Today’s classic song of the day is from two former 5th Dimensioners, the wife-and-husband team of Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr.. The song is “You Don’t Have to Be a Star (To Be in My Show)” and, when it was released in September of 1976, went all the way to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles charts. It also went to #6 on Billboard’s Easy Listening chart and hit #1 in Canada.
“You Don’t Have to Be a Star (To Be in My Show)” was written by the former Motown songwriting team of James Dean and John Glover; Dean is best known for co-writing “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted” for Jimmy Ruffin. “You Don’t Have to Be a Star” won Marilyn and Billy a Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance.
As noted, Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. were founding members of the 5th Dimension, and sang on all their big hits. The two of them married in 1969. They left the 5th Dimension in 1975 and began performing as a duo. Together, they had several moderate hits and one big one, today’s classic song of the day.
Marilyn and Billy celebrated their 56th wedding anniversary on July 26, 2025. That’s a good run for any married couple, let alone one in show business. They continue to perform together today.
And here’s today’s daily bonus video of the day, Billy and Marilyn performing “You Don’t Have to Be a Star” on the January 24, 1977, episode of The Captain and Tennille Show. Good stuff.
