The Love Unlimited Orchestra

The 40-piece Love Unlimited Orchestra served for years as the primary backing ensemble for R&B balladeer Barry White, its sweeping string arrangements helping lay groundwork for the rise of disco. White assembled the group specifically to accompany his trio of female protégés, Love Unlimited, on their debut album in 1972. The orchestra soon extended its role to support White directly, releasing its own first album, Rhapsody in White, in 1974 and achieving success with the single “Love Theme.” Later that year the ensemble followed with two additional releases, Together Brothers and White Gold, before returning in 1975 with Music Maestro Please. Saxophonist Kenny Gorelick joined the ranks around the time of 1976’s Sweet Summer Suite; performing later under the name Kenny G., he would achieve major solo success. After supplying the theme for Dino de Laurentiis’s lavish 1977 King Kong remake, the orchestra issued My Musical Bouquet the following year. Just a Little Bit Different appeared in 1979, and 1981 brought the pair of LPs Let ’Em Dance and Welcome Aboard. Rise, released in 1983, marked the final new album from the Love Unlimited Orchestra, though the musicians continued to back White both on record and in live performance.