Author, Florence LaRue, Legendary Queen of The 5th Dimension

Singer Florence LaRue was born on February 4, 1942, in Plainfield, New Jersey. She obtained a record deal with the assistance of Motown record producer Marc Gordon, who introduced them to producer Johnny Rivers, and helped develop their image, changed their name to The Fifth Dimension. In 1966, They released their first single, “I’ll Be Lovin’ You Forever.” In 1967, the group recorded a follow-up single, “Go Where You Wanna Go,” which charted at #16. They recorded their first top ten hit, “Up-Up and Away,” by songwriter Jimmy Webb. Their album went gold, the group was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist. The song,  went on to win a number of Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year for 1967. The next year, they released a cover of Laura Nyro’s “Stoned Soul Picnic,” reached #3 on the pop charts and #2 on the R&B charts, the highest-charting single released by them at the time. It ultimately sold over two million copies. In 1969, they released “California Soul,” which reached #25 on the Billboard charts. Their biggest break came with the release of “Age of Aquarius.” it spent six weeks on top of the charts and sold more than three million copies. In 1970, The Fifth Dimension was signed to Bell Records and released a controversial single entitled “The Declaration,” which was followed by the album Portrait, which became the group’s third album on the Billboard Top 50. In 1971, the group released Love’s Lines, Angles & Rhymes, which went gold. In 1973, the group released Living Together, Growing Together.