Up, Up And Away
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Album Summary
Dropped in 1967 on the independent Soul City Records, 'Up, Up And Away' introduced the world to one of the most heavenly vocal ensembles to ever grace a turntable — The Fifth Dimension. Produced by Marc Gordon and the brilliantly gifted Jimmy Webb, who also penned the title track, this debut album wrapped those five soaring voices in lush, orchestral arrangements that felt like floating above the clouds on a warm California afternoon. Webb's songwriting sophistication combined with Gordon's production instincts created something that didn't sound quite like anything else coming out of 1967 — not soul, not pure pop, not folk, but a gorgeous, sunlit blend of all three. Soul City Records, a boutique label with big ears and even bigger ambitions, gave The Fifth Dimension the room to breathe and the production budget to dream, and what they delivered was a debut album that announced their arrival like a full brass fanfare.
Reception
- The title track 'Up, Up And Away' reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and went on to win the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, putting The Fifth Dimension squarely on the national radar.
- The album charted on the Billboard 200, cementing the group's commercial viability and proving that sophisticated orchestral pop had a hungry audience in the late 1960s.
- Radio programmers embraced the album throughout 1967 and into 1968, with multiple tracks earning significant airplay and helping to establish the group as reliable hitmakers in the pop mainstream.
Significance
- 'Up, Up And Away' stood as a landmark in the development of orchestral pop, demonstrating that Black vocal groups could command the lush, sophisticated arrangements typically reserved for mainstream white pop acts — and do it with more soul and elegance than anyone else on the dial.
- The Fifth Dimension's layered harmonic interplay on this record became a foundational blueprint for the soft rock and adult contemporary sounds that would dominate the airwaves throughout the 1970s, influencing everyone who came after them.
- At a cultural moment when the music world was pulling hard toward psychedelia and rock experimentation, The Fifth Dimension carved out their own lane — bridging soul, pop, and orchestral grandeur in a way that expanded the definition of what Black artists could achieve in the mainstream music industry.
Tracklist
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A1 Up - Up And Away —
2:40
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A2 Another Day, Another Heartache —
2:30
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A3 Which Way To Nowhere —
3:05
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A4 California My Way —
2:50
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A5 Misty Roses —
2:46
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B1 Go Where You Wanna Go —
2:15
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B2 Never Gonna Be The Same —
2:20
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B3 Pattern People —
3:00
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B4 Rosecrans Blvd. —
2:48
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B5 Learn How To Fly —
2:50
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B6 Poor Side Of Town —
3:30
Artist Details
The Fifth Dimension was a silky-smooth vocal group born out of Los Angeles in 1966, bringing together the heavenly voices of Marilyn McCoo, Billy Davis Jr., LaMonte McLemore, Florence LaRue, and Ron Townson into a sound that blended pop, soul, and a little bit of that good-time jazz into something that felt like pure sunshine in your ears. They took the world by storm with their landmark 1969 medley of Aquarius and Let the Sunshine In from the musical Hair, which shot to number one and won them two Grammy Awards, cementing their place as one of the most polished and sophisticated acts of the late sixties and early seventies. More than just chart-toppers, The Fifth Dimension stood as a bridge between Black artistry and mainstream American pop culture at a time when that crossing was still a powerful and meaningful act, proving that soul and elegance could walk hand in hand right into living rooms across the country.
