Florence LaRue

THE AGE OF GRACE

The 5th Dimension’s Florence LaRue Embraces the Wisdom of Her Years

BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH

IN JUNE, “SUMMER OF SOUL” brought a fresh new wave of attention to the unifying message of The 5th Dimension. The Questlove-directed film presented highlights of an historic 1969 performance from the band. From 1967 through 1973, the original line-up released a string of anthemic pop and R&B hits including “Wedding Bell Blues,” “One Less Bell to Answer,” “Stoned Soul Picnic” and their best-known hits “Up,Up and Away” and “Medley: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In.” The band sold over 35 million albums, were awarded six Grammys and toured the world. Today, the “champagne soul” quartet is still anchored by co-founder Florence LaRue. In addition to her busy touring schedule, she has just published her first book. Grace in Your Second Act: A Guide to Aging Gracefully finds the 77-year-old singer reflecting on her career and positively embracing her wellearned seniority. The book is a thoroughly enjoyable manual for finding faith, freedom and beauty within the aging process. Along the way, she offers tips on everything from diet to decluttering, presenting a wholesome look at life from the unique perspective of an internationally known recording artist and Christian greatgrandmother. LaRue recently spoke with INsite by phone from her home in southern California.

Thanks for writing such a positive, uplifting book. Even an old, jaded guy, like myself, can enjoy it. Well, thank you. I’ve been getting very good response from it. Surprisingly, although I wrote it with seniors in mind, especially women, a lot of men have been telling me that they have learned a lot from it.

Music fans will certainly enjoy it, because you’ve included a wealth of your own personal entertainment history, as well. I learned a lot about you that I didn’t know. Well, I have a few more secrets that I’ll share in my autobiography, but you can’t kiss and tell all at once. I’m really pleased that a lot of the young people are enjoying the book. Because, as you know, when you’re young, you really don’t think about getting older and becoming mature because you’re so busy enjoying life. But we have to prepare for our senior years by taking care of our bodies, minds and souls. That’s why I wrote the book, it’s all about being healthy - mentally, physically and spiritually. If you take care of all of that when you’re younger, you’ll have a much better ‘second act.’

Absolutely. Walk us through the process of the project. Was this book a product of the pandemic when you had some downtime from the road? Well yes and no. I’ve been working on it for about six years. People would often say, ‘How do you have such energy at your age, and what do you do to look the way you do? You should write a book.’ I would always say, ‘Oh, I don’t need to write a quote, unquote, beauty book. There’s so many out there already.’ If I was going to write a book, I know I wanted it to be something different and fun but would also bless people. Then with the pandemic, we weren’t on the road and I finally had time to really focus on it.

As you said, when it comes to aging in general, it’s easy to not think about it. Or maybe we just don’t want to think about it. But there’s usually a wake-up call at some point. You’re right and I definitely had an awakening about it. I remember it clearly. One day I was washing my face and I looked in the mirror. ‘Wow. I’m not a girl anymore. I’m a woman.’ It seemed like it was a very sudden realization. There’s a saying, and I’ve realized it truly is a fact: the older you get, the faster time flies. I’ve been singing for over 50 years now. But we can’t fear the process. It’s just a time to realize your blessings. You can worry about it or you can say, ‘Well thank God we’ve lived as long as we have and stayed as healthy as we are.’ That is a decidedly positive way to look at it because people are often frightened by the prospect of getting older - and what comes next. I truly believe that if you have a faith base, no matter what religion you are, and you continue to live life and help other people, without being self-centered, then you really don’t have to fear aging. Because, let’s face it, we certainly can’t stop it. People have tried, but it just doesn’t work, does it? Well, you know, some people just don’t realize they can still be productive at any age. I went to see Tony Bennett a while back. He was 90 years old. He performed a show at the Hollywood Bowl and he was fantastic! But you have to just continue to set goals in life as it goes along. Sometimes people ask me when I’m going to retire. But I have no plans on retiring. At some point, I may change my career and do more speaking or writing. I hope to be active and to be productive for as long as the Lord lets me live. The core message of the book, which is inspirational on many levels, is to find a reason for being and stick

MUSIC IS JUST ONE WAY TO SEE with it. It’s not only about finding that inner light

THE WAYS IN WHICH PEOPLE and embracing it but FROM DIFFERENT PERSONALITIES, maintaining a healthy

DIFFERENT RACES, DIFFERENT lifestyle in order to fuel the LANGUAGES AND YES, DIFFERENT machine. Your tips about AGES, CAN WORK TOGETHER FOR THE BEST OF EVERYTHING. BUT NO MATTER WHAT WE’RE DOING, OR HOW OLD WE ARE, WE STILL NEED TO LEARN TOLERANCE AND maintaining a proper diet, for example, are encouraging for any age. I can’t tell anyone how to eat, because everyone’s body is different. Everyone LOVE FOR EACH OTHER. needs different things but I can suggest certain ways of eating to stay healthy. For instance, I eat organic. I’m not going to preach about it, but I think t would help everyone and it’s easy to do. The food we eat is just another way of staying connected, just like creating music or being creative in any other way. It all works together for our well-being. Speaking of music, one of the tips you offer on staying connected, being present and remaining vital is to ‘listen to today’s music’ - whether you like it or not. That really resonates. Unfortunately, I don’t know as much as I would like to know about today’s music. But I listen to it so I’ll know, first of all, how the young people are thinking. Because music really will show you what’s going on in people’s minds. Music is such a vital mode of expression, whether it’s thinking about who’s listening to it, actually making it and who it is ultimately influencing. I’ve realized that musicians have such a great responsibility with their talents, because it really, really affects people. In so many ways. Thanks to “Summer Of Soul” and your ongoing version of the band, the music of the 5th Dimension has been reaching a whole new generation of listeners. I’m so blessed to have been a part of that music. And I am very proud of the fact that The 5th Dimension today, even though I’m the only original member, we still use those same arrangements. We still sing the music as it was performed back when it was new. People come to hear those songs to remember. I know they don’t want to hear an updated version or a rap version of their favorite 5th Dimension song.

You’re recreating the songs without recycling them. Right, it’s nostalgia for the people who are listening. They always come up after the show, ‘Oh, don’t stop.’ I won’t be doing this forever, but I’ll be doing it for as long as the Lord allows. I believe our music painted a beautiful picture and because of that, it made memories. I suppose with the young people, their music will paint a memory, also. Now whether it’s a pleasant memory or not, that we don’t know. But I do think it’s good to have an open mind about every kind of music, as I said, to at least listen and see where people are coming from.

It circles right back to the message of maintaining an open line of communication. Exactly, music is just one way to see the ways in which people from different personalities, different races, different languages and yes, different ages, can work together for the best of everything. But no matter what we’re doing, or how old we are, we still need to learn tolerance and love for each other.

Do you think that’s possible in today’s segmented, often acrimonious world? Oh yes, I think it’s definitely possible If I didn’t think so, I would be miserable. But we have to set an example for each other to follow. We have to give our grace to other people.