Florence LaRue Gordon

Florence LaRue (born February 4, 1942) is an American singer and actress, best known as an original member of the 5th Dimension vocal group.

She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education from California State University, Los Angeles.

In 1966, LaRue was approached by Lamonte McLemore and Marilyn McCoo to join their recently formed group the 5th Dimension. LaRue nearly always sang female lead on one song per album, with McCoo taking the lead on one song as well; otherwise she sang the alto voice parts along with McCoo's soprano, being featured prominently on Stoned Soul Picnic, or shared the lead with McCoo on songs including "Blowing Away", "Puppet Man", "Save the Country", and "Sweet Blindness". After McCoo's departure, LaRue was lead singer on hit songs including "Love Hangover" (1976).

As a member of the 5th Dimension, LaRue received six Grammy Awards, including Grammy Award for Record of the Year for "Up, Up and Away" (1968) and "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" (1969).

LaRue appeared in the CBS movie of the week Happy with Dom DeLuise. She also performed in the national tour of Broadway's Tony Award winning musical Ain't Misbehavin, and starred in the Toronto and Calgary productions of Mo' Magic.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.