Famous Fivesomes
When you say the words Famous Fivesomes, The Jackson Five becomes top of mind. With the electric performances of Michael Jackson, the band shot to stardom almost immediately.
The brothers were inseparable, and their popularity was almost unparalleled except for a certain British group. But they certainly weren’t the only fivesome to hit the music and pop culture scene.
Many singing groups, including The Fifth Dimension, enjoyed great success but didn’t compare to the Jackson Five. Not only did The Jackson Five have a Saturday morning cartoon show, but their likenesses could also be seen on everything from Lunch Boxes to T-shirts.
They had their own Variety TV Show that featured their sisters. A 1992 mini-series celebrated their story, The Jackson Five an American Dream. Think of five, think of The Jacksons.
But there have been many other Famous Fivesomes who stepped into the limelight and others that exist in the world and nature. So let’s get started.
Notable Groups of Five
- Digits in a Standard Zip Code – First digit: a certain group of U.S. states. Second and third digits: Represent a region or city. Fourth and Fifth digits: Represent a group of delivery addresses.
- Boroughs of New York City – Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island.
- Five Questions in Journalism – Who, What, Why, When, and How.
- Countries that Border Argentina – Uruguay, Chile, Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay.
- Books of the Torah – Be-reshit, Shemot, Va-yikra, Be-midbar, and Devarim.
- Books in the Bible – Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Genesis, and Deuteronomy.
- Stages of Grief – Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance.
- Five Military Branches – Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard.
- David had five pebbles to shoot at Goliath.
- Basic Pillars of Islam – 1.) Profession of faith. 2.) Prayer. 3.) Alms. 4.) Fasting. 5.) Pilgrimage.
- Chanel No. 5 was Coco Chanel’s first perfume. She named it that because she considered five to be her lucky number.
- Five Vowels in the English Language – A, E, I, O, and U.
- Music Notes on a Staff.
See Famous Threesomes and Trios.
Famous Fivesomes
- The Rat Pack.
- Original Power Rangers.
- The Addams Family.
- Yo Gabba Gabba.
- The Fifth Dimension.
- The Gang in the Mystery Machine – Scooby, Shaggy, Velma, Fred, and Daphne.
- Spice Girls – Baby, Sporty, Posh, Ginger, and Scary.
- Teen Titans – Robin, Beast Boy, Cyborg, Raven, and Starfire.
- The Simpsons.
- My Three Sons the Original Cast.
- The Incredibles.
- Kids in the Hall.
- Big Bang Original Cast.
- Rugrats.
- The Jackson Five.
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Musical Groups with Five in Their Name
- The Jackson Five
- Dave Clark Five
- The Five Keys
- Fifth Harmony
- The Fifth Dimension
- R5
- Five for Fighting
- The Fifth Estate
- Maroon Five
- We Five
- Five Flights Down
- Ben Folds Five
- Count Five
- Five Blind Boys from Mississippi
- The Jive Five
- Five Man Electrical Band
- Party of Five
- Jurassic Five
- Five Americans
- B-52’s
- The Five Satins
- MC5
- Five Stair Steps
- Hi-Five.
Famous Jazz Quintets
- Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five
- Miles Davis Quintet
- Cannonball Aderly Quintet
- Louis Armstrong Hot Five
- Lee Morran Quintet
- Max Roach Quintet
- Horace Silver Quintet
- Dizzy Gillespie Quintet
- Charlie Parker Quintet
- Lionel Hampton Quintet
- Zoot Sims Quintet
- George Shearing Quintet
- Paul Chambers Quintet
- Buddy Rich Quintet
- Art Blakey Quintet.
Classical Quintets – Famous Fivesomes
- Bergen Wind Quintet
- Darius Mihand String Quintet
- New York Woodwind Quintet
- Robert Schuman Piano Quintet
- Quintet of the Americas
- Vagan Holmboe String Quintet
- Vancouver Woodwind Quintet
- Antonin Dvorak Piano Quintet
- George Onslow String Quintet
- Vento Chiaro
- Carl Nielsen Wind Quintet
- Robert Paterson String Quintet
- Johann Georg Albrechtsberger String Quintet
- Morton Feldman String Quintet
- Alessandro Rolla String Quartet.
Famous Rock Bands with Five Members
- One Direction
- New Kids on the Block
- NSYNC
- The Dells
- Backstreet Boys
- Pentatonix
- The Wanted
- Rolling Stones – with Bill Wyman
- Oasis
- The Heartbeats
- Blue Mask
- The Temptations
- Aerosmith
- The Stylistics
- Devo
- Duran Duran
- The Moonglows
- Pearl Jam
- Fleetwood Mac
- AC/DC
- The Osmonds
- L2M
- The Dramatics
- Radio Head
- The Beach Boys
- Def Leppard
- Iron Maiden
- Deep Purple.
Importance of the Number Five in China
The number five is considered a lucky number in China. It is used extensively both culturally and practically. The Chinese five elements are gold, wood, water, fire, and earth. The Chinese consider these five elements to be essential for everything that exists in the world.
Confucius said that five things in all circumstances constitute perfect virtue. These five are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness. The Chinese celebrate their five emperors, five distinct flavors, five sacred mountains, and five classic styles of literature.
Famous Fivesomes in Sports
- NFL Teams Named After Birds – Seahawks, Cardinals, Eagles, Falcons, and Ravens.
- Five Rings in the Olympics logo. The Colors of the Olympic Rings – Blue, Yellow, Black, Green, and Red.
- Pentathlon event.
- The Starting Five. Basketball Team players on a court for one team.
- Baseball players selected for the Hall of Fame in its first year (1936): Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Honus Wagner, and Babe Ruth.
- Five Ways to Score Points in Football – Touchdown, Field Goal, Safety, Point After Touchdown Kicking, and Two Points after Touchdown Conversion.
- Olympic Values – Friendship, Excellence, Respect, Courage, and Determination.
- Boxers that defeated Muhammad Ali – Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, Leon Spinks, Larry Holmes, and Trevor Berbick.
- Five MLB Teams in California – L.A. Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres, L.A. Angels, and Oakland Athletics.
- The Big Five – The strongest football leagues in Europe include the Premier League in England, the Bundesliga in Germany, La Liga in Spain, Serie A in Italy, and Ligue 1 in France.
- Baseball infield players: Third baseman, Shortstop, Second baseman, First baseman, and pitcher.
Movies with Five in the Title
- Five Days, Five Nights
- Horror House on Highway Five
- Five Golden Hours
- A Tale of Five Women
- Five Fingers
- Devil Times Five
- Five Gates to Hell
- The Fifth Musketeer – German/Austrian film based on the books.
- Five Dances
- Table for Five
- Five on the Black Hand Side
- The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
- Five Came Back
- The Beast with Five Fingers
- Five Easy Pieces
- Fast Five
- Five Weeks in a Balloon
- Come Back to the Five and Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean
- Five Minutes of Heaven.
Pentagrams in Movies
The pentagram has been used in many cultures as a symbol for magical and sacred rituals. It is strongly associated with the number five because of its five points. An apple that is cut in half down the middle reveals a pentagram made of seeds. The five points of a pentagram represent spirit, air, fire, water, and earth.
In the Classic movie The Wolfman, Lon Chaney Jr. becomes a werewolf. As a werewolf, he can see the mark of the pentagram on his next victim. He meets with a mysterious gypsy woman who gives him a pentagram necklace to protect him. He gives it to a friend.
The gypsy’s response when she hears of this is to say Even a man that’s pure of heart and says his prayers by night may become a wolf when the wolfbanes bloom and the moon is full and bright.
Groups of Five in Science and Nature
- The Five Oceans.
- Five Senses – Smell, Touch, Hearing, Taste, and Sight.
- Layers of the Earth’s Atmosphere.
- Petals of a Typical Flower.
- Phases of the Moon – New, Waxing Crescent, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, and Full.
- Food Groups – Protein, Carbohydrates, Fats, Vegetables, and Fruit.
- Toes on a foot.
- Points on a Starfish.
- Great Lakes – Superior, Erie, Huron, Michigan, and Ontario.
- Five Cervical Vertebrae in the Neck
- Basic Tastes – Salty, Sweet, Bitter, Sour, and Umami.
- Earthworms have five hearts.
- States that Border the Pacific Ocean – Washington, Hawaii, Oregon, California, and Alaska.
- Fingers on a hand.
Miscellaneous Things Grouped in Fives
- Penta-Prefix – A set of five, like a pentagon.
- Take Five.
- High Five.
- Plead the Fifth.
- Royal Flush Poker Hand.
- Pentateuch – Five Books.
- Days in a Work Week – Monday Through Friday.
- Five Pointed Star.
- On a Die, the five-dot pattern is called a Quincunx.
- Original Lands in Disneyland – Tomorrowland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, Adventureland, and Main Street USA.
The Pentagon – Famous Fivesomes
The Pentagon was designed with five sides for an interesting reason. The plot of land where it was originally to be built was bordered by five roads. The architect, George Bergstrom, used this as a cue to design the building with five sides. The building also has walls that are over a foot thick.
In addition to five sides, the building has five concentric corridors that begin at the center and continue to the outside wall. There are five floors and a five-acre plaza in the middle. The building also has five entrances, one on each side. It is the second-largest office building in the world.
Final Thoughts on Fivesomes
Fivesomes will always have a fascination. Fivesomes are more than four but less than six, a half dozen.
This makes fivesomes a distinct grouping of their own whether with people, things, or in nature. We may not ever see a five-leaf clover, but if we did, it would be exciting. And while golf courses frown on fivesomes, it goes without saying that it’s more fun with five.
By Tim Moodie
Tim was only 11 years old when he saw the Pentagon for the first time, from the inside. His father had a top-secret clearance as a government contractor and somehow, he got Tim a pass. His memory is vague, but he does remember it being a confusing and intimidating building.
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