Love Train

"Love Train"
Single by The O'Jays
from the album Back Stabbers
B-side	"Who Am I"
Released	December 1972
Recorded	1972
Genre	R&B, Philly soul, disco
Length	6:15 (extended version); 2:50 (single version)
Label	Philadelphia International
Writer(s)	Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff
Producer(s)	Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff
Certification	Gold
The O'Jays singles chronology
"992 Arguments" (1972) "Love Train" (1972) "Time to Get Down" (1973)

"Love Train" is a hit single by The O'Jays, written by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. Released in 1972, it reached number one on both the R&B Singles and the Billboard Hot 100, in February and March 1973 respectively,^[1] number 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 U.S. pop chart. "Love Train" entered the Hot 100's top 40 on 27 January 1973.^[2] 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.

Recorded at Philadelphia's Sigma Sound Studios, 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.

Music video

The music video shows a group of people forming a chain near a railroad station, while at the same time, some railroad cars are shown in motion. Throughout the video, more people join in the chain, which they call the "Love Train". It was most likely filmed around the Northeast Corridor, as Long Island Rail Road MP75 railcars appear throughout the music video (in which the words "LONG ISLAND" are clearly visible), as well as Amtrak railcars and other railcars. Not much is known about the music video, although it was recorded in 1973.^[3]

Chart performance

Weekly charts Chart (1972-73) Peak position Australia KMR [4] 91 Canada [5] 15 UK 9 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [6] 1 U.S. Billboard R&B 1 U.S. Cash Box Top 100 [7] 1

Year-end charts Chart (1973) Rank Canada [8] 117 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [9] 32 U.S. Cash Box 12

Cover versions

By early 1974, The Supremes' line up (Wilson, Birdsong and Payne) adopted the song to perform in live appearences. Hall & Oates covered the song for the 1989 soundtrack to the film Earth Girls Are Easy, as well as Daryl Hall and his band joining the 2016 version of the O'Jays in a live version on Hall's "Live from Daryl's House" television show. The Rolling Stones played Love Train on their worldwide Licks Tour during 2002 and 2003.^[10] Roots rock 'n' roll band The Yayhoos' cover appeared on their 2006 release, "Put The Hammer Down."Gospel Group Doc McKenzie and the Hi-Lites covered this song in 2003 .In 2011, Alvin and the Chipmunks and The Chipettes covered the song as a bonus track on the Target limited edition of the soundtrack Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked: Music from the Motion Picture.^[11]

In popular culture

• The song is featured in a number of Coors Light commercials.
• The song is used in the episode My Dumb Luck of the TV series Scrubs.
• The song was also featured in the 1995 film Dead Presidents.
• The original O'Jays version of the song was used on the soundtrack to the 2015 film The Martian.^[12] It is played at the end of the film, just before the final credits.

See also

• List of anti-war songs
• List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 1973

References

1. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 438.
2. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
3. "Love Train - The O' Jays". YouTube. 2008-09-08.
4. David Kent's "Australian Chart Book 1970-1992"
5. http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.4788&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.4788.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.4788
6. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
7. CASH BOX Top 100 Singles
8. Bac-lac.gc.ca
9. Musicoutfitters.com
10. "Love Train - The Rolling Stones". YouTube. 2012-10-12.
11. Amazon.com: Alvin & The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked: Limited Edition Inckudes...
12. "The Martian (2015)". Soundtrack.Net. Retrieved December 8, 2015.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
• Song review on AllMusic