Love

Fact Sheet

Country

USA

Love was an American rock group of the 1960s and '70s. They were led by singer, songwriter and guitarist Arthur Lee (born March 7, 1945 in Memphis). Signed to the Elektra Records label, the band in 1966 scored a hit with a cover version of Burt Bacharach's "My Little Red Book." Their second album, 1967's Da Capo, featured songs by Lee and Bryan MacLean, and is today regarded as one of the classic '60s albums, with a combination of hard rockers like "Stephanie Knows Who" and "7 and 7 Is" and beautifully melodic songs such as "¡Que Vida!" and "She Comes in Colors."

Forever Changes, released in late 1967, is the best-known work by Love, and in its use of acoustic guitars and string and horn arrangements both a classic Los Angeles pop album and a subversive, complex statement on the strangeness and violence of mid-'60s America. Writer Richard Meltzer, in his The Aesthetics of Rock, comments on Love's "orchestral moves," "post-doper word contraction cuteness" and on Arthur Lee's winsome yet twisted vocal style as a "reaffirmation of Johnny Mathis."

Never a hugely popular band, and unwilling to tour, Love recorded one more single and then disbanded temporarily. Lee revived the name in the '70s to little success. Elektra Records signed the Doors, who early in their career had aspired to Love's success. Love's Da Capo and Forever Changes are now considered two of the greatest albums of the '60s.

Bryan MacLean died on December 25, 1998.

After spending time in prison in the '90s, Lee went on tour and played Love's classic songs with a new band.

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