The Love Unlimited Orchestra was a 40-piece string-laden

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

formed by American singer

Barry White Barry Eugene Carter (September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003), better known by his stage name Barry White, was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came ...

, and serving as a backing unit for White and for female vocal trio

Love Unlimited Love Unlimited was a female vocal trio that provided backing vocals for American singer-songwriter Barry White on his albums and concert tours. They also found success with their own recordings. Career Formed in 1969, the group included Barry ...

. From the early 1970s on, they also recorded several singles and albums under their own name.

Career

The orchestra was originally formed in 1972 to back White's female vocal group Love Unlimited for their debut album. The following year they began supporting White for his solo debut ''

I've Got So Much to Give "I've Got So Much to Give" is an R&B contemporary romantic ballad composed and recorded by popular soul artist Barry White and released in 1973. It was originally conceived by White as a single but then featured on the album of the same name ( ...

''. Their biggest hit was 1973's

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

single "

Love's Theme "Love's Theme" is an instrumental piece written by Barry White in around 1965, and recorded and released as a single by White's The Love Unlimited Orchestra in 1973. It is one of the few instrumental and purely orchestral singles to reach No. 1 on ...

". The track, written by Barry White, went to number 1 for one week in the US and number 10 in the UK. The

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

awarded a

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

in February 1974. The hit was included on the orchestra's debut album ''

Rhapsody in White ''Rhapsody in White'' is the first studio album by the American soul group, The Love Unlimited Orchestra, released in 1974. It was a huge success for the group, who backed and was led by Barry White for many singles such as "I'm Gonna Love You J ...

'' issued in 1974. Two follow-up albums ''Together Brothers'' and ''White Gold'' were released later that year. ''White Gold'' featured the single "Satin Soul" which peaked at number 22 on the ''Billboard'' pop charts in early 1975. In 1976,

Kenny Gorelick Kenneth Bruce Gorelick (born June 5, 1956), known professionally as Kenny G, is an American smooth jazz saxophonist, composer, and producer. His 1986 album ''Duotones'' brought him commercial success. Kenny G is one of the best-selling artis ...

, later known as Kenny G, joined the orchestra as a saxophonist. The orchestra continued to record albums for 20th Century Records until the end of the 1970s. By 1981, they had moved to White's own label Unlimited Gold. Their final album ''Rise'' was issued in 1983.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links

*
Discogs.com
American disco groups American funk musical groups Musical backing groups Musical groups established in 1972 Musical groups disestablished in 1983 Musical groups from Los Angeles {{US-R&B-band-stub