"Love's Theme" is an instrumental song written by Barry White in 1965. It was recorded and released as a music single by White's Love Unlimited Orchestra in late 1973. The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States in early 1974. Billboard listed it as number three on the Year-End Hot 100 singles list for 1974. Over time, "Love’s Theme" became one of the most sold pop instrumentals ever.

Background and release

The song appeared 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. Love Unlimited later included the song on their 1974 album In Heat, but with new musical arrangements and lyrics written by Aaron Schroeder.

The recording featured a large string orchestra, modified guitar, and a strong rhythm section. It is seen as an influence on the disco music style, which became more popular the next year. The song reached the top of the Adult Contemporary chart in the United States, staying at #1 for two weeks. It also reached #1 on the Cash Box chart. A shorter version of the original instrumental recording was used in the opening sequence of the television golf program PGA Tour on ABC for several years.

In Canada, the single was also very successful, reaching #1 on the RPM 100 National Singles Chart on March 2, 1974. The song "Love's Theme" was later used by the Italian group Black Box in their 1989 song "Ride on Time."

Legacy

In 1975–76, WPIX-TV in New York ended its 10:00pm broadcast of Harper News (later called Action News) with the song "Love's Theme." The same song was used as the boarding music for Cathay Pacific during the 1980s and as the theme song for the Brazilian soap opera Celebridade.

Since 2000, "Love's Theme" has been the theme song for the Italian talk show C'è posta per te, which airs on Canale 5. The 2024 PBS series Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution examines the role of "Love's Theme" in the history of disco music.