Lamonte McLemore

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Lamonte McLemore
McLemore (top) with The 5th Dimension, 1971
McLemore (top) with The 5th Dimension, 1971
Background information
Birth nameLamonte McLemore
Born (1939-09-17) September 17, 1939 (age 84)
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
GenresPop music
Occupation(s)Singer, actor
Websitewww.lamontephotography.com

Lamonte McLemore (born September 17, 1939) is an American vocalist, composer, and photographer. He was a founding member of The 5th Dimension, a popular vocal group of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Personal life[edit]

McLemore married Lisa Harvey and had a daughter named Ciara. In 2014, he wrote and published his autobiography with Robert-Allan Arno, From the Hobo Flats to The 5th Dimension - A Life Fulfilled in Baseball, Photography, and Music.[1][2]

Biography[edit]

McLemore was born in St. Louis, Missouri.

He is a professional photographer for Playboy, Ebony, Jet, People, and Harper's Bazaar magazines.[3]

Baseball[edit]

McLemore was the first African American athlete to try out for the St. Louis Cardinals. After he moved to Los Angeles, he was a minor league strong-arm pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers for a short time.[4]

Photography[edit]

After he graduated from high school, McLemore enlisted in the United States Navy, and worked as an aerial photographer. He co-founded Halmont Graphics with Cliff Hall, and worked there as a photographer beginning in 1958.[5] McLemore was the first African American photographer hired by Harper's Bazaar magazine and was the photographer for Stevie Wonder's first album cover. McLemore has been a photographer for Jet and Ebony magazines for over forty years. It was because of his photo shoot at the Miss Black Beauty Pageant in the mid-1960s that he met Marilyn McCoo and Florence LaRue which ultimately led to The 5th Dimension being created.[4]

Songwriting[edit]

He co-wrote two songs recorded by The 5th Dimension, A Love Like Ours (with Bob Alcivar)[6] and The Singer (with Elliot Willensky).[7]

References[edit]

  1. ^ McLemore, Lamonte; Arno, Robert-Allan (2014). "From the Hobo Flats to The 5th Dimension". Amazon.com. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  2. ^ "Interview with Lamonte McLemore". YouTube.com. 10 June 2015. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  3. ^ "Lamonte McLemore Photography Website". Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Lamonte McLemore". The HistoryMakers. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  5. ^ Nelson, Laura J. (5 January 2020). "Cliff Hall, an inventor who photographed Los Angeles high society, dies at 94". Los Angeles Times.
  6. ^ "Lamonte McLemore, Bob Alcivar - A Love Like Ours". 45cat.com.
  7. ^ "Elliot Willensky, Lamonte McLemore - The Singer". 45cat.com.