“Love’s Theme” is an instrumental piece written by Barry White in around 1965,[citation needed] 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 Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States, which it did in early 1974. Billboard ranked it as the No. 3 song for 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 by the Love Unlimited Orchestra.
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 United States, where it spent two weeks at No. 1. It also was a No. 1 on Cash Box. In Canada, the single saw similar success, reaching No. 1 on the RPM 100 National Singles Chart on March 2, 1974.
