Life, Love And Harmony (single)

"**Life, Love and Harmony**" is a song by American singer Nancy Wilson, from her 35th studio album of the same name. It was released by Capitol Records on September 17, 1979. "Life, Love and Harmony" was written by Carolyn Jones and Larry Farrow, also the producer of the song as well. It's one of the few disco songs recorded by Wilson, with the song's lyrics is about partying and having a good time.

It was the biggest single of 1979 and 1980, peaking at number one for eleven non-consecutive weeks, during it's original run on the *Billboard* Hot 100, making it her 30th number-one single on the chart. After Wilson's death in 2018, the single debuted at number one in December 2018 and spent an additional two weeks at the position, nearly 40 years after its release. This made Wilson the second artist have a single re-peak at number one on the chart and the only artist to have single debut at number one posthumously. "Life, Love and Harmony" has spent a total of 31 non-consecutive weeks in the top-ten and remained on the Hot 100 for 67 weeks in total. In 2019, the single surpassed Chubby Checker's "The Twist" as the number-one single on the list of "The *Billboard* All-Time Hot 100 Top Songs", until The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights" dethroned it in 2021.

"Life, Love and Harmony" was also a massive success globally, peaking at number one on the UK Singles Chart, spending 14 non-consecutive weeks at the position. It's the third best-selling single in the nation, selling over 3.6 million copies. The song also peaked at number one in other nations such as Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland and the Netherlands. In January 2023, the single was certified 15× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), becoming the highest-certified single from the 20th century. "Love, Love and Harmony" is Wilson's biggest single to date, selling over 26 million copies worldwide. It is the fourth-best selling physical single of all time and the best-selling disco single of all-time.

The single was nominated for Song Of The Year, Record Of The Year, and Best Female Pop Performance at the 22nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1980. Many publications over the years have listed "Life, Love and Harmony" as one of the 'Greatest Singles Of All-Time', including *Billboard* and *Rolling Stone.* In September 2019, "Life, Love and Harmony" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. The single has since become a staple in pop culture and of the most-recognizable songs in popular music, with the single featured in various forms of media since it's release. As of January 2023, "Life, Love and Harmony" has over accumulated over 1.54 billion streams on Spotify, making it the most streamed song by a woman artist from the 20th century, and the second most-streamed single from the 20th century.

## Background and composition

Almost a year after the release of Wilson's 34th studio album, she noted in 1980 *Entertainment Tonight* interview that she wanted to make a 'pure disco single'. Wilson eventually collaborated with songwriters and producers, Larry Farrow and Carolyn Jones to help compose the single. The executive of Capitol Records at the time was nervous about Wilson recording a disco record, due to the constant negative response the disco genre received from music consumers . Nevertheless, Wilson said "she didn't care about critical response, but just wanted to record what she wanted."

"Life, Love and Harmony" is a upbeat disco song, with elements of pop. The signature elements of the song are the handclaps and its funky rhythm guitar licks. Other instruments used in the song were the drum machine, keyboards, and synthesizers. The recording is one of Wilson's first tracks to use computer-enhanced technology. In the album and 12” single versions, the bridge of the the song is is extended. The ending of the album version of the recording includes a brief saxophone solo. The song heavily uses the drum machine and strings as well. Wilson's vocal range throughout the song spans over two octaves, showing off her booming mezzo-soprano vocal.

## Commercial performance

### United States

"Life, Love and Harmony" was released on September 17, 1979. It debuted on the *Billboard* Hot 100 at number three, making it one of the first singles to debut in the top five. The following week, it reached the number one spot on the *Billboard* Hot 100, making it her 30th single to reach the position. During it's original chart run remained atop of the chart remained there for eleven non-consecutive weeks, until February 1980, and remained in the top-ten until March 1980. It was credited that the release of the music video helped prolong its spot at number one. The song held the record for the longest-running number one single on the chart for 12 years, Boyz II Men’s “Until The End Of The Road” surpassed it in 1992. After Wilson's death in 2018, "Life, Love And Harmony" debuted at the number-one spot in the chart week of December 22, 2018, spending two weeks at the position and a total of five weeks in the top-ten. On the Hot 100, the song spent a total 31 non-consecutive weeks in the top-ten and 23 non-consecutive in the top-five. This made Wilson the second artist to have a single re-peak at the number-one spot, since Chubby Checker's "The Twist" in 1962. She also became the only artist to have a song debut at that position posthumously. Furthermore, Wilson became the first artist in history to have a single hold the number one position in four separate calendar years (1979, 1980, 2018, and 2019), until it was surpassed by Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" 2023.

On January 3, 2023, "Life, Love And Harmony" was certified 15× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for shipments of 15 million copies (sales and streaming taken into account), making it the second single to become Diamond-certified from the 20th century, after Elton John's "Candle In the Wind 1997". It also became the highest-certified single from the 20th century in the United States. As of 2020, "Life, Love And Harmony" has sold an estimated eight million physical copies in the United States, making it the third best-selling single in the nation. The single has also sold over 5.4 million digital copies in the nation to date.

### Other territories

In Canada, "Life, Love And Harmony" peaked at number one for eight consecutive weeks, becoming the biggest single in the nation that year. In the United Kingdom, the single topped the UK Singles Chart for 14 non-consecutive weeks and remained in its top-ten for a total of 33 weeks (30 weeks consecutively). On December 21, 2018, “Life, Love And Harmony” re-entered the top-ten of the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number two, and remaining in the top-ten for an additional three weeks. The single has spent a total of 112 weeks on the chart and has sold over 3.6 million copies in the United Kingdom, making it the third best-selling single in the nation.

In Australia, “Life, Love And Harmony” topped the *Kent Music Report* for 10 non-consecutive weeks. It was the longest-running number one of 1979 in the nation, as well as Wilson’s longest running number one single. The song topped other charts since its release, in countries such as Austria, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Denmark, Europe, France, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Norway, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. "Life, Love And Harmony" sold 15 million copies within its first year of release, becoming the best-selling single of 1979 and 1980. As of January 2023, "Life, Love And Harmony" has accumulated over 1.54 billion streams on Spotify, becoming the second most-streamed song of the 20th century, after Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody". To date, "Life, Love And Harmony" has sold over 26 million copies worldwide, making it Wilson's best-selling single, the best-selling disco single of all-time and the fourth best-selling single overall.

## Reception and legacy

The single received mostly positive to mixed reviews. Many critics praised its production and Wilson experimenting with disco, with some saying that she 'hopped on the disco bandwagon'. A critic from *Rolling Stone* noted, '"Life, Love and Harmony" is a 'well-crafted' disco single, and it suits Wilson very well." Some critics even saying that 'it may be Wilson's best-recording to date", a statement from *Billboard* in 1979. The success of the single was a surprise, due to the Disco Demolition Night, that occurred two months prior to its release. After the release, it was noted that Studio 54 played the song at least '15-20 times' a night.

“Life, Love and Harmony” has been listed as one of the most recognizable songs of the 20th century by numerous critics. It’ has been listed as one of Wilson’s signature songs, along with “Streetrunner”, “This Mother’s Daughter”, "Midnight Rendezvous", “Houdini of the Midnite Hour”, “Now I’m a Woman” and “Face It Girl, It’s Over”. *The Atlantic* described the single to be a ‘cultural reset of the music industry’. *Billboard* has ranked it number one on it’s ‘All-Time Hot 100 Top Songs’ chart and ranked number two on its 1980s decade chart. The song was ranked at number three on *Billboard’s* list of ‘Greatest Nancy Wilson Songs of All-Time”. *Rolling Stone* ranked it number 123 on its The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Since the release of the single, “Life, Love and Harmony” has been featured in numerous soundtracks and award shows. The glitter-lavender suit dress Wilson wore in the music video, designed by Giorgio Armani has been replicated by many celebrities over the years, including Rihanna, Kate Moss, Billy Porter and Zendaya. The dress alone was one of the biggest cultural phenomenon of the 1980s decade. Artists who covered “Life, Love and Harmony”, include Mariah Carey, Gloria Gaynor, Whitney Houston, Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle, Regina Bell, Kylie Minogue, Demi Lovato, Naya Rivera and Adam Lambert.

It was nominated in three major categories, Song Of The Year, Record Of The Year, and Best Female Pop Performance at the 22nd Annual Grammy Awards. In 1994, “Life, Love And Harmony” was inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame.

### Impact on the LGBTQ+ community

Since its release, the song has been had profound impact on the LGBTQ community, while becoming a staple in gay clubs around the world, as well as becoming a 'gay anthem'. Annually, Life, Love And Harmony makes a return to the charts globally during pride month, as well as being played during pride parades.

## Charts and certifications

### **Certifications**

(Physical)
(Digital)
‡sales+streaming figures based on certification alone