L.T.D. is an American R&B/funk band best known for their 1977 hit single, " Back in Love Again" and "Holding On ", as well as their many ballads, such as "Love Ballad", "We Both Deserve Each Other's Love", and "Where Did We Go Wrong?".
Career
L.T.D., was formed in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1968, when Arthur "Lorenzo" Carnegie, Jake Riley Carle Wayne Vickers and Abraham "Onion" Miller, who had been working as members of the 15 piece "Fantastic Soul Men Orchestra" backing the ever popular duo of Sam & Dave, along with Jimmy "J.D." Davis, formed their own band named Love Men Ltd. They then drove to New York City, in a car that they purchased together, and lived in the Hamilton Heights section of Harlem on 149th and Broadway, where Toby Wynn joined them. While performing on a gig in Providence, Rhode Island, Jeffrey Osborne was recruited by them. After two years in New York, they drove two cars and a trailer to Los Angeles, California, where Jeffrey's brother, Billy Osborne, Celeste Cole, Henry E. Davis and Robert Santiel joined them. 1974 found them signing with A&M Records as L.T.D.. In 1976, Johnny McGhee joined the band. Jeffrey Osborne moved to lead vocals, with Melvin Webb taking over on drums, in 1977. Webb was replaced by Alvino Bennett in late 1978. The group then went on to release songs such as "Love Ballad", " Back in Love Again", "Holding On ", and many others. Soon after the band's 1980 album Shine On, Jeffrey and Billy Osborne departed to start solo careers. Andre Ray and Leslie Wilson were then chosen as lead vocalists for their next album Love Magic which produced two more hits, "April Love" and "Kicking Back". Leslie Wilson left to continue his solo career and L.T.D. stayed busy in the music industry by recording for small independent record labels, and doing their own personal music projects. In 1999, a band using the L.T.D. name lost a federal court battle with the current three original members of L.T.D. centering on usage rights to and ownership of the name L.T.D. A lineup of L.T.D. featuring three original members — Carnegie, Vickers, and McGhee — along with new members Tre'sure, Aya Iwata,, Herbert Lee Woods, Steve Toussaint, and Tefere Hazy have been steady touring the U.S. since 1999. Melvin Webb died in 1982, Jake Riley died in 2000, and J.D. Davis died in 2008. Henry E. Davis died in 2012 in Los Angeles, CA. On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed L.T.D. among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.
