01:20:24,960
Speaker 5: you know, at this age for us to be doing

1473
01:20:25,040 --> 01:20:26,919
Speaker 5: this now, it's just amazing.

1474
01:20:27,479 --> 01:20:31,240
Speaker 3: It's your time. You had a lot to do with that,

1475
01:20:31,400 --> 01:20:37,400
Speaker 3: with with uh we're finding this this uh footage of love. Yeah,

1476
01:20:37,840 --> 01:20:40,680
Speaker 3: just like you created a renaissance for us, Yes you have,

1477
01:20:41,680 --> 01:20:44,680
Speaker 3: but thank you, thank you.

1478
01:20:46,040 --> 01:20:50,320
Speaker 2: I appreciate it on our show, your show, absolutely No,

1479
01:20:50,720 --> 01:20:55,519
Speaker 2: I will say that probably you know, one of the

1480
01:20:55,640 --> 01:21:01,320
Speaker 2: key scenes that that's in the movie that really touch people,

1481
01:21:01,439 --> 01:21:03,240
Speaker 2: like when they when they tell me how much they

1482
01:21:03,320 --> 01:21:09,800
Speaker 2: loved it, especially for like fellow fellow black artists that

1483
01:21:09,880 --> 01:21:12,840
Speaker 2: I show it to. First of all, just watching you

1484
01:21:13,000 --> 01:21:17,160
Speaker 2: to watch it. I couldn't have I couldn't have scripted

1485
01:21:17,200 --> 01:21:20,640
Speaker 2: it better, you know, it couldn't have. It couldn't have

1486
01:21:20,800 --> 01:21:27,040
Speaker 2: happened more pitch perfect, note perfect than your interview portion,

1487
01:21:27,520 --> 01:21:32,080
Speaker 2: especially you know, letting the sentiments be known. How important

1488
01:21:32,760 --> 01:21:38,600
Speaker 2: playing that festival was and connecting with black audiences that

1489
01:21:38,720 --> 01:21:41,679
Speaker 2: otherwise might have been familiar with you guys at the time,

1490
01:21:42,840 --> 01:21:46,840
Speaker 2: and how it really really touched them. And I will

1491
01:21:46,880 --> 01:21:49,679
Speaker 2: say that, you know, I should be thinking you because

1492
01:21:49,760 --> 01:21:53,960
Speaker 2: I mean, you know, it's it's the footage itself is

1493
01:21:54,080 --> 01:21:59,960
Speaker 2: magic on its own. But you guys, really human eye

1494
01:22:00,160 --> 01:22:05,040
Speaker 2: did and really touch people's hearts with with with your

1495
01:22:05,120 --> 01:22:08,080
Speaker 2: portion of of that movie. And you know, I think

1496
01:22:08,120 --> 01:22:08,679
Speaker 2: you both.

1497
01:22:09,080 --> 01:22:10,720
Speaker 1: Wow for doing that.

1498
01:22:11,360 --> 01:22:13,840
Speaker 10: It was just you know, we were just doing it

1499
01:22:13,960 --> 01:22:17,320
Speaker 10: was such a special special what you put together was

1500
01:22:17,600 --> 01:22:18,519
Speaker 10: was was beautiful.

1501
01:22:18,640 --> 01:22:21,280
Speaker 7: I mean, that's that's the only way we can react

1502
01:22:21,320 --> 01:22:24,040
Speaker 7: to it. I mean, it's just what comes from the

1503
01:22:24,120 --> 01:22:25,240
Speaker 7: hot ghost to the heart, you know.

1504
01:22:26,000 --> 01:22:27,640
Speaker 5: And we were so happy for you to win that

1505
01:22:27,800 --> 01:22:32,640
Speaker 5: grand Jury from Sundance at the festival. Yes, we were

1506
01:22:32,760 --> 01:22:36,640
Speaker 5: just so excited that that happened, you know, because and

1507
01:22:36,920 --> 01:22:43,200
Speaker 5: and your premier, this is your first directory experience come

1508
01:22:43,320 --> 01:22:48,880
Speaker 5: up with such a powerful, a powerful success like this,

1509
01:22:49,200 --> 01:22:51,120
Speaker 5: and we're just so excited for you.

1510
01:22:55,400 --> 01:23:00,280
Speaker 3: But for over fifteen years, all the stars I will

1511
01:23:00,320 --> 01:23:01,720
Speaker 3: own that footage. It's just.

1512
01:23:03,400 --> 01:23:07,599
Speaker 1: Yeah, I asked myself that all the time. But you know, now,

1513
01:23:07,800 --> 01:23:09,479
Speaker 1: now's the time, like I feel like.

1514
01:23:10,000 --> 01:23:12,040
Speaker 4: You know, it's the whole compliment.

1515
01:23:12,160 --> 01:23:13,280
Speaker 3: I am sitting here floor.

1516
01:23:14,280 --> 01:23:15,599
Speaker 5: You did not interrupt them.

1517
01:23:16,080 --> 01:23:17,800
Speaker 4: You let them tell you all, tell you all.

1518
01:23:19,000 --> 01:23:23,840
Speaker 1: You looked famous for avoiding compliments. I hate compliments. I'm sorry,

1519
01:23:25,400 --> 01:23:28,120
Speaker 1: You're good. I just gotta take it or I'll still

1520
01:23:28,160 --> 01:23:28,800
Speaker 1: tease me about it.

1521
01:23:28,960 --> 01:23:30,439
Speaker 3: Yes, thank you.

1522
01:23:30,840 --> 01:23:35,200
Speaker 2: Wos Wait before I wrap up, there's there is one

1523
01:23:35,280 --> 01:23:37,840
Speaker 2: question I got to ask, only because the sample is

1524
01:23:37,880 --> 01:23:38,360
Speaker 2: so famous.

1525
01:23:39,120 --> 01:23:41,519
Speaker 1: I know that, uh Billy.

1526
01:23:41,840 --> 01:23:45,960
Speaker 2: You started your own independent label sometime in the mid

1527
01:23:46,080 --> 01:23:49,800
Speaker 2: seventies and one of your clients, one of the late

1528
01:23:50,280 --> 01:23:54,160
Speaker 2: acts on the label was Jimmy Caster Bunch, Yes, what

1529
01:23:54,400 --> 01:23:56,960
Speaker 2: was that? What was that experience like, only because on

1530
01:23:57,040 --> 01:24:02,120
Speaker 2: that particular album, just because a famous it's uh well no, no, no,

1531
01:24:02,320 --> 01:24:07,120
Speaker 2: not just begun on the but no uh Kanye's uh

1532
01:24:08,520 --> 01:24:10,520
Speaker 2: so the first song on Graduation.

1533
01:24:11,920 --> 01:24:16,160
Speaker 1: Good Morning, It's It's yeah, it's it's.

1534
01:24:17,560 --> 01:24:20,639
Speaker 2: It's Jimmy Caster's cover of I Just Want to Start

1535
01:24:21,080 --> 01:24:23,160
Speaker 2: by uh Gino Vanelli.

1536
01:24:25,000 --> 01:24:27,439
Speaker 1: Right, it's but yeah, it's it's on the label that

1537
01:24:28,439 --> 01:24:31,000
Speaker 1: really headed what is yeah?

1538
01:24:31,040 --> 01:24:34,679
Speaker 2: What was working with Jimmy Caster like during that period

1539
01:24:34,720 --> 01:24:37,400
Speaker 2: and what made you want to start your own label

1540
01:24:37,520 --> 01:24:38,280
Speaker 2: during that period.

1541
01:24:39,320 --> 01:24:40,559
Speaker 3: Well, it was I've.

1542
01:24:40,400 --> 01:24:43,559
Speaker 7: Always wanted to produce and and and and and create

1543
01:24:43,640 --> 01:24:47,439
Speaker 7: my whole kind of way in life. And and uh

1544
01:24:48,479 --> 01:24:51,960
Speaker 7: at the particular time, Uh, Jimmy's sister Linda was working

1545
01:24:52,120 --> 01:24:56,519
Speaker 7: working for our company, you know, telling us about Jimmy

1546
01:24:56,680 --> 01:24:59,400
Speaker 7: and uh, and when we met him, it was like

1547
01:25:00,560 --> 01:25:01,360
Speaker 7: it was like family.

1548
01:25:01,600 --> 01:25:05,559
Speaker 3: I mean, he was just a regular guy loving his music.

1549
01:25:05,720 --> 01:25:08,439
Speaker 3: And you know, so we just we just got into

1550
01:25:08,520 --> 01:25:10,720
Speaker 3: it and say, let's get visit with some music. You know,

1551
01:25:12,160 --> 01:25:14,599
Speaker 3: I see everything that you hear on that album, that's

1552
01:25:14,880 --> 01:25:15,439
Speaker 3: all Jimmy.

1553
01:25:16,439 --> 01:25:17,560
Speaker 1: Yeah, it is.

1554
01:25:18,280 --> 01:25:21,000
Speaker 2: Well, you know you guys, I mean it goes without

1555
01:25:21,040 --> 01:25:23,479
Speaker 2: saying that you guys are are a class act. And

1556
01:25:23,720 --> 01:25:27,240
Speaker 2: I really really, really really thank you for giving us

1557
01:25:27,280 --> 01:25:30,720
Speaker 2: your time and coming on the show. And I just

1558
01:25:30,800 --> 01:25:34,120
Speaker 2: love you guys to death. I'm a genuine fan of

1559
01:25:34,200 --> 01:25:34,519
Speaker 2: the group.

1560
01:25:35,040 --> 01:25:36,560
Speaker 1: I thank you.

1561
01:25:37,400 --> 01:25:40,280
Speaker 2: Guys are an inspiration also, especially in a time period

1562
01:25:40,320 --> 01:25:42,280
Speaker 2: which how you're such.

1563
01:25:42,280 --> 01:25:47,040
Speaker 5: A serious historian. Yes, that is your heart. And you

1564
01:25:47,120 --> 01:25:49,080
Speaker 5: know when you meet somebody like that, you want to

1565
01:25:49,160 --> 01:25:51,280
Speaker 5: share with them all the knowledge that you have.

1566
01:25:51,520 --> 01:25:54,600
Speaker 3: To to you know, to contribute to.

1567
01:25:56,200 --> 01:25:56,799
Speaker 5: To your.

1568
01:26:00,960 --> 01:26:11,920
Speaker 2: Now you know, I'm not a historian. I'm just really

1569
01:26:12,120 --> 01:26:18,519
Speaker 2: really really big Billy Jacobs and I thank you guys

1570
01:26:18,600 --> 01:26:24,760
Speaker 2: for it, and you know, much continued success. Okay, maybe

1571
01:26:24,840 --> 01:26:28,360
Speaker 2: my last question is what do you want the legacy

1572
01:26:29,520 --> 01:26:31,880
Speaker 2: of Billy Davis and Marlin mccood to be?

1573
01:26:32,760 --> 01:26:40,000
Speaker 3: Wow? Well, you know, for me, I know, it's just that.

1574
01:26:42,040 --> 01:26:46,760
Speaker 7: People coming together and just being who we are to

1575
01:26:46,880 --> 01:26:52,960
Speaker 7: one another, not not being putting on trying to be

1576
01:26:53,120 --> 01:26:55,920
Speaker 7: more than what we are, just just just be who

1577
01:26:56,040 --> 01:26:59,599
Speaker 7: you are and just people coming together on one accord.

1578
01:26:59,720 --> 01:27:02,000
Speaker 7: You know, if we can just do that and and

1579
01:27:02,160 --> 01:27:07,120
Speaker 7: and and have our human rights, that would be a

1580
01:27:07,320 --> 01:27:09,599
Speaker 7: legacy for me before I leave here.

1581
01:27:11,080 --> 01:27:15,840
Speaker 2: Wow, that's hey, that's a night drop, right, that's a

1582
01:27:15,920 --> 01:27:18,439
Speaker 2: mic drop right there. Well, thank you very much for

1583
01:27:18,600 --> 01:27:22,000
Speaker 2: doing the show. I love and appreciate you guys on

1584
01:27:22,240 --> 01:27:27,040
Speaker 2: behalf of Layah and Unpaid, Bill and Shukar, Steve and

1585
01:27:27,320 --> 01:27:31,040
Speaker 2: fon Tigelo this Quest Love. I cannot believe I got

1586
01:27:31,080 --> 01:27:32,880
Speaker 2: to talk to Billy Davis and Marion Cool.

1587
01:27:33,720 --> 01:27:36,439
Speaker 1: Thank you very much. This is Quest Love Supreme. Will

1588
01:27:36,479 --> 01:27:41,600
Speaker 1: see you on the next program. Yo, what's up?

1589
01:27:41,640 --> 01:27:43,920
Speaker 6: It's is Fonte. Make sure you keep up with us

1590
01:27:43,960 --> 01:27:46,640
Speaker 6: on Instagram. At QLs and let us know what you

1591
01:27:46,720 --> 01:27:48,479
Speaker 6: think if we should be next to sit down with us.

1592
01:27:48,800 --> 01:27:52,200
Speaker 6: Don't forget to subscribe to our podcast, all right, Peace.

1593
01:28:00,560 --> 01:28:07,280
Speaker 1: Courts Love Supreme is a production of Ihearted Radio. For

1594
01:28:07,400 --> 01:28:11,600
Speaker 1: more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

1595
01:28:12,080 --> 01:28:13,759
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.