“Rhapsody in White” by the Love Unlimited Orchestra

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of an enduring 70s sound.

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Welcome to a new edition of the Daily Music Picks newsletter!

Today’s music pick celebrates the 50th anniversary of one of Barry White’s many smash hits.

Genre: R&B, Soul, Disco

Label: Mercury

Release Date: January 1, 1974

Vibe: 💖

Although disco as a cultural concept existed long before its 1970s heyday in America, I don’t think disco would’ve matured as gracefully or sensually without Barry White.

His voice is rightfully famous, but oddly enough, his most influential album may be the one that’s mostly instrumental, Rhapsody in White. The credited group, the Love Unlimited Orchestra, had already attained some measure of success as a backing band for other White-led projects, including the self-titled debut for the female trio Love Unlimited and Barry’s 1973 LP, I’ve Got So Much to Give. The latter, which enjoyed chart gains via the single “I’m Gonna Love You Just a Litte More Baby,” gave R&B fans a preview of what would become White’s signature sonic backdrop, built on soaring strings and that signature “tchka tchka” guitar. He’d go on to enjoy widespread success with late-70s disco fare, but I’d argue this record may have been his creative peak. By combining the best of R&B, soul, Motown, and psychedelia before wrapping it in enormous orchestral arrangements, he walked so many, many other disco and dance acts could run.

As one of the defining examples of what music scholars call “cinematic soul,” this record also owes a stylistic debt to early-70s blaxploitation records that immediately preceded it. The opener, “Barry’s Theme,” starts simply, all hi-hat and guitar stutters, calling Curtis Mayfield and Issac Hayes to mind. It uses congos and bass chords to build the instrumental into a driving powerhouse full of sun-kissed chords and swooning melodies. From there, White and the 40-piece band only deepen the mood. “Midnight and You,” featuring snippets of the Maestro of Love’s valley-deep baritone, is one of the sexiest compositions of the decade, urged along by the fuzzed-out guitar flourishes. Cuts like “I Feel Love Coming On” and “Don’t Take It Away From Me” sneak up on you, airy enough to dance to but also intimate enough to soundtrack the kind of face-to-face that only happens with the lights down low.

All that said, there’s no topping the album’s No. 1 hit, “Love’s Theme,” one of the classiest, most transcendent disco tracks ever. I’ve heard it described as the official theme music for the 70s, to the degree that you can quantify an entire era in a single instrumental. I wasn’t alive then, but I’m inclined to agree with whoever gave that song its well-deserved crown.

👉 Don’t forget to click the album image to stream the album on your favorite platform 👈