Formed in 1969, Love Unlimited comprised of:
Glodean James (b. Glodean James, c. 1947, Long Beach, California, U.S.A.)
Linda James (b. Long Beach, California, U.S.A.)
and
Diane Taylor (Buffalo, New York, U.S.A. d. 1985)
Love Unlimited were three female singers created to perform background vocals by Barry White on his albums and concert tours.
Glodean White, Linda James and Diane Taylor became a Soul group, who were considerably successful in their own right.
Formed in 1969, Glodean James was later to become Barry White's wife, after being introduced through a mutual friend.
Glodean was a fan of Barry's, picking up Viola Wills' single 'Lost Without the Love of My Guy,' a song Barry co-wrote and arranged whilst being an A & R director and producer with Bob Keene's Bronco Records.
Linda James was Glodean's sister, whilst the final recruit was their friend, Diane Taylor.
Glodean and Linda were both born in Long Beach in California, but grew up in San Pedro in the same State.
The sisters both sang in the church choir, and met Diane Taylor (from New York) in their school choir.
The trio formed a group called the Croonettes in the early '60s.
love unlimited - 1972 / from a girl's point of view, we give to you...love unlimited - 1972
Love Unlimited's first hit was 'Walkin' In The Rain With The One I Love', which was released in 1972.
Larry Nunes (a friend of Barry's) took the song to Russ Regan, who was the head of the Uni label, who released the song, only later to leave the label and move to 20th Century Records, taking the group in his wake.
'Walkin' In The Rain With The One I Love' reached number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 6 on the Best Selling Soul Singles Chart.
It was also successful in the United Kingdom, reaching number 14 on the U.K. Singles Chart.
The song sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in July 1972.
'Under the Influence of Love' was then released as a single, from the LP 'Under the Influenc'e, issued in the summer of 1973 (a song originally recorded by Felice Taylor).
under the influence of - 1973 / in heat - 1974
After leaving Uni Records, Love Unlimited recorded a series of albums for the 20th Century label, including 'In Heat' (featuring 'Move Me No Mountain' and 'I Belong To You').
In 1975, they had their first and only number 1 song (taken from 'In Heat'), 'I Belong To You', which spent a week at the top of the Best Selling Soul Singles Chart.
The song featured the piano introduction from another Barry White song, 'Lost Without the Love of My Guy'.
'I Belong To You' also reached 27 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The follow-up single 'Share a Little Love in Your Heart' came from the same album, reaching number 21 R&B, in the spring of 1975.
he's all i've got - 1977 / love is back - 1980
Also in 1975, the group achieved another hit single, entitled 'It May Be Winter Outside (But In My Heart It's Spring)', after which Barry formed the Unlimited Gold label (via CBS).
A further hit, entitled 'High Steppin' Hip Dressin' Fella (You Got It Together),' (taken from the LP 'Love Is Back') reached number 45 on the R&B chart, during the autumn of 1979.
Barry White and Glodean White released the single 'Didn't We Make It Happen Baby' and 'I Want You' in 1981, which were followed by a full LP release, entitled 'Barry & Glodean'.
At the end of the '70s, Love Unlimited went their seperate ways, with Linda James marrying and leaving the U.S., whilst Diane Taylor, sadly, died from cancer in 1985.
the best of love unlimited - 1997 / barry & glodean - 1981
In 1997, a best of retrospective was released on Mercury Records.
Glodean White's background vocals contributed to Barry's 1999 album 'Staying Power'.
Albums:
Love Unlimited (UNI Records 1972)
From a Girl's Point of View, We Give to You...Love Unlimited (Varses Records 1972)
Under the Influence Of... (20th Century Records 1973)
In Heat (20th Century Records 1974)
He's All I've Got (Priority Records 1977)
Love Is Back (Priority Records 1980)
The Best Of Love Unlimited (Mercury Records 1997)
