Marilyn McCoo?

One less egg to fry

She and her hubby Billy Davis Jr. broke away from the hugely successful Fifth Dimension in the early 70s and had some success as a duo, including their own summer replacement variety TV show.%0D %0D But she's a fundie.%0D %0D When she did SHOW BOAT on Broadway in the 90s, she led prayer meetings with the black ensemble on Sundays before matinees. But when she started preaching about homosex as sinful, she lost her audience.%0D %0D Probably what happened in the music business as well.

This is a name I have not heard in a long time. I am a black female, and looooved her when I was young.

2 words. Berry. Gordy.%0D %0D Diane did whatever it took to reach her level of divadom.

Anti-gay fundy 'splains it all.

Her name was too pigeony

"Love reads, the lines of love in circles and angles, love runs deep, like a tunnel with a pendulum beat." Her voice is good, but like Karen Carpenter's, lacks edge and excitement.

They really did a lot of Laura Nyro songs, more than 3 Dog Night even.

I think she's always been a tad boring, but that suited her well in a singing group.%0D %0D Saw the 1990s Show Boat on B'way with her as Julie and she was perfect in the part. It was the one of best productions I've even seen of any show.

I actually just bought their remastered double CD retrospective (yes, I loved them when I was in high school) and it's dedicated to Laura Nyro.

And all of those Jimmy Webb gems he wrote for them. And when you read the musicians listed on the recordings, they worked with the best.

That bitch fake Barbara McNair at R9, FUCK OFF!%0D %0D I am the REAL Barbara McNair!

She does have a lovely voice; I suspect wanting to preserve her marriage was a greater priority than being a megastar.%0D %0D Rona Barrett made fun of them when McCoo and her husband (Billy something?) moved to the Valley and were astonished to find racial epithets on their house or lawn or something -- this was back in the early 70's, maybe.%0D %0D Anyone else always wonder why her gowns never quite fit? They were always a tad short. Maybe she bought them off the rack.

Wasn't she the host of SOLID GOLD, either before or after Dionne Warwick?%0D %0D I seem to remember that....

Her voice is bland and forgettable, get real. Donna Summer couldn't sound that boring if she tried.

I never knew she was a fundie, but she was beautiful and had a perfect pop voice. She and Billy Davis Jr have been married forever.

Loved her when I was a little girl. Totally wanted to look like her when I grew up. %0D %0D I remember it was a big deal when she was a guest star on IT TAKES A THIEF with Robert Wagner. She played a love interest (no kissing, though. This was 1967-68) who was a famous singer who faked her own death.

She may be tonally superior to Diana Ross, but just compare their versions of Love Hangover and you have your answer (and it's not simply a case of superior arrangement/production).

Not only she is a fundie. She is totally conservative as well.

Marilyn with Peter Allen on SOLID GOLD.%0D %0D I wonder how she felt having to perform with this homosexual....???%0D %0D There are tons of YouTube clips from her days as Host of Solid Gold.....

I don't think Marilyn McCoo was with the Fifth Dimension when they covered Love Hangover. It sounded like a different singer.%0D %0D I'm disappointed that she's a fundied/conservative, but I still love some of their songs and her lovely voice. Can't help it.

She looked white and sounded white. Very pretty voice. Good stage presence, didn't over power the stage. What's wrong with that?

I love her hit "If I Could Reach you" - especially toward the end where you could feel the emotion in her voice. I would have loved to have seen her in Show Boat.

She had a megahit with Saving All My Love For You.

She was on Days of Our Lives for awhile, and it looked like they were gearing up for a big romance with Abe. Then she just disappeared. I blame Deidre Hall.

Nate Lamm, noted vocal coach, called his student Marilyn McCoo the only black woman singer who has no soul.

And don't forget her classic "Last Night (I Couldn't Get to Sleep At All)" - take a Valium like a normal person, beyatch!

"soul" is such a stupid label, music-wise. As Bettye LaVette said: "Anyone who sings with passion and heart is a soul singer. I am an R'N'B singer."

Love ya for that comment, Mia/R16! My sisters and I love that episode to this day! As the youngest kid, the show was way past my bedtime, but whenever that ep ran, I sneaked and crept to the den where my older sibs were. Remember that certain note in the song that triggered an explosive device?

I've always been partial to Nick and Val's "California Soul."

I like Bobby Womack's cover of California Dreamin'.

Marlena Shaw does the best version of "California Soul" - a great song written by Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson.%0D %0D Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell do a great version, as well as the Fifth Dimension's version.

The Fifth Demension always performed on patriotic programs in the late 1960's and early 1970's. Their soul was stuff that Pat Nixon would groove to. I like them, but they were really white bread. I don't know when McCoo became a fundie. I'd rather not think of her thant way. When her home was spotlighted on 'Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous' she was proud to show off the nude portrait of herself and her husband that hangs prominently in their great room.

R32, so did Ray Charles. So?

So? So they weren't concerned with having a social conscience during the Viet Nam war. That meant something during those years.

R34, no, you're wrong. Check out their history.

r33

Ray Charles was proud to show off a nude portrait of himself? Was it in relief?

[quote]Her voice is bland and forgettable, get real. Donna Summer couldn't sound that boring if she tried.

There's actual proof of that. Donna appeared on a Christmas episode of Solid Gold. They sang "O Come All Ye Faithful" together. Halfway through, you can see Marilyn just throw in the towel....

Diane Ross (her real name) was fucking both Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson at the same time, late 60's. Berry got her pregnant but she was already married to that white Jewish guy, can't remember his name. She kept it quiet for 25 years then spilled the beans, I think, on Oprah. The daughter knew years earlier that BG was her father, but the ex hubby didn't until that day. In any case, this is why the no talent Ross got everything she wanted, except true lasting stardom. She's a celebrity, not a star. She made 5 movies and that was it. Only her first, Lady Sings the Blues was a hit and she received an Oscar nomination for it. But, Liza Minnelli beat her out in her Cabaret performance. And, Liza was a better actor and singer. Yes, Ross is a Diva, but you say it like that's a good thing. She hasn't recorded anything in years, and her most recent foray into the public eye was her shameful DUI, caught on tape. She was pitiful. Ross is getting back the years of karma she dished out. Ballard and Wilson the recipient of some of the harshest she had to dish out. It was Ross who got Ballard fired.%0D %0D Anyway, Donna Summer and Marilyn McCoo started their "Aids is God's punishment of homosexual..." bullshit about the same time and neither were heard of again for many many years. Summer's tried to deny she said it years later, but the dumb bitch, it was on TV, on film. Loved her music, hated the two faced bitch. We made her what she was, and dropped her like a bad habit, then she found out what side her bread was buttered on. McCoo had Davis, I don't think she really liked show biz all that much. When her day in the spot light was over, to her it was over. Fun while it lasted but now I gots to go out and talk trash about them homosekchuals...%0D %0D They're all yesterday's news, and like yesterday's news, gratefully forgettable.

Hey Barklina,

One of the lyrics in "Last Night" is "that sleeping pill I took was just a waste of time..."

So she did try that.

I love their second LP "The Magic Garden" -- I think Jimmy Webb penned all the songs for that one, "Paper Cup," "Orange Air," "The Girl's Song"

and all the songs were connected by zithery psychedelic sounds...I thought it was really cool!

Man hands.

I did not know that R38. Shame really.

I still love "Up, Up and Away."

r38

Give it a rest. Ross is hardly the first person in showbusiness to fuck a co-worker/the boss.

Even Mavis Staples, whom one might expect to dismiss Ross, praised her for her performance on Baby Love (Staples' favourite Motown single).

Ross had something - star quality. And if her singing wasn't always top-notch (Diana & Marvin etc.), she had her own sound - the most important quality in the pop radio era.

[quote] The daughter knew years earlier that BG was her father, but the ex hubby didn't until that day.%0D %0D That's just nonsense. Rhonda LOOKED like Berry Gordy. Diana's husband, Bob Ellis (Silberstein) knew that Berry fathered the kid.

Here is Marilyn's webpage - it speaks for itself on so many levels (note that the FIRST page you can click to is "Faith & Ministry")...%0D %0D Whatever you do, DON'T skip the Introduction Page....

what are you talking about R37. Marilyn gave her guest one or two lines to solo and then came right back in with a big finish.

R38, You are a lunatic. Do you think a Black woman could pass off a dark skinned child as the offspring of a white man? %0D %0D Pic of Rhonda and younger brothers below.

I recall when Marilyn McCoo and Andy Gibb co-hosted 'Solid Gold', they sang "Every Breath You Take" to each other! It was damn hilarious!

They actually thought it was a love song! looool Sure, this song had a typical romantic melody that's where the love song ended! Sting was trying to prove that a song can be miss-interepreted if the melody was pretty! He succeeded 100%!

Most people ignored the lyrics of this song, it was written from the perspective of a stalker, yet there were Marilyn and Andy gazing into each others eyes! "I'll be watching you!" Indeed.

Sting must have gotten a huge chuckle out of that performance, even funnier was subsequently hearing that couples had chosen this for their wedding dance.

Diana Ross' daughter with Berry Gordy, looked exactly like him, especially those big bugged out eyes, ! how could her husband have been so stupid?! He must have known, he was simply in denial.

LIZA MINNELLI is a better singer and actress than Diana Ross? ROTFLMAO!%0D %0D R38, honey, you are a gold star Queeny queen.%0D %0D "She kept it quiet for 25 years then spilled the beans, I think, on Oprah"%0D %0D It was on a Barbara Walters special. She confirmed it, it wasn't a bomb that was dropped.

[quote]Summer's tried to deny she said it years later, but the dumb bitch, it was on TV, on film.

Really, then produce the video. I've never seen it and I've been following her since Day 1. Put up or shut up R38. It's about time this shit is laid to rest once and for all.

.

I liked all the cheesy pointing and winking McCoo and Gibb exchanged during that duet.

Diana and children joined by berry. Its like that sesame street game, one of these things are different. The bird like daughters are Robert Ellis Silberstein's.

r44, is correct Bob Silberstein knew Diane was pregnant and married her BECAUSE BG asked him to, in order to avoid scandal. They were friends. Bob was more involved than Diane and they went on the have two more girls before Diane left to sleep her way through white male Hollywood: Ryan O'neal, Gene Simmons, and a whole legion unnamed.%0D %0D On a side note, I heard... that Billy used to whip Marilyn's ass something awful. Don't know if this is really true though.

R51, what has that video got to do with Donna Summer and her alleged comment? Hmmm?

I'm with R42. I think "Up" is probably my favorite FD song and "One Less Bell To Answer" is a very close second. I'm pretty sure "Up" was used in an airline commercial back in the 60's - I remember it as a kid, but it's a perfect song, it sounds exactly like you're flying up away in a balloon.%0D %0D I remember the It Takes A Thief episode too - I loved the song they sang "Puppet Man" I think it was called. ITAT had a cool theme song of its own - we used to blast the volumne on the TV when it came on.

"Love ya for that comment, Mia/[R16]! My sisters and I love that episode to this day! As the youngest kid, the show was way past my bedtime, but whenever that ep ran, I sneaked and crept to the den where my older sibs were. Remember that certain note in the song that triggered an explosive device?"%0D %0D OMIGOD, yes! The note at the end of the song. Too weird. I remember the great Beah Richards (poor lady played everyones' mother. I think she was only 2 years older than Sidney Poitier when she played his in GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER) standing over Marilyn's grave screaming "SHE'S ALIVE! SHE'S ALIVE!" %0D %0D The only "love scene" she got with RW was sitting close to him on a couch and hinting that they MAY have had a "relationship" in the past. %0D %0D Ah, the 60's. Weren't they grand?%0D %0D (back at 'cha, #28!)%0D %0D

R55, I'm not R50. I just happened to post a random video after R50's comment.

They had many good songs. I miss acts who actually featured the song and it's lyrics more than their own personality.

To all the IT TAKES A THIEF fans, this one's for you -%0D %0D

R48, With berry's networth at 325 million dollars, I somehow think inheriting his eyes is not a problem.%0D %0D To think that jermaine jackson was married to berry's other daughter and is now pennyless must hurt like heck.%0D %0D How much money did Diana's sons inherited from their billionaire dad?

how come Fifth Dimension got One Less Beel before Dionne Warwick?

One Less Bell was actually offered to Barbra Streisand first, but she turned it down.

The bitch did not have a mountain high enough, end of story.

Warwick had chosen to release a live recording of 'Make It Easy on Yourself', and The Fifth Demension got the hit when it was released less than a month later. Warwick then had her tiff, which left her career rudderless for four years. The Fifth Demension's late year hit with 'One Less Bell To Answer' gave them the momentum to continue charting throughout the early 1970's which was a mass extinction period for most acts of the late 1960's.

Maybe Warwick's tiff was the result of not being offered Bell first. We'll really never know for sure.

No, we will not, r66.

Wasn't the tiff because Bacharach and David parted ways after the failure of Lost Horizon, leaving Warwick in the lurch (I believe they were contracted to write for her).

Warwcik loathed McCoo after she took the "Solid Gold" co-hosting job. Warwick had initally been fired after the first season because ratings weren't good and an attempt to pair her with a co-host (Tanya Tucker) almost ended with a brawl in Warwick's dressing room.%0D %0D Warwick said McCoo was too eager to take the job and likened her to a house maid who loves pleasing the white people.%0D

My brother called her Marilyn Mulatto.

Because Marilyn was stuck with her mediocre-singing husband as a duo - that's why, OP.

One of the greatest pop vocals of all time.

r72

Petula & Peggy did it better (second part of the vid)

You don't have to be a star -

For some unfathomable reason, I read Barbara Bush's autobiography in the 90s. (I guess I was bored.) She was writing about a concert given at the White House by, among others, "fabulous black singer Marilyn McCoo." It made me laugh, a la "my blatino husbear."

R16/Mia: I totally wanted to look like her, too!%0D %0D The other woman of the 70s was Linda Day George

Here is Linda today:

Marilyn proving she's gay friendly -

I don't remember. Did we really have to qualify people by color, first off, back in the 90's? %0D %0D I don't remember doing it then. Felt like it was over.%0D %0D I find myself being called upon to do it more now.%0D %0D

r61 Diana's billionaire husband died broke from what I remember.

Billy Davis is kind of ecchy for a beauty like Marilyn.

She should've got together with Billie Davis

R69, that's nonsense.

Whatever R83.%0D %0D - After Warwick was fired, she was replaced by singers Andy Gibb and Marilyn Mccoo. Warwick had a few unkind words to say about McCoo. "I'm angry at her and it's not sour grapes. She came in with an "I'll do anything you want me to" attitude. She would have done anything to get that job. I know she needed the job, but I didn't like her attitude. She came in at a subserviant position, which is not right for a black woman...."%0D %0D Ebony, May 1983 - "Dionne Warwick Speaks out for Strong Black Women"

Dionne Warwick sounds like a complete bitch.

So a black woman is supposed to be impolite when trying to gain an important job? What was Warwick's attitude when she was doing Psychic Friend's ads?

Warwick returned to the show in 1985 for a season. How did that come about?

Marilyn was not only more beautiful than homely Dionne, she was a better singer -- that's why DW hated her!!!!

[quote]Petula & Peggy did it better (second part of the vid)

Not better just different. My Mother always said that Peggy Lee never showed her arms because she was a heroin addict and had bad track marks. This was in 70's and she knew or thought this I have no idea but going thru YouTube I haven't found any of her later in life with arms exposed.

r38 = vilanch

[quote] Summer's tried to deny she said it years later, but the dumb bitch, it was on TV, on film.

That's the most ridiculous claim about that ancient rumor, she said it on TV. If that were true the footage would've been all over YouTube years ago. Never heard from again? Her last album in 2008 made the Top 20 (which Diana hasn't since 1981) and it spawned 3 #1 dance chart hits. Donna currently has the highest debuting single on the dance chart ("To Paris With Love"), in a few weeks she'll have scored her 4th #1 dance chart hit in a two year period. She's staging a comeback with 2 new albums she's recording simultaneously, and she's planning to appear on Broadway. Donna has a vastly superior voice to Marilyn or Diana, they aren't even in her league.

McCoo had a much more pleasing voice, Warwick's approach was always to highlight the song, not herself. Donna kind of bellowed as far as I'm concerned, but it didn't matter because her voice was background to trifling music set to the disco beat. It's fun noise, but it's not really music in the sense that McCoo and Warwick performed.

I second R40 -- "The Magic Garden" was an overlooked gem, great Jimmy Webb songs and wonderful performances. They just picked the wrong cuts as singles -- nothing much happened with "Carpet Man" or "Paper Cup", while The Brooklyn Bridge later covered "The Worst That Could Happen" and had a big hit. I think "The Girls Song" would have been the hit single. It still sounds great 40 years later.

But R93, "Magic Garden" was a hit - just not for them:

"[R48], With berry's networth at 325 million dollars, I somehow think inheriting his eyes is not a problem."

Jeez, simmer down, I was simply pointing out that Rhonda actually looked more like Berry than she did Diana. Because of that, Diana's husband should have picked up the resemblance to Berry quickly, not many years later.

I think Silberstein actually knew, but remained in denial, at least where the press were concerned.

R94, where and when was "Magic Garden" a hit for Dusty Springfield? If her Wikipedia discography is accurate, it never even charted in the U.S., U.K., Ireland, Canada, or Australia. Other sources suggest it was never even released as a single.

Wow, I had no idea Dusty covered "Magic Garden," and I thought I knew everything about her, one of the greatest singers EVER.

"Magic Garden" is not a hit type of song, it doesn't have the requisite memorable hook. I have the cd of "Magic Garden" and it's okay but kinda dull. I think "Worst that Could Happen" was already a hit by Brooklyn Bridge before the 5th's version. "The Girl's Song" sounds like a Burt Bacharach. And "Requiem" is probably the best song on the album.

Who had a personal vendetta against Marilyn McCoo besides Dionne Warwick?

r99

Barbara McNair

The remaining 3 members of the Fifth Dimension - after Marilyn & Billy went solo, the group never had another hit record.%0D %0D Look at the link

Thanks, r100.

Dionne Warwick has always been a huge bitch.

Yep.

Dionne's a bitch because she's got an ugly mug. Her voice was never that big or powerful, either. Serviceable for the tunes, but not dynamic, like Cher.

Dionne had an amazing unique voice back in the early 60s with Bacharach and David, but once things stopped going her way - the songwriting team broke up, her records stopped selling, and her voice dropped and narrowed because she smoked - she was pushed out of the way.%0D %0D It probably first killed her then thrilled her to watch the career progress of her own niece, Whitney Houston. Another great voice with a great career who threw it all away.

Great Thread! I thought Dusty recorded "One Less Bell" first. I know she recorded "Close To You" first.

I never liked Whitney Houston's voice or records, bland and too MOR. At least Dionne had great tunes written by Bacharach-David. Whitney's whole career is a bunch of crap songs and oversinging. She's not subtle and not a good interpreter, like Linda Ronstadt.

R106, if you were Cissy you'd know that Whitney is Dionne's COUSIN. %0D %0D Dionne's mother is Cissy Houston's older SISTER. %0D %0D Anyway, Dionne indeed had more musical chops than McCoo, and also more soul and character.%0D %0D McCoo was prettier, I'll give you that.%0D %0D Bacharach & David used Dionne exclusively for a decade to sing their song creations, and Dionne would be there helping with the songwriting, offering interpretations that would influence the music.%0D %0D Occasionally, a single would get offered to other artists, like Dusty Springfield, Karen Carpenter, etc. And Dionne was friends with these women, and would often suggest that they sing these songs. To call Dionne a racist is silly, when she was having her bread buttered by white composers and white audiences, and was also suggesting offering songs to white artists.%0D %0D Now, the Fifth Dimension, Cilla Black, Aretha Franklin, and other artists were somehow managing to get the rights to perform versions of songs previously sung by Dionne. THAT'S where the issue of Dionne becoming a diva comes from. And she was one of the biggest divas in show business. A shrewd businesswoman, and a ruthless pirate of the seas when she felt double crossed.%0D %0D As soon as artists started doing covers of Bacharach/David songs that were written for HER, she started doing covers of THEIR songs to spite them. This did her no favors in the music business.%0D %0D Now, Bacharach/David's split due to Lost Horizon in 1974 is indeed what caused Warner Brothers to drop her from its label. But what happened first was that WB sued Dionne for not fulfilling her contracted number of albums.%0D %0D At that time, she was divorcing her husband, and raising two baby boys. She was resigned to going back to teaching music, and did that for a time. %0D %0D But, she was also used to a certain lifestyle, after having 13 years in the spotlight. So THAT's when all the covers of Aretha, Fifth Dimension, and other artists started happening. Also, she started doing other Bacharach/David songs not written for her, and also songs by established soul acts who were friends of hers, like Isaac Hayes. She was trying to tap into her market in a desperate way and felt entitled to it. WB continued its pressure on Dionne to finish her contract of albums, and then she was forced to sue Bacharach/David for their abandoning their end of the contract with WB. THIS is what caused the riff between them and Dionne, and it didn't happen until Dionne had tried everything to keep the contract going, and keep her career afloat.%0D %0D Then along came Isaac Hayes, a good friend to her, who had her sing with him on his tour in the late 70's. That led to her meeting Barry Manilow and recording Deja Vu, written by Isaac, and produced by Manilow. They were inspired and created the album 'Dionne' in 1979...which earned Grammys for her, and sort of relaunched her career, and that's what got her the gig on Solid Gold.%0D %0D The irony of McCoo jumping in to get the gig, when McCoo and Dionne had a salty relationship anyhow due to their past, was what caused Dionne to make that horrible comment about her.%0D %0D Not really defending Dionne so much as bringing up the other details surrounding all the shit around her and McCoo.

Actually, the first recording of "One Less Bell" was by Keely Smith in 1967, followed closely by a just-about-to-enter-rehab Rosemary Clooney in 1968.%0D %0D The 5th Dimension's hit didn't happen until 1970, and Dionne didn't get around to it until 1972.%0D %0D I wonder why Bacharach and David didn't offer to Dionne first, like they did all their other songs....

R110, it's likely that Dionne had a plateful of songs, and she did have her pick of songs, especially the ones she cottoned to right off the bat.%0D %0D If you listen to the melody of One Less Bell, it's quite more subdued than the intricate samba inspired melodies of the other late 60's early 70's work of theirs. %0D %0D Dionne, as I mentioned above, started recording her versions of other artists' songs, when things started to get tense. She had it in her contract that there was a right of first offer for most, if not all songs. I think she indeed had the right to go ahead and re-do any/all B&D songs that she hadn't initially done.

Dionne Troll, you totally skipped the few years she worked with Thom Bell, one of the gurus of Philly Soul. Her first comeback is when she sang "Then Came You" with the Spinners which went to number one. She then did an entire album with Bell "Track of the Cat" which flopped.

Cher's version of "Alfie" is so much more honest and powerful than bland Dionne's.

R112, those were Warner Brothers albums, so they fit into the 'desperation period' I described. %0D %0D I was trying to confine my long rant to the feuds and McCoo stuff.%0D %0D

Yeah, really, who'd suspect that Marilyn would get 115 posts? Or Nic Larson, 57? I just posted that one on a whim, quickly. Maybe someone should do a concert trib or Loser's Lounge tribute to Nic?

When did Dionne come to terms with her homosexuality, if ever?

I like pretty black women with bland white features because they're non-threatening. They usually have neutral expressions, like pageant contestants.

Now that I think about it, their expressions never give anything away. What are they thinking? Are they in some blissful, zen place, or is it possible that they are they masking anger?

I'm starting to feel uneasy.

>>>Cher's version of "Alfie" is so much more honest and powerful than bland Dionne's%0D %0D Cher? LOL.%0D %0D For $0.89, you can own a MUCH better version by Carmen McRae:

Next?

I don't like Carmen McCrae, Cher's is the defining version of "Alfie," it was also the biggest hit.

Cilla Black is the original version of "Alfie" and also the best.%0D %0D

R120, I don't like Carmen McCrae either. I like Carmen McRAE.

Cher's the most popular and best singer out of all the one's mentioned. She's had more hits and can put across a song better than Carmen McCraw or Cilla Black (who?) - she's had a hit in every decade since the 60s.

Cilla Black is known only in England and Cher is known internationally. For good reason. Cilla is not a powerful singer. She doesn't translate across the Atlantic.

Cilla not a powerful singer?

She was a powerhouse on You're My World!

I'm not exactly a Cilla Black fan. My God, did she lack finesse, but one thing she DID have in the 1960s was power and range. Your My World demonstrates that.

Cher is a pop star. She's never been a singer.

I'm not fond of the arrangement but Dee Dee Warwick's vocal performance of Alfie is my favourite (apologies for the sound quality).

Cher's version of Alfie was a comparitive flop, r120. Dionne Warwick had the highest-charting version in the US.

As for Warwick covering songs, she did that from BEGINNING of her record career - like nearly all other pop singers of the day. As for other artists "stealing" Warwick's thunder, she wasn't above that herself, e.g. Reach Out For Me (Lou Johnson).

I oftened wondered about that, too, OP. Miss McCoo was very beautiful and talented- no doubt she still is, although I haven't heard anything about her for several years.%0D %0D I often go around the house singing at the top of my lungs "One less bell to answer! One less egg to fry! One less man to pick up after! I should be happy.... but all I do is crrryyyy!"

Cilla recording "Alfie" with Burt Bacharach.

I agree about Dionne's sister Dee Dee. She was a very underrated singer. Just heart wrenching, in a good way. She died tragically a few years back.%0D %0D But to settle the little argument above, Cher indeed recorded the very first version of 'Alfie', and it was for the movie soundtrack. Feel free to read this Wiki link if you don't believe me, R121.

While we're looking at Alfies, which I'm thrilled over, let's look at a live version of Dionne's on The Mike Douglas Show. She was just undergoing divorce proceedings against her husband, and knew her career was going downhill. You can see it in every moment.

If you mention the name Cilla Black to any one on the street, they're gonna say Cilla WHO? %0D %0D But EVERYONE knows Cher!!!!!

r61 -- with his complicated financial ties to the mob and accounts kept in foreign markets (royalties never forwarded to Detroit), Gordy's cash worth is questionable. Plus he's always used money as a weapon, especially to control the women and performers around him. There may not be that much ready cash available.

Ross' Norwegian husband resigned from his restricted Greenwich CT country club when he married Ross because they would not allow her and her children to be members, only guests. %0D %0D When they divorced, he re-upped with the club, first thing. He died in a skiing accident, I think.%0D %0D Whatever else we think about Ross, you'll have to admit she did a good job raising her kids. One of Naess' sons had some minor legal problem a few years ago (anyone?) but the rest seem to have done quite well and stayed out of trouble.

Pandora tries to throw some Cilla Black at me but she is just unlistenable. Who cares if you have vocal power if you lack finesse and your voice is so ugly?

R135, celebrites do not raise their own kids.

Cilla Black is never. gonna. happen. Cher keeps happenin' - last nite at the VMAs with Lady for instance. Her voice is better.

Has no one mentioned *my* recording of "Alfie" ?

Girls, PLEASE !

r138

So does Madonna. They both have shitty voices.

Cher needs to give it up. Why can't she just stop because she's making a damn fool of herself. I'm so glad Marilyn McCoo never had to go to the slutty route and trying to keep up with the twenty somethings. Lord have mercy. What is this world coming to?

Marilyn NcCoo and Billy Davis Jr. was with the 5th Demension! I have seen pictures of the on the Internet and there was Marilyn abd Billy right there! Enough said!

I don't care what any of these singers stand for. It's the music and the vocals that count! Marilyn McCoo has the emotions, Barbra Streisand has the vocals, and Dionne Warwick has the interpretations of the lyrics. All of their songs are classics and will remain part of our culture forever!

Her Wiki says she has 8 Grammys. That's more than Janet Jackson.

I have never understood why there was only one less egg to fry.

I don't think I could take a man seriously if he only ate one fried egg.

I have no idea why this has bugged me since I was a child listening to the song on an 8track.

Her man had high cholesterol R145.

You Cher bashers need to get a grip. There is a reason for her longevity in show business. When I think of Alfie, I think of Cher's original version. Warwick's was technically proficient but seriously lacks feeling,

Tru dat.

[quot]and will remain part of our culture forever!

Just like Miss Nora Bayes and Eva Tanguay, the singing sensations of yesteryear!

I like eggs.

Just saw her on PBS. Looks amazing!

Still sounds amazing too

leave her alone, haters.

MMC & BDJ lived on my street in Encino, CA in the '70s. What I remember most......in the early '70s, a HUGE cross was burned into their front lawn (with gasoline) while they were out of town. I was very young, 6 or 7.....and I remember my mother trying to explain to me what that all meant -- the symbolism of the burning cross, the KKK, etc.

It seems even stranger to me now -- because it's not like Encino was the Deep South. It's always been predominantly white (and Jewish), but in the 70's, there were quite a few prominent African-Americans in music/showbiz living there (the Jacksons, Richard Pryor, etc).

I was a great black singer, too.

R155 And Tom Daley is into Black men.

This black man would like to get into Tom Daley.

She aligns herself with the clear teaching of the Bible. She is on the winning team.

... and all I do is cry!

I watched a Soul Train episode from 1976 today, featuring Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. During Don's interview, McCoo and Davis mentioned an upcoming performance in Georgia. Don commented that as he understood it "our next president might be from Georgia". The expression on McCoo's face is priceless.

I don't believe that anyone here mentioned that both of McCoo's parents were physicians. They met in medical school. Her paternal grandfather was also a physician.

Too white....