Growing up singing in gospel choirs from the age of eight, Billy Davis Jr.
started out with a band called The Emeralds and bought his own cocktail lounge
in St. Louis where he performed until he was drafted into the US Army and
stationed in Germany. Returning home in 1965, he initially sought an audition
with Motown Records (the big label for young, black artists at the time) but
instead joined a five-piece vocal group in Los Angeles, which included his
friend Lamonte McLemore and future wife Marilyn McCoo. They became The 5th
Dimension and had their big breakthrough hit with the...