Walking in the Rain with the One I Love was an R&B

Rhythm and blues

Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...

 single in 1972 for the soul trio

Trio (music)

Trio is generally used in any of the following ways:* A group of three musicians playing the same or different musical instrument.* The performance of a piece of music by three people.* The contrasting section of a piece in ternary form...

 Love Unlimited

Love Unlimited

Love Unlimited was a female vocal trio that provided backing vocals for American R&B/soul singer Barry White on his albums and concert tours. They also found success with their own recordings. Formed in 1969, the group included Barry White’s future wife, Glodean James, her sister, Linda James, and...

, a studio group created by singer/producer Barry White

Barry White

Barry White, born Barry Eugene Carter , was an American composer and singer-songwriter.A five-time Grammy Award-winner known for his distinctive bass voice and romantic image, White's greatest success came in the 1970s as a solo singer and with the Love Unlimited Orchestra, crafting many enduring...

. The main vocalists were female singers Glodean James

Glodean White

Glodean B. White is an R&B singer who was married to performer Barry White. In the 1980s, White made numerous appearances on Soul Train and the Soul Train Music Awards. She was also part of the band Love Unlimited....

, her sister, Linda James, and their cousin Diane Taylor. Glodean would eventually become White's wife in 1974; the couple would split up in 1988, though they never divorced

Divorce

Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...

.

This is notable for White's first ever vocal appearance on a recording, as an uncredited voice on the telephone. The lush sound and romantic atmosphere led to this becoming Love Unlimited's first hit record, eventually rising to #14 on the Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 and #6 on the Soul Singles chart in the spring of 1972. The record sold over a million copies, thus receiving a gold record

Music recording sales certification

Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...

 for its sales. It would precede White's debut as a solo act on the Billboard charts by one year, when he hit #1 R&B with "I'm Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby

I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby

"I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby" is a song written, produced and recorded by Barry White. Considering how successful it would end up being, it would probably come as a surprise that, for many years, White had little to no interest in a recording career...

" in May 1973.

The group would return to the Hot 100 three more times, their best result being "I Belong To You

I Belong to You (Love Unlimited song)

I Belong To You is a 1974 single by trio Love Unlimited, which was their only single to go to number one on the R&B chart and did so, for one week, in early 1975. It was their second and last Top 40 entry, peaking at number twenty-seven. The ballad was done in a retro girl group singing style and...

", which would peak at #27 and go all the way to the top of the Soul Singles chart in February 1975.