TNB Night Owl – Barry White

Barry_White_soul_R&B — Barry White. Image captured by the News Blender.

The greatest thing about music in the sixties and seventies was the enormous variety of styles that were popular. Back then AM radio ruled: FM didn’t catch up to and surpass AM in popularity until the end of the seventies. In any city, the most popular radio station in town was always one with a Top 40 format, playing all kinds of music. It didn’t matter what the genre was, if a song was a hit, it was a hit. The DJ might play BTO’s Let It Ride, followed immediately by R&B/Soul sensation Barry White, followed by a Country cross-over hit. And people liked it that way. Alas, that changed in a big way before the end of the eighties. The switch to FM, the change of focus from singles to albums, and the novelty of MTV music videos had much to do with the downfall of Top 40 variety radio.

Barry White may not be as well remembered as Al Green or Marvin Gaye, but he’s cut from the same cloth and like Gaye and Green he struggled through the sixties until finding success in the seventies. Also like Green and Gaye, he had more hits playing on R&B/Soul format radio than on Top 40 stations. Only his Top 40 charted music are included in tonight’s playlist.

The Love Unlimited Orchestra was White’s creation and his 40-piece ‘band’ with their own theme music which became a hit (included below). White also had a female trio singing backup vocals for him called Love Unlimited, who had a couple of hits of their own without White (one included below).

Variety is good, especially music variety.

1973
Love’s Theme (4:07)
The Love Unlimited Orchestra