Love's Theme

"Love's Theme" is an instrumental piece written by Barry White and recorded by White's The Love Unlimited Orchestra and released in 1973 as a single. It is one of the few instrumental and purely orchestral singles to reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States, which it did in early 1974. Billboard ranked it as the #3 song for 1974.[2] The piece was included on two albums: 1973's Under the Influence of... Love Unlimited (by the vocal group Love Unlimited) and 1974's Rhapsody in White by the Love Unlimited Orchestra.

"Love's Theme"
Side-A label of the U.S. vinyl release
Single by The Love Unlimited Orchestra
from the album Under the Influence of... Love Unlimited and Rhapsody in White
B-side"Sweet Moments"
ReleasedNovember 1973
Recorded1973
Genre
Length4:08
Label20th Century/Pye International
Songwriter(s)Barry White
Producer(s)Barry White
The Love Unlimited Orchestra singles chronology
"Love's Theme"
(1973)		 "Rhapsody in White"
(1974)
Audio sample
"Love's Theme"
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The recording, with a large string orchestra, wah-wah guitar, and big rhythm, is considered to be an influence on the disco sound, which would explode in popularity the following year. The song was also popular on the Adult Contemporary chart in the U.S., where it spent two weeks at #1. It also was a number one on Cash Box. It was also used by ABC Sports for many years as the opening theme music for its golf coverage. New York television station WPIX used it as the closing music for its then-Action News franchise during the mid-1970s.[3][4] In Canada, the single saw similar success, reaching #1 on the RPM 100 National Singles Chart on March 2, 1974.[5]

In addition, "Love's Theme" was also recorded in a vocal version by Love Unlimited (on their 1974 album In Heat). Andy Williams released a vocal version in May 1974 that reached #16 on the adult contemporary chart in the United States. Enoch Light recorded an electro-disco instrumental version on his 1977 album, Disco Disque. The song is also part of Meco's instrumental medley "Hooked On Instrumentals Part I" (from the 1985 album Hooked On Instrumentals). In May 1993, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark released the single "Dream of Me (Based on Love's Theme)" (from their album Liberator, released the same year) which used a sample of this Barry White composition. This single reached #24 on the UK Singles Chart, and Barry White was given a writing credit.

The Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways used the music for their TV advertisements. It was also featured briefly in Mean Girls, Despicable Me 2, El Cantante, Goodbye Bruce Lee: His Last Game of Death and The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water.

Seven Network's music video show: Sounds Unlimited used the song as its opening and closing theme. Also, it was used as the opening theme for the Brazilian telenovela Celebridade.

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

See also

References
  • The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 6th Edition, 1996
  1. The Best of Barry White's Love Unlimited Orchestra - Love Unlimited Orchestra | Songs, Reviews, Credits at AllMusic
  2. Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1974
  3. "Wiki for Barry White – Love's Theme". Last.fm. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
  4. Action News close with the Harpers, followed by Editorial Feedback, 7/10/75 on YouTube
  5. "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2012-10-23. Retrieved 2011-07-16.
  6. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (doc). Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  7. "Ultratop.be – The Love Unlimited Orchestra – Love's Theme" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  8. "CAN Charts > The Love Unlimited Orchestra". RPM. Retrieved 2016-02-29.
  9. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1974-02-16. Retrieved 2018-09-26.
  10. "Dutchcharts.nl – The Love Unlimited Orchestra – Love's Theme" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  11. Flavour of New Zealand, 10 August 1974
  12. "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  13. "Love Unlimited Orchestra: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  14. "Love Unlimited Orchestra Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  15. "Love Unlimited Orchestra Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  16. "Love Unlimited Orchestra Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  17. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  18. Canada, Library and Archives (January 16, 2018). "Image : RPM Weekly".
  19. "Top 20 Hit Singles of 1974". Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  20. Top 50 Adult Contemporary Hits of 1974
  21. Musicoutfitters.com
  22. "American single certifications – Love Unlimited – Love's Theme". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
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