Love (band)

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Love, led by the enigmatic Arthur Lee, were an influential rock and roll band of the late 1960s who are now best remembered for their classic album Forever Changes. This featured the songwriting of both Lee and Bryan McLean accompanied with strong horn and string arrangements.

Band members (circa Forever Changes) were:

Arthur Lee
Bryan McLean
John Echols
Ken Forssi
Michael Stuart

In 1966, Love recorded the single "7 And 7 Is," one of the most explosive pieces of California psychedelic rock. The song has a frantic rhythm, distorted guitars, deep bass runs, and angry, acid-influenced lyrics, all culminating in the pre-recorded sound of an atomic blast. This track, which reached #33 on the Billboard Pop charts, can be found on the Nuggets boxed set, as well as the Love album Da Capo.

Not long after Forever Changes was released, Arthur Lee fired all the other members of the band. It was another example of his increasingly instability, which coincided with his mounting drug use. He dwindled into obscurity after every album he released flopped. Lee spent six years in prison beginning in 1995 following convictions for attempted arson and illegal weapons ownership.

Jim Morrison of The Doors once stated his band's ambition was to be "as big as Love".

See also : Love