You Don't Have to Be a Star (To Be in My Show)

"You Don't Have to Be a Star (To Be in My Show)"
Single by Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr.
from the album I Hope We Get to Love in Time
B-side	"Fool For You"
Released	September 1976
Genre	Pop, Soul, Disco
Length	4:41 3:39 (7" version)
Label	ABC Records
Writer(s)	James Dean, John Glover
Producer(s)	Don Davis
Certification	Gold (RIAA)
Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr. singles chronology
"I Hope We Get to Love on Time" (1976) "You Don't Have to Be a Star (To Be in My Show)" (1977) "Your Love" (1977)

"You Don't Have to Be a Star (To Be in My Show)" is a song by the husband/wife duo of Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr., former members of the vocal group The 5th Dimension. Released from their album, I Hope We Get to Love in Time, it became a crossover success, spending six months on the charts and soaring to number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Soul Singles charts during late 1976 and early 1977.^[1] The song also reached #6 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart and #7 on the UK Singles Chart.^[2] It would eventually be certified Gold, selling over one million singles, and win them a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. The song features the final studio performance of bassist James Jamerson on a Billboard number-one song.

Chart positions

Chart (1976-77)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	1
U.S. Billboard Hot Soul Singles	1
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary	6
UK Singles Chart	7
New Zealand Singles Chart	5

Other Versions

• Geri Reischl and Barry Williams performed the song in a 1977 episode of The Brady Bunch Variety Hour.
• In 1978, Ralph Carter and Janet Jackson performed the song in the Season 5 finale of the CBS sitcom Good Times. At the time, Carter and Jackson were 16 and 11 years old, respectively.

References

1. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 338.
2. http://everyhit.com/