Love Alive III

Love Alive III was released by Walter Hawkins and the Love Center Choir as part of the Love Alive series of live gospel recordings. While the exact year varies by source, the Love Alive albums were recorded during the late 1970s and early 1980s, a pivotal era for contemporary Black gospel music.

The album is cherished for its choir-centered performances rooted in the contemporary Black gospel tradition, with Walter Hawkins serving as composer, arranger, vocalist, and pianist. Tracks from the Love Alive series, particularly the earlier Love Alive II, include Hawkins classics that remain staples in gospel church repertoires.

The Love Center Choir is the ensemble associated with Walter Hawkins's Love Center Church in Oakland, California. The choir's recordings helped define the 'gospel choir sound' of the 1970s and 1980s, blending traditional gospel call-and-response with Hawkins's more contemporary compositional style.

Love Alive III is the third entry in Hawkins's series of live albums with the Love Center Choir, following the widely influential Love Alive and Love Alive II. The series is considered a cornerstone of the contemporary gospel choir tradition and helped bring Oakland's gospel music scene to national prominence.