Formation and early years Singer/multi-instrumentalist
Arthur Lee, who was originally from
Memphis, Tennessee but had lived in
Los Angeles since the age of five, had been recording since 1963 with his bands the LAG's and Lee's American Four. He wrote and produced the single "My Diary" for Rosa Lee Brooks in 1964, which featured
Jimi Hendrix on guitar. Singer/guitarist
Bryan MacLean, who had met Lee when he was working as a roadie for The Byrds, joined Lee's new band, which was first called the Grass Roots. MacLean had also been playing in bands around Los Angeles since about 1963. Also joining the band was another Memphis native, lead guitarist
Johnny Echols, and drummer Don Conka. A short time later, Conka was replaced by Alban "Snoopy" Pfisterer. Love's first bassist, Johnny Fleckenstein, went on to join
the Standells in 1967. Fleckenstein was replaced by
Ken Forssi (formerly of a post-"
Wipe Out" lineup of
the Surfaris). Upon the appearance of another group called
the Grass Roots, Lee changed the name of the new band to Love. It was a dilapidated mansion that the band was allowed to live in if they did the maintenance and paid the taxes. According to
John Einarson in the book
Forever Changes, the cover photo of their first two albums was of the band taken in
Laurel Canyon at a burned down house that only had the remains of a fireplace left standing. Signed to
Elektra Records as the label's first rock act, the band scored a minor hit single in 1966 with their version of
Burt Bacharach and
Hal David's "
My Little Red Book". Their first album,
Love, was released in March 1966. The album sold moderately well and reached No. 57 on the
Billboard 200 chart. Arthur Lee had an exclusive contract with
Herb Cohen for a short time after signing with Elektra Records. After Lee met Ronnie Haran, booking manager for the
Whisky a Go Go, Cohen was fired by Arthur in favor of Haran. Haran continued to manage Love, despite not having an official contract, for a couple years. Mike Gruber took over after Haran departed as manager, though Haran remained somewhat involved with the group. It marked the experimental direction Arthur wanted to take. With the seven member lineup for
Da Capo, shortly after this album, Cantrelli and Pfisterer left the band, leaving it as a five-piece once again. The album displayed a softer and more avant-garde approach for the band. By this time, tension arose between Arthur Lee and Bryan MacLean, who wanted more of his songs on the album. Writer
Richard Meltzer, in his book
The Aesthetics of Rock, commented on Love's "orchestral moves", "post-doper word contraction cuteness", and Lee's vocal style that serves as a "reaffirmation of
Johnny Mathis".
Forever Changes had one single, MacLean's "
Alone Again Or", which reached number 123 on the pop charts. By this stage, Love were far more popular in the UK, where the album reached No. 24, than in their home country, where it could only reach No. 154. being inducted into the
Grammy Hall of Fame, and added to the Library of Congress's
National Recording Registry in 2011.
Later years For unclear reasons, Bryan MacLean left the band after
Forever Changes), while Lee dismissed all the other members. and drummer Michael Stuart retired from music after rejecting an offer to tour with Neil Diamond, according to his book. Arthur Lee, as the only remaining member, convened a new lineup of Love with Jay Donnellan (soon replaced by Gary Rowles) on guitar, Frank Fayad on bass, and George Suranovich on drums. This lineup played in a
blues rock style, as opposed to the folk-rock and psychedelic styles of the band's previous incarnation. The new lineup never garnered the widespread acceptance or acclaim of the original group. Another album by this incarnation of the band was recorded in 1971, but the material was not released until 2009 on the compilation album
Love Lost. Arthur Lee released the solo album
Vindicator in 1972. Another lost Love album titled
Black Beauty was recorded in 1973 by a new lineup featuring guitarist Melvan Whittington, bassist Robert Rozelle, and drummer Joe Blocker, but Arthur Lee's record label went out of business before it was released. The album was finally released by
High Moon Records in 2012. The final official Love album,
Reel to Real (1974), was recorded by Lee and session musicians. It features the track "
Everybody's Gotta Live", which was previously recorded by Lee for
Vindicator. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, there were various attempts to reunite the original Love lineup. At the suggestion of late-period guitarist John Sterling, Arthur Lee and Bryan MacLean reunited for one show in 1978, which was recorded and released as
Love Live in 1980. Lee reemerged in 1992 with a new album titled
Five String Serenade, released under the name Arthur Lee & Love. The album's title track was later covered by
Mazzy Star. Lee then returned to semi-regular performing, often backed by the band
Baby Lemonade. In 1995,
Rhino Records released the compilation
Love Story, a two-disc set with extensive
liner notes which chronicled the band's 1966–1972 period. Ken Forssi, bassist for the classic Love lineup, died of a suspected
brain tumor at age 54 on January 5, 1998. Arthur Lee was in prison when both of these former bandmates died.
Reformation and reunions After spending six years in prison from 1995 to 2001 for firearms offenses, Lee began touring under the name Love with Arthur Lee, with the members of Baby Lemonade rounding out the lineup. In 2002 Michael Stuart (now known as Michael Stuart-Ware), the drummer on the Love albums
Da Capo and
Forever Changes, wrote the acclaimed book
Behind the Scenes on the Pegasus Carousel with the Legendary Rock Group Love. performing at the Beacon Theatre Benefit For Arthur Lee, June 23, 2006 Johnny Echols joined Lee's latest group for a special
Forever Changes 35th Anniversary performance in the spring of 2003 and again for tours in 2004 and 2005. but continues to perform in the U.S. as LOVE-Revisited. In November 2021, they announced that they would again tour in the UK in 2022, and at some shows would play the whole of their first two albums,
Love and
Da Capo, in their entirety, as well as
Forever Changes. In August 2024, a new album of unreleased music written by Lee was announced. Titled
Just to Remind You, the release comprises material recorded between 1990 and 2005 "curated and polished by trusted collaborators".
Just to Remind You is scheduled for release in 2025. ==Musical style==