Love Unlimited Orchestra - Love's Theme (1973)

Love's Theme is an instrumental piece recorded by Barry White's Love Unlimited Orchestra and released in 1973 as an A-side single. 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, which it did in early 1974. 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. The recording, with a large string orchestra and wah-wah guitar, is considered to be an influence to the disco sound, which would explode in popularity the following year.
The song was also popular on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart in the U.S., where the song spent two weeks at no.1. In Canada, the single saw similar success, reaching no.1 on the RPM 100 National Singles Chart on March 2, 1974. In addition, Love's Theme has been recorded with lyrics (penned by White's publisher, Aaron Schroeder), with vocal versions by such artists as Love Unlimited (on their 1974 album In Heat), Julio Iglesias, and Andy Williams; Enoch Light also recorded an electro-disco instrumental version of the song on his 1977 album, Disco Disque. In 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 the song; it reached no.24 on the UK Singles Chart, and White was given a writing credit. Love's Theme has been covered by smooth jazz trumpeter Rick Braun and by guitarist Chuck Loeb.

- The Oakland Stroke