''Portrait'' is the fifth album by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

group The 5th Dimension, released in 1970 (see

1970 in music List of notable events in music that took place in the year 1970. __TOC__ Specific locations * 1970 in British music * 1970 in Norwegian music Specific genres *1970 in country music * 1970 in heavy metal music *1970 in jazz Events *Janua ...

). This is the group's first album for

Bell Records Bell Records was an American record label founded in 1952 in New York City by Arthur Shimkin, the owner of the children's record label Golden Records, and initially a unit of Pocket Books, after the rights to the name were acquired from Benny ...

, having switched from the Soul City Records label. The cover features an impressionistic portrait by famous artist LeRoy Neiman. The album languished in the mid-60s on the Billboard Top 200 Album Charts after the release of its first three singles, none of which entered the Top 20 of the American pop music charts. Bell Records, hoping to see a return on the investment they made by signing The 5th Dimension after the group's contract at Soul City Records ended, made a fourth and final attempt at a hita relatively uncommon practice at the timewith the release of Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "

One Less Bell to Answer "One Less Bell to Answer" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Originally written in 1967 for Keely Smith, the song was rediscovered in late 1969 by Bones Howe, the producer for the 5th Dimension, and the song was included on the g ...

". The single rose all the way to #2 by Christmas 1970, becoming one of the group's greatest hits of all time. As a result, ''Portrait'' began climbing the charts once again, eventually peaking at #20. The single features Marilyn McCoo on lead vocal, and ushers in The 5th Dimension's transition from pop to adult contemporary artists. McCoo from this point became the primary vocalist for the group's subsequent chart hits, including "Last Night (I Didn't Get to Sleep at All)", "Love's Lines, Angles and Rhymes", "Never My Love", "If I Could Reach You", "House for Sale", "Everything's Been Changed" and "Flashback". This became a source of friction for the group as time went on, and was in part responsible for McCoo and husband Billy Davis, Jr. leaving the group after the release of ''

Earthbound ''EarthBound'', released in Japan as is a role-playing video game developed by Creatures (company), Ape Inc. and HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The second entry in the Mother (video game s ...

'' in 1975.

Track listing

;Side one #"Puppet Man" ( Howard Greenfield, Neil Sedaka) – 3:00 #"

" (

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Gra ...

, Hal David) – 3:31 #" Feelin' Alright?" ( Dave Mason) – 4:28 #"This Is Your Life" ( Jimmy Webb) – 4:13 #"A Love Like Ours" (

Bob Alcivar Bob Alcivar (born July 8, 1938, in Chicago, Illinois) is an American music producer, composer, conductor and keyboard player. He is the father of rock keyboard player Jim Alcivar ( Montrose, Gamma). Discography Film *''Butterflies Are Free'' ...

, Lamonte McLemore) – 2:39 ;Side two #

" Save the Country" ( Laura Nyro) – 2:39 #"Medley" – 10:12 #*"The Declaration" (words are from the U.S. Declaration of Independence, the only known setting of it to music) (Julius Johnsen, René DeKnight) from the play "Bread, Beans & Things" #*" A Change Is Gonna Come" (

Sam Cooke Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred ...

) #*" People Gotta Be Free" ( Eddie Brigati, Felix Cavaliere) #"Dimension 5ive" (

) – 4:15 ;Bonus track on CD #

On the Beach (In the Summertime) "On the Beach (In the Summertime)" is a song written by Landy McNeil and performed by The 5th Dimension. It reached No. 12 on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart, No. 29 in Canada, and No. 54 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1970. The song was ...

" (Landy McNeil) – 3:28

Personnel

Billy Davis, Jr. Billy Davis Jr. (born June 26, 1938) is an American singer and musician, best known as a member of the 5th Dimension. Along with his wife Marilyn McCoo, he had hit records during 1976 and 1977 with "I Hope We Get to Love in Time", " Your Love", ...

- lead vocals (tracks 3, 7), background vocals * Florence LaRue - lead vocals (tracks 1, 4), background vocals * Marilyn McCoo - lead vocals (tracks 1–2), background vocals * Lamonte McLemore - lead vocals (track 5), background vocals * Ron Townson - lead vocals (track 9), background vocals Additional personnel *Michael Anthony - electric guitar * Mike Deasy - electric guitar *Dennis Budimir -

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

* Tommy Tedesco - rhythm guitar *

Fred Tackett Fred Tackett (born August 30, 1945) is an American songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Originally a session player on guitar, mandolin, and trumpet, he is best known as a member of the band Little Feat. In addition to his work with Little F ...

- finger pickin' guitar *

Joe Osborn Joseph Osborn (August 28, 1937 – December 14, 2018bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

* Hal Blaine -

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

s, percussion * Larry Bunker -

congas The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest) ...

, mallets, percussion, drums *Gary Coleman - mallets, percussion * Larry Knechtel - piano,

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

, tack piano * Jimmy Rowles - piano *Gary Illingworth -

electric piano An electric piano is a musical instrument which produces sounds when a performer presses the keys of a piano-style musical keyboard. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings, metal reeds or wire tines, leading to vibrations ...

- arranger

Production

As mentioned on the liner notes of the album, this was one of the first albums to be recorded on a 16-track recorder, and was recorded at the Wally Heider Studios in Hollywood. The sketches of the vocal recording sessions included in the album cover art are dated January 13 and January 14, 1970. *Producer: Bones Howe *Engineer: Bones Howe *Mastering: Elliot Federman *Digital transfers: Mike Hartry *Reissue producer: Rob Santos *Production coordination: Jeremy Holiday *Production assistant: Bones Howe, Ann McClelland, Tom Tierney, Russ Wapensky *Product manager: Mandana Eidgah *Project coordinator: Arlessa Barnes, Glenn Delgado, Christina DeSimone, Karyn Friedland, Felicia Gearhart, Laura Gregory, Robin Manning, Brooke Nochomson, Ed Osborne, Larry Parra, Dana Renert, Bill Stafford, Steve Strauss *Archivist: Joanne Feltman, Glenn Korman *Research: Joel Whitburn *Assistants: Larry Cox, Johnny Golden, Rik Pekkonen *Arranger: Bob Alcivar, Bill Holman, Bones Howe *Art direction: Beverly Weinstein *Reissue art director: Mathieu Bitton *Design: Mathieu Bitton *Cover painting: LeRoy Neiman *Liner notes: Mike Ragogna

Charts

Album Singles

References

{{Authority control The 5th Dimension albums 1970 albums Albums produced by Bones Howe Bell Records albums