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LTD Back in love is a true classic

Popular funk tune was the party song back in the day.

By Cheryl E PrestonPublished 4 years ago 3 min read
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LTD

In 1977 the group L.T.D., (Love Togetherness and Devotion, recorded Back in love which made it to number one on the R&B charts where it stayed for two weeks and became a gold record. The song was also number four on Billboards hot 100 singles. Back in Love was written by Len Ron Hanks and Zane Grey, with Jeffrey Osborne singing lead. This song became the dance anthem that summer in my neck of the woods and more than likely all across the nation, and holds a special meaning for me. Every party that I attended for about a year played Back in love at least once and everybody would get on the floor.

Once I attended a party in the town of Fincastle, Virginia, where the location was an establishment called White Top. When Back in Love was played, you could hear everyone's feet hitting the floor simultaneously in tune to the beat of the music. My brother Bill, dubbed this sound as the Fincastle stomp. He had attended quite a few parties there and he alerted me to pay close attention. The first time I heard this thumping, I had to laugh, but it was amazing for everyone to be in sync like that. Perhaps it had something to do with the dance floor because this never happened when Back in love was playing anywhere else.

We always had fun and during the group's live concerts, and a friend actually said she met the band members back stage. L.T.D. and other bands played actual instruments which was part of the enjoyment. My husband and I saw L.T.D. in concert five times during the late 70s when we were dating and the early 80s after we were married. When I hear Back in love now, I think about the concerts, dances and house parties and all the people who have since passed away. Back then, you could enjoy yourself without fear of shootings or being abducted. Everyone had only one thing on their mind and that was having a good time. We were the generation who wanted to be clean so most everyone dressed up for parties, dances and concerts. Girls got their hair done at the salon and the guys went to the barber shop. Most times we went shopping for new outfits to wear when our favorite groups came to town.

I never could have imagined a day where people lip sync he’d and computes altered voices and provided the music. Listening to my favorite L.T.D song brings up such good memories of my teens and young adult years. I do believe it helps keep me young at heart. I am thankful to still be able to shake my rump to the funk because so many people my age have passed on and a lot of those who remain have health issues and have issues with balance or are on canes, walkers or in wheel chairs. When you are between 16 and 25 and everyone seems on equal footing, you don't think that 30 to 40 years later there would be such changes.

The dancing, singing, and the way the group flows on the above video from their appearance on Soul Train is exactly what you got from the concerts. I miss those days and I could never have imagined how much music and concerts would change. Who would have thought live bands would be replaced by computers. Wikepedia reports in 2008 there was a fire in the back lot of Universal Studio's and that possibly 175,000 master copies of some of the greatest musicians work was lost. L.T.D.'s music was included in the disaster. I was troubled to hear this for two reasons. The first is the loss of so much music and the second is that it reminded me of a personal loss.

My husband had a vast record collection when I met him and it grew after we were married to about 400 album . Sadly during a move his music was left behind and there is no way to replace it. He owned every album of many popular music groups, from the 1970's and 80s including L.T.D. I'm thankful that we can still listen to most of the music on the Internet, but the loss continues to be painful and cannot be replaced 100%. This is why I can take some comfort in being able to to listen to favorite songs like Back in love and enjoy videos on the Internet.

70s music
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About the Creator

Cheryl E Preston

Cheryl is a widow who enjoys writing about current events, soap spoilers and baby boomer nostalgia. Tips are greatly appreciated.

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