Love Unlimited (Love Unlimited album)

Love Unlimited was made up of Diane Taylor and sisters Glodean and Linda James.[3] Glodean originally met recording artist and future husband Barry White through a mutual friend.[3] She was a fan of Viola Wills' single "Lost Without the Love of My Guy", a song co-written and arranged by White.[3] White rehearsed for almost a year with the trio, who had not done any professional singing before, and came up with their stage name, Love Unlimited.[3] White wrote "Walkin' in the Rain With the One I Love" with lyrics that were inspired by conversations with Glodean; the two engage in "phoned"-in dialogue on the song.[3] White's business partner Larry Nunes took the record to record executive and Uni Records-head Russ Regan.[3]

The album charted at number 151 on the US Billboard 200 chart and produced the hit single "Walkin' in the Rain with the One I Love", which reached number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number six on the Soul Singles chart.[4][5] The single was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on July 24, 1972, for shipments of 1,000,000 copies in the United States.[6] The single's success helped the album sell one million copies.[3]

Love Unlimited was well received by contemporary music critics. Allmusic writer John Bush gave it four-and-a-half out of five stars called it "a cohesive album-length meditation on the highs and lows of love, delivered by a satiny girl group trio pillowed in one of the warmest production surroundings yet heard on a pop album".[1] Bush complimented its suite-like concept and praised Barry White's production and songwriting for the album, stating "White's arrangements are reminiscent of the mid-'60s Holland-Dozier-Holland sound, but with all the icy edges melted off and the driving drumwork coaxed into a mid-tempo crawl".[1] Q gave the album four out of five stars and described the trio as "the logical conclusion of the female soul sound", commenting that "the romantic melody achieved a giant stateliness designed to be a feminine version of the Barry White sound".[2]

• All tracks produced by Barry White, arranged by White and Gene Page.

• Love Unlimited – vocals
  • Glodean James
  • Linda James
  • Diane Taylor
• Barry White – arrangements, producer
• Gene Page – arrangements

• Love Unlimited at Allmusic
• From a Girl´s Point of View We Give to You... Love Unlimited at Discogs