September 30th at the Ridgefield Playhouse in Connecticut, Marilyn McCoo celebrated her 78th birthday with her 83 year-old husband Billy Davis Jr.
In reality, the two principal members of the Fifth Dimension has double reasons to celebrate!
1. The birthday of the former co-host of “Solid Gold from 1981-84
2. Plus, the husband-wife duo were overjoyed to be singing in front of live audience after being stuck at home for over 18 months.
Early in the set, the two of them get right to the song that broke open their career in 1967, the ever so catchy Jimmy Webb penned chart topper “Up, Up and Away.”
Throughout their 75 minute set, they sprinkled in a handful of the 5th Dimension’s top tunes, although this fan had hoped they might drop in a few more!
The ones they addressed in a meaningful and well appreciated manner:
- Stoned Soul Picnic
- Wedding Bell Blues
- Aquarius / Let the Sunshine In
- Last Night I Didn’t Get To Sleep At All
- One Less Bell To Answer
I would have jumped-up in excitement to also hear such memories as:
- Sweet Blindness
- Never My Love
- Go Where You Wanna Go
- If I Could Reach You
They did, however, proudly sing, in the original key, their first hit as a twosome in 1976, You Don’t Have To Be A Star (To Be in My Show).
Simply put, Marilyn and Billy are a class act. They represent a tail end of show business that will be sorely missed in future decades. They were backed by three very gifted female background singers and a five piece band that has toured with them for decades and rightfully so. Together, you feel that a top notch Vegas show had come to Ridgefield, CT.
They were thrilled to share with their fans a couple of cuts off their new album release earlier this year:
“Blackbird: Lennon and McCartney Icons."
Early in the show, the ever smiling and personable Mr. Davis kicked into the Wings classic “Silly Love Songs” and the crowd loved it.
Later in the performance, Marilyn was dazzling with her interpretation of “Blackbird.”
Both selections from their current release were met by standing ovations and Billy and Marilyn couldn’t have been happier.
-- Tom Cuddy
Tom even sent us a few photos he was able to snap at the show ... in COLOR, as he mentioned ... of these two show-biz icons ...
Thanks, Tom ...
We were able to see Marilyn and Billy a few years back at The Arcada Theatre and loved the show. (I remember thinking then, as now, how frail Marilyn McCoo looked up on stage ... but boy, she could sure still belt out their hits!)
Lots of great press for the new CD ... in fact, you'll find all kinds of 5-Star Reviews up on Amazon right now ...
Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr. - Blackbird: Lennon-McCartney Icons - Amazon.com Music
Looking back at my 2016 concert review, I guess I wasn't quite as enthralled as I remembered. Oddly enough, one of the things I took offense to was their eleven song Beatles medley, which eventually became the basis for their well-received "Blackbird" CD. (I remember thinking that during the course of their two hour show they performed more Beatles songs than they did from their own impressive hits catalog ... which, by the way, is also included in this link.)
I have ALWAYS loved Marilyn McCoo's voice ... SO many great tracks. Glad we finally had the chance to see them. (Several years before we had seen the three other original members of the group, still performing as The Fifth Dimension, at the Lisle Eyes To The Skies Festival, a great night of music that also featured Ronnie Rice as the opening act and Felix Cavaliere's Rascals as the headliners.) But if you wanna hear the hits, you wanna hear them performed by these two ... and the incredible and distinctly unique voice of Marilyn McCoo.
Forgotten Hits: Search results for marilyn mccoo and billy davis (forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com)
