The Love Unlimited Orchestra
Encyclopedia
The Love Unlimited Orchestra, formed by American
R&B
/soul
musician, Barry White
, was a 40-piece string-laden orchestra
that served as a backing unit for White and female vocal trio Love Unlimited
. From the mid 1970s on, they also recorded
several album
s under their own name.
Their biggest hit single
was 1973's instrumental
disc
, "Love's Theme
". The track, written by White, went to No. 1 for one week in the U.S.
and No. 10 in the UK Singles Chart
. The R.I.A.A.
awarded a gold disc
on 7 February 1974.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
/soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
musician, Barry White
Barry White
Barry White, born Barry Eugene Carter , was an American composer and singer-songwriter.A five-time Grammy Award-winner known for his distinctive bass voice and romantic image, White's greatest success came in the 1970s as a solo singer and with the Love Unlimited Orchestra, crafting many enduring...
, was a 40-piece string-laden orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
that served as a backing unit for White and female vocal trio Love Unlimited
Love Unlimited
Love Unlimited was a female vocal trio that provided backing vocals for American R&B/soul singer Barry White on his albums and concert tours. They also found success with their own recordings. Formed in 1969, the group included Barry White’s future wife, Glodean James, her sister, Linda James, and...
. From the mid 1970s on, they also recorded
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
several album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s under their own name.
Their biggest hit single
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
was 1973's instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
disc
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
, "Love's Theme
Love's Theme
"Love's Theme" is an instrumental piece recorded by Barry White's Love Unlimited Orchestra and released in 1973. It is one of the few instrumental and purely orchestral singles to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States, in early 1974...
". The track, written by White, went to No. 1 for one week in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and No. 10 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. The R.I.A.A.
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
awarded a gold disc
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
on 7 February 1974.
Albums
| Year | Album | Chart Positions | U.S. Certifications | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
U.S. R&B Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999... |
UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
|||||
| 1974 | Rhapsody in White Rhapsody in White Rhapsody in White is the debut album of American soul group The Love Unlimited Orchestra. It was a huge success for the group, who backed for and was led by Barry White for many singles such as "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby"... |
8 | 2 | — | Gold | ||
| Together Brothers | 85 | 15 | — | — | |||
| White Gold | 28 | 10 | — | Gold | |||
| 1975 | Music Maestro Please | 94 | 14 | — | — | ||
| 1976 | My Sweet Summer Suite | 123 | 35 | — | — | ||
| 1978 | My Musical Bouquet | 201 | 53 | — | — | ||
| 1979 | Super Movie Themes: Just a Little Bit Different | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1981 | Let 'Em Dance | — | — | — | — | ||
| Love Unlimited Orchestra Presents Mr. Webster Lewis: Welcome Aboard |
— | — | — | — | |||
| 1983 | Rise | — | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes the album failed to chart, was not released, or was not certified | |||||||
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
U.S. R&B Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
||||
| 1973 | "Love's Theme Love's Theme "Love's Theme" is an instrumental piece recorded by Barry White's Love Unlimited Orchestra and released in 1973. It is one of the few instrumental and purely orchestral singles to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States, in early 1974... " |
1 | 10 | 10 | ||
| 1974 | "Rhapsody in White" | 63 | 48 | — | ||
| 1975 | "Satin Soul" | 22 | 23 | — | ||
| "Forever in Love" | — | 22 | — | |||
| 1976 | "Midnight Groove" | — | 91 | — | ||
| 1977 | "Theme from King Kong (Part 1)" | 68 | 15 | — | ||
| "—" denotes the single failed to chart or was not released | ||||||
External links
- http://www.discogs.com/artist/Love+Unlimited+Orchestra