| "Love Train" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Side A of the US single | ||||
| Single by the O'Jays | ||||
| from the album Back Stabbers | ||||
| B-side | "Who Am I" | |||
| Released | December 20, 1972[1] | |||
| Recorded | Summer 1971 to 1972 | |||
| Studio | Sigma Sound, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 6:15 (extended version); 2:59 (album version) | |||
| Label | Philadelphia International | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff | |||
| Producer(s) | Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff | |||
| The O'Jays singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Love Train" (Official Soul Train Video) on YouTube | ||||
"Love Train" is a hit single by the O'Jays, written by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. Released in 1972, it reached No. 1 on both the R&B Singles and the Billboard Hot 100 in February and March 1973 respectively,[4] and No. 9 on the UK Singles Chart and was certified gold by the RIAA. It was the O'Jays' first and only number one record on the US pop chart. The song has been considered one of the first songs of disco music.
"Love Train" entered the Hot 100's top 40 on January 27, 1973,[5] the same day that the Paris Peace Accords were signed. The song's lyrics of unity mention a number of countries, including England, Russia, China, Egypt and Israel, as well as the continent of Africa.
Record World said of the single release that the "tune chugs right along with a Gamble and a Huff" and could become the biggest hit from the Back Stabbers album.[6]
Recorded at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia, the house band MFSB provided the backing. Besides its release as a single, "Love Train" was the last song on the O'Jays' album Back Stabbers. "Love Train" was a 2006 inductee into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[7]
- ^ "Love Train / Who Am I - O'Jays". 45cat. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
- ^ "Love Train: The Sound of Philadelphia | BLACK GROOVES". December 12, 2008.
- ^ Breithaupt, Don; Breithaupt, Jeff (October 15, 1996). "What's So Funny 'Bout Peace, Love, and Understanding?: Utopian Pop". Precious and Few - Pop Music in the Early '70s. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 75. ISBN 031214704X.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 438.
- ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
- ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. January 6, 1973. p. 1. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
- ^ Grammy Hall of Fame