"Love Is the Message" | ||||
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Single by MFSB featuring The Three Degrees | ||||
from the album Love is the Message | ||||
B-side | "My One and Only Love" | |||
Released | June 7, 1974 | |||
Recorded | 1974 | |||
Genre | Disco [1] | |||
Length | 6:37(album cut) 2:39 (single version) 11:30 (12" version) | |||
Label | Philadelphia International Records | |||
Songwriter(s) | Gamble and Huff | |||
Producer(s) | Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff | |||
MFSB featuring The Three Degrees singles chronology | ||||
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"Love Is the Message" is a 1974 song by MFSB featuring vocals by The Three Degrees, written by Gamble and Huff and the follow-up to their #1 hit TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia). It reached #85 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Chart (1973–74) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [2] | 37 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [3] | 85 |
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs ( Billboard ) [4] | 42 |
MFSB, officially standing for "Mother Father Sister Brother", was a pool of more than 30 studio musicians based at Philadelphia's Sigma Sound Studios. They worked closely with the production team of Gamble and Huff and producer/arranger Thom Bell, and backed up Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, the O'Jays, the Stylistics, the Spinners, Wilson Pickett, and Billy Paul.
Instant Funk were an American 1970s and 1980s disco band, best known for their disco classic, "I Got My Mind Made Up ".
"TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)" is a 1974 recording by MFSB featuring vocals by The Three Degrees. It was written by Gamble and Huff as the theme for the American musical television program Soul Train, which specialized in African American musical performers. The single was released on the Philadelphia International Records label. It was the first television theme song to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Love Hangover" is a song by the American singer Diana Ross, recorded in 1975 and released as a single on March 16, 1976. It rose to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot-Selling Soul Singles. It also hit number one on the Record World disco charts.
"Love Rollercoaster", sometimes rendered as "Love Roller Coaster", is a song by American funk/R&B band Ohio Players, originally featured on their 1975 album Honey. It was composed by William Beck, Leroy Bonner, Marshall Jones, Ralph Middlebrooks, Marvin Pierce, Clarence Satchell, and James Williams. It was a number-one U.S. hit in January 1976, and was certified gold. In Canada, the song spent two weeks at number two. "Love Rollercoaster" was covered by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers for the soundtrack of the 1996 animated movie Beavis and Butt-Head Do America.
"Get Down Tonight" is a song released in 1975 on the self-titled album by the disco group KC and the Sunshine Band. The song became widely successful, becoming the first of their five No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. It also reached the top of the Hot Soul Singles chart and was an international chart hit, reaching No. 1 in Canada and charting in Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the UK.
"Disco Lady" is a 1976 single by American singer Johnnie Taylor that went on to become his biggest hit. It spent all four weeks of April 1976 at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and six weeks atop the Billboard R&B chart in the U.S. It was also the first single to be certified platinum by the RIAA; ultimately it sold over 2.5 million copies. Billboard ranked it as the No. 3 song for 1976; Cash Box had it the year's No. 1 song
"I Love the Nightlife (Disco 'Round)" is a popular disco song recorded by American singer-songwriter Alicia Bridges in 1978. It was released as the first single from her debut album, Alicia Bridges (1978), and went to number two on the US Billboard National Disco Action Top 30 (now the Dance Club Songs chart) for two weeks. It became a crossover hit, peaking at number five on the Billboard Hot 100, and found worldwide success, reaching the top 10 in Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands and South Africa, as well as reaching the top 30 in the UK. A re-release in 1994 allowed the song to reach number four in New Zealand and number five in Iceland.
"Love's Theme" is an instrumental piece written by Barry White around 1965. Recorded and released as a single by White's Love Unlimited Orchestra in 1973, it was one of the few instrumental and purely orchestral singles to reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States, which it did in early 1974. Billboard ranked it as #3 on the Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1974.
"Dim All the Lights" is a song by American recording artist Donna Summer released as the third single from her 1979 album Bad Girls. It debuted at number 70 on August 25, 1979, and peaked that year at number two on November 10 and November 17 on the Billboard Hot 100. Produced by her longtime collaborator Giorgio Moroder with Pete Bellotte, the track combines Summer's trademark disco beats with a more soulful pop sound. It was the third Hot 100 top-two single from the album and her sixth consecutive Hot 100 top-five single.
"If You Could Read My Mind" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot. Lightfoot wrote the lyrics while he was reflecting on his own divorce. It reached No. 1 on the Canadian Singles Chart on commercial release in 1970 and charted in several other countries on international release in 1971. In 2023, Hockey Night in Canada used the song for their year end playoff montage commemorating the Vegas Golden Knights' Stanley Cup win, following Lightfoot's passing.
"Rock the Boat" is a song by American trio The Hues Corporation, written by Wally Holmes. "Rock the Boat" was first featured on their 1973 debut studio album Freedom for the Stallion. It was released as the third single from the album in early 1974, to follow up Stallion's title song, which had peaked at number sixty-three on the Hot 100, and "Miracle Maker " which did not chart.
"Shame" is the debut single by American singer Evelyn "Champagne" King, written by John H. Fitch Jr. and Reuben Cross. It was released in 1977 by RCA Records as part of King's debut album, Smooth Talk. The extended remix was produced for the twelve-inch vinyl single and would later replace the album version of the song in late-1970s reprints of the album. "Shame" was successful on Billboard music charts and would become one of King's signature songs, though it varied on international music charts. The song was covered by Zhané for the 1994 film A Low Down Dirty Shame and Kim Wilde in 1996.
"I'll Be Around" is a song recorded by the American R&B vocal group The Spinners. It was co-written by Thom Bell and Phil Hurtt and produced by Bell.
"Kiss and Say Goodbye" is a 1976 song by American R&B vocal group the Manhattans. It was written by group member Winfred Lovett, the bass singer and songwriter of the group, who did the song's spoken introduction. The song was recorded for the album The Manhattans, released in 1976 by Columbia Records, and was released as a single in March of the same year. "Kiss and Say Goodbye" became a worldwide success, appearing in the musical charts of countless countries, a Top 10 hit in many countries, including No. 1 in the US, Belgium, Netherlands, New Zealand, and in Europe (European Hot 100 Singles). With the exception of the Adult Contemporary Chart, "Kiss and Say Goodbye" was ranked number 1 in the US on all pop and R&B singles charts. The song was one of the biggest hits of 1976 and of the 1970s.
"Could It Be I'm Falling in Love" is a 1972 song recorded by the American R&B vocal group The Spinners. It was co-written by Melvin and Mervin Steals, two songwriter brothers working for Atlantic, who were sometimes credited as "Mystro and Lyric." It was produced by Thom Bell, recorded at Philadelphia's Sigma Sound Studios and the house band MFSB provided the backing. Bobby Smith sings lead through most of the song, while Philippé Wynne handles vocal duties on the outro.
"One of a Kind (Love Affair)" is a song recorded by the American R&B vocal group The Spinners (known as "Detroit Spinners" in the UK). It was written by Joseph B. Jefferson and produced by Thom Bell.
"Bad Luck" is a song recorded by American vocal group Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes from their album To Be True. Released as a single in 1975 by Philadelphia International Records, the song was written by Victor Carstarphen, Gene McFadden, and John Whitehead and produced by Gamble and Huff, with MFSB providing instrumentals. The single was number one on the Billboard Disco Action chart for eleven weeks, also peaking at no. 4 on Hot Soul Singles and no. 15 on the Hot 100. With an unusually loud hi-hat by session drummer Earl Young, "Bad Luck" is considered a signature disco song.
"I Can't Wait Any Longer" is a single by American country music artist Bill Anderson. Released in April 1978, it was the first single from his album Love and Other Sad Stories. The song peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. It also reached number 1 on the RPM Country Tracks chart in Canada.
Love Is the Message is the second album by Philadelphia International Records houseband MFSB. The album includes the number one pop, R&B, and adult contemporary hit and winner of the 1974 Grammy for Best R&B Instrumental Performance, "TSOP ". The song was the theme song for the television show Soul Train.