In the early 1960s, a quintet of hopeful, young African-American men form an amateur vocal group called The Five Heartbeats. After an initially rocky start, the group improves, turns pro, and rises to become a top flight music sensation. Along the way, however, the guys learn many hard lessons about the reality of the music industry.

• 20th Century Fox
• Robert Townsend
• Michael Wright
• Leon
• Harry Lennix
• Tico Wells
• Diahann Carroll
• Harold Nicholas
• John Canada Terrell