Barry White

Source

• Born: 12 September 1944
• Birthplace: Galveston, Texas
• Died: 4 July 2003
• Best Known As: The singer of "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe"

Name at birth: Barry Eugene Carter

Barry White was known as "the Walrus of Love," a nickname that encompassed his size, his deep voice and his reputation as one of R&B's most romantic singers. White grew up in Los Angeles and got into the music business at an early age. By the late 1960s he organized and produced a girl group called Love Unlimited, whose 1972 hit "Walkin' in the Rain With the One I Love" featured Barry's voice through a telephone. His own debut album, I've Got So Much To Give (1973), included the hit "I'm Gonna Love Ya Just a Little More, Baby." White's distinctive, smooth bass voice was backed by the Love Unlimited Orchestra, and during the '70s he had several hits, including "Love's Theme," a slickly-produced soul song that signalled the beginning of the disco era. During the '80s his career waned, but in the '90s his career was revived, thanks in part to appearances on the TV shows Ally McBeal and The Simpsons. After selling millions of records over three decades, White won his first Grammy with his album Staying Power (1999). By the time of his death, White was a pop culture icon whose name was synonymous with intimate mood music.

White suffered for years from high blood pressure, which led to kidney failure. At the time of his death he was waiting for a kidney transplant and had also suffered a stroke.

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singer; songwriter; bandleader; music producer

Personal Information

Born in September of 1944, in Galveston, TX; died on July 4, 2003, in Los Angeles, CA; son of Melvin (a machinist) and Sadie Marie Carter (an actress and piano teacher) White; married Betty Smith (divorced); married Glodean James, 1973 (divorced, 1988); children: nine from various marriages and relationships.

Career

Sang with groups the Upfronts and the Atlantics, 1960s; Del-Fi, Mustang, and Bronco Records, songwriter, producer, A&R rep, 1960s; signed with 20th Century Records, 1972; Love Unlimited, producer and songwriter, 1972-79; solo singer, 1973-83, 1987-2003; Love Unlimited Orchestra, leader and producer, 1974-83.

Life's Work

Over the years people have come up with almost as many nicknames for Barry White as he has gold and platinum records. From Dr. Love to the Prince of Pillow Talk, he has heard it all. With his signature lushly orchestrated compositions and basso-profundo voice, White carved out a niche for himself in the 1970s as a disco king, and again in the 1990s as the father of the slow jam. As Ebony's Kevin Chappell summed it up, "He's come back strong, captivating a new generation of romantics with his unique brand of toe-curling, make-you-want-to-love-somebody ballads that give men courage and women chills."

White was born Barry Eugene Carter in September of 1944, in Galveston, Texas, but only because his mother, Sadie Marie Carter, had extended a family visit there. He was raised in California in the Watts area of south Los Angeles. White's father, machinist Melvin White, who already had a wife and children across town, never married Sadie Marie but was around occasionally. When White started school, his father happened to catch a glimpse of the boy's birth certificate with the name Carter on it. He crossed it out and wrote in White.

Youth Filled With Crime and Music

Sadie Marie had been forced onto welfare when chronic arthritis ended her three-film acting career. She gave piano lessons; and she taught White how to harmonize when he was just four. "I stayed glued to the phonograph when Mama played her records--symphonies, sonatas, melodies soaring through me," he told David Ritz for his press materials. He took up piano by age five after hearing his mother play Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" on their $50-upright piano. "That blew my mind," he told People's Jeremy Helligar. "I will never forget that day." But he also remembered to Michael A. Gonzales in Vibe, "My mother tried to teach me the scales, but I told her I wanted to learn it my way. One of the greatest gifts she gave me was when she said okay." White never did learn to read or write music, but he did become a multi-instrumentalist who can simultaneously create and arrang! e music in his head.

White had a brother just 13 months younger than he, though they looked like twins. Unfortunately Darryl liked trouble as much as White loved music. Growing up in Watts during the 1950s and 1960s, both boys easily found trouble. They were in and out of gangs, but were mostly considered a gang of two. Darryl went to jail--juvenile detention--for the first time when he was just eight. White himself went at age 16 after stealing thousands of dollars' worth of tires from Cadillacs on a lot. When he got out after seven months he vowed to never go to jail again.

White's voice had changed virtually over night, from the regular treble of a high school teen into a bass like he had never heard before. "It scared me and my mother when I spoke that morning," he told Chappell in Ebony. "It was totally unexpected. My chest rattled; I mean vibrations. My mother was staring at me, and I was staring at her. The next thing I knew her straight face broke into a beautiful smile. Tears came down her face and she said, 'My son's a man now.'" When some of the kids from John Adams Junior High formed a harmony group called the Upfronts, White was a natural choice for bass. They even recorded a song called "Little Girl." His mom kept a copy for his entire life.

Transitioned From Songwriter to Singer

After the Upfronts, White joined a quartet called the Atlantics, followed by a stint playing drums for Jackie Lee. He then went on to work for Bob Keene at his many labels--Del-Fi, Mustang, and Bronco Records--as a songwriter, producer, and A&R guy. But none of this was coming easily and White was struggling. He married his high school sweetheart, Betty Smith, fathered four children, and got divorced, all before the age of 21. He dropped out of high school in his senior year and supported his family mainly on low-wage jobs and welfare checks. His marriage failed under the strain of poverty.

In 1972 White finally got his first real break after years of struggling at the bottom rung of the recording industry's ladder. Having made somewhat of a reputation as a songwriter--he even wrote two songs for the kids show The Banana Splits--White signed a contract with 20th Century Records. He recorded the lilting instrumental "Love's Theme" with his newly formed Love Unlimited Orchestra. As he gained notice for his composing, White put together a girls' group called Love Unlimited. Under his tutelage their trio struck gold with their 1972 million-selling record "Walkin' in the Rain with the One I Love," penned by White. In 1973 White fell in love with one of his trio of singers, Glodean James, and they married.

Meanwhile the man most famous for his singing voice had yet to get around to solo work. Although it was never his first love--he really preferred writing, producing, and arranging--White finally got his solo recording career rolling in 1973 with his first number-one hit, "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby." He sold $16 million worth of his music in 1973 alone.

"Critics argued," wrote Vibe's Gonzales, "that White's sound was overly repetitive and lacked the kind of social consciousness that fueled the works of Curtis Mayfield or power crooners like the man then known as Theodore Pendergrass, Jr. [Teddy Pendergrass]." From the beginning skeptics said his popularity could not last. Ebony quoted a 1974 reviewer calling White "a limited performer capitalizing on a gimmick" with his deep voice; but White was unstoppable, as was Love Unlimited. During the 1970s White had dozens of gold and platinum smashes including "Never Gonna Give You Up," "Ecstasy," and "I've Got So Much To Give."

Gained Fans With Unique Voice

Listeners could not get enough of White's voice; and his songs were the essence of seduction. The lyrics are not shocking by the standards of the 1990s; they are simply verbal foreplay backed up by heady swirling orchestrations. He was perhaps most famous when he simply spoke words of love during his songs, as if he were speaking directly to a single listener; and words of love were all he ever sang about. Although White had strong political feelings--he had a portrait of civil rights leader Malcolm X hanging in his living room--these are issues he rarely spoke about in the press, and never about in his work.

Not only did White's music become huge in the 1970s, it catapulted him to the lofty role of King of Disco. Every generation has had its dance music, and in the 1970s it was disco; artists like Donna Summer, the Bee Gees, and Abba had people dancing, but to White's music, they mostly made love. Jet quoted writer Adrian Deevoy as having said, "When he sings, strong men tremble and ladies are transported up the stairway of unparalleled ecstasy," and "children, they say, are often conceived that very night."

But in 1979 White left 20th Century and signed a lucrative contract with CBS Records. He felt strongly that the vibe was changing and record companies were ignoring it. To Ritz he said, "At that point, disco was exploited and overexposed, raped and ruined by a business that never knows when to stop. I listened to my accountants and lawyers. I signed the contract and put the advance in the bank, but inside my heart I felt something was wrong." This $8 million deal included White's own label, Unlimited Gold. Although he produced around ten albums on that label, for which he was credited with flashes of brilliance, sales were weak. White's relationship with CBS was not strong and in four years he failed to have any hits in the United States, something he still blames on the record company.

White knew that music was changing and all he wanted was to learn the new technologies of the 1980s. "I was locked into one style of recording.... In the middle of my 40s I had to shift my mind without losing my soul," he told Chappell. Although even after his contract with CBS Records and the fact that disco itself seemed to have gone by the wayside, offers still poured in for White but he would have none of it. He had saved enough money that he would be fine on his own, figuring out where the future of his music lay.

The 1980s were also difficult in other ways for White. In December of 1983 White's brother Darryl was murdered on the streets of south central Los Angeles. Although White had predicted such an occurrence, it was no less devastating to him. "No one could understand the bond between me and Darryl," he told Ritz. "I struggled to understand the forces that drove his soul in one direction and mine in another. That struggle continues." In 1988 White and his wife Glodean were divorced. By then music was his closest friend, and it had become time for that music to live again.

In 1987 White released The Right Night on A&M Records, a strong company in which White had confidence. Chappell said the album "successfully used the technology White had once so greatly feared without changing the music that made him famous." Skeptics wondered if White could survive the disco backlash that had slapped down recent comeback albums by the Bee Gees and Donna Summer. Although that album did not catch on, 1989's Barry White: The Man Is Back became a steady seller on the soul market.

"The Man Is Back"

With the 1990s, dance music returned and a great many young soul singers--black and white, in England and the United States--started touting Barry White as one of their greatest influences. In 1990 White won a Grammy award for his part in the Quincy Jones-produced song "Secret Garden." In 1991 Put Me in Your Mix fueled the fire, but it was his 1994 album The Icon Is Love that really caused White to explode full-force back on the scene.

Suddenly the big man was back in the U.S. spotlight--he had never really gone away to the rest of the world. The single "Practice What You Preach" became his first number-one hit in 17 years. He was all over television with his more sophisticated, but always sexy, 1990s look. He even appeared on David Letterman's late night talk show twice in one month, which was a rare occurrence for any artist. Valentine's Day saw him plugging prime time television shows with a message of love. Everybody was thrilled to see "Dr. Feel Good" back on top.

White knew what he was doing. He had embraced the new music technologies of the 1980s and he looked to young people, collaborating with hit-makers like Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, and Gerald Levert & Tony Nicholas, as well as with his musical godson Chuckii Booker, and longtime musical partner Jack Perry. "I chose these people to work with," he told BRE, "because they are all masters at what they do." According to BRE, "In White's wise eyes, these producers are among the few who hold the future of black music in their hands."

White did not respect a good many of the young artists making music in the 1990s because they couldn't craft songs. But he did see a difference between his generation and the new generation of young stars--when he was a kid they burned Watts during the riots, but 1990s ghetto kids invented rap music. White realized that there were still kids killing each other, but there were also young people letting their anger out in song, taking power, and creating a place for themselves in the record industry. That was why White needed to learn what was new, because he knew change was inevitable. This resulted in his soulful slow raps being laid over a hip-hop beat.

As White's star grew bright again, so did disco, as did most everything representing the 1970s. He had reclaimed his old fans as well as picking up a younger set. And he still had that voice. As Jonathan Gold described a concert in the Los Angeles Times, "His basso molto profundo [was] so awesome that he could have read the phone book and gotten an ovation."

"The song is the most important thing. That hasn't changed," he told Dennis Hunt in the Los Angeles Times. "As long as I can still write a song, there'll be a place for me in music." Although he told Chappell in Ebony, "I don't know how much longer I'll be around, but when I leave next time that'll be it," he assured Jeremy Helligar in People, "I've got everything. Coming from the ghettos of Los Angeles, I've turned my life from negative to positive. I've lived. I've made my mark. I'm probably the happiest being you'll ever set with in your life."

And White's popularity continued to increase. He released the album Staying Power in 1999 for which he received Grammy Awards for both Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance. He followed the success of his new album with his autobiography, Unlimited: Insights on Life and Love, co-written with Marc Eliot. In 2000 he was invited to join the ranks of such greats as W. B. Yeats, David Lloyd George, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu in being invited to speak at the prestigious Oxford Union Debating Society. And what did he talk about? Love. And what did the students think of him? "'I thought he was brilliant,' said student Elizabeth Hunt, 19," according to People Weekly. And that wasn't the end. Pavarotti invited White to sing with him for his annual charity concert "Pavarotti and Friends," a high honor for any performer, and one for which White received critical acclai! m. He also received a lot of exposure to a whole new generation through the television series Ally McBeal, in which one of the characters, John Cage, was constantly singing his songs to make himself feel better, sometimes accompanied by White himself. White was also seen, or at least heard, on Behind the Music, the popular show The Simpsons, and in a string of commercials for the fast food restaurant Arby's.

Unfortunately, White's health was not keeping up with the pace of his life. White was forced to cancel seven concerts when he went on tour in 1999 because his doctor told him the stress was causing him harm. Then White had a stroke in September of 2002, which left him hospitalized. On July 4, 2003, White died in Los Angeles of kidney failure. He was only 58 years old. Ally McBeal creator David E. Kelley put it well when he told Entertainment Weekly, "Bigger than life, [Barry White] was a legend who made us all smile." And he is certainly one who will not soon be forgotten.

Awards

Grammy Awards for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance, for Staying Power, 1999.

Works

Selected discography

Solo performances

• I've Got So Much to Give, 20th Century, 1973.
• Can't Get Enough, 20th Century, 1974.
• Just Another Way to Say I Love You, 20th Century, 1975.
• Barry White's Greatest Hits, 20th Century, 1975.
• Let the Music Play, 20th Century, 1976.
• Is This Whatcha Wont?, 20th Century, 1976.
• Barry White Sings For Someone You Love, 20th Century, 1977.
• The Man, 20th Century, 1978.
• I Love to Sing The Songs I Sing, 20th Century, 1979.
• Barry White's Greatest Hits, Volume 2, 20th Century, 1980.
• The Message Is Love, Unlimited Gold, 1979.
• Sheet Music, Unlimited Gold, 1980.
• Barry & Glodean, Unlimited Gold, 1981.
• Beware!, Unlimited Gold, 1981.
• Change, Unlimited Gold, 1982.
• Dedicated, Unlimited Gold, 1983.
• The Right Night & Barry White, A&M, 1987.
• The Man Is Back!, A&M, 1989.
• Put Me in Your Mix, A&M, 1991.
• The Icon Is Love, A&M, 1994.
• Staying Power, Private Music, 1999.
• The Best of Barry White, Island/UMe, 2003.

As producer for Love Unlimited

• From a Girl's Point of View We Give To You ..., Uni, 1972.
• Under the Influence of ..., 20th Century, 1973.
• In Heat, 20th Century, 1974.
• He's All I've Got, Unlimited Gold, 1977.
• Love Is Back, Unlimited Gold, 1979.

As producer and leader of Love Unlimited Orchestra

• Rhapsody in White, 20th Century, 1974.
• Together Brothers--Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 20th Century, 1974.
• White Gold, 20th Century, 1974.
• Music Maestro Please, 20th Century, 1975.
• My Sweet Summer Suite, 20th Century, 1976.
• My Musical Bouquet, 20th Century, 1978.
• Super Movie Themes, Just a Little Bit Different, 20th Century, 1979.
• Let Em Dance!, Unlimited Gold, 1981.
• Welcome Aboard (Presents Mr. Webster Lewis), Unlimited Gold, 1981.
• Rise, Unlimited Gold, 1983.

Further Reading

Books

• Contemporary Authors, Gale, 2003.
• St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, St. James Press, 2000.

Periodicals

• Advertising Age, April 16, 2001, p. 8.
• Billboard, December 24, 1994; July 3, 1999, p. 24; September 25, 1999, p. 96.
• BRE, October 28, 1994, pp. 23-26.
• Business Wire, February 23, 2000.
• Ebony, March 1990, p. 24; May 1995, pp. 52-58.
• Entertainment Weekly, October 21, 1994, p. 66; November 12, 1999, p. 74; July 18, 2003, p. 17.
• Europe Intelligence Wire, November 1, 2002.
• Jet, July 30, 1990, p. 37; January 9, 1995, pp. 54-58; December 11, 1995, p. 32; August 23, 1999, p. 39; June 18, 2001, p. 44; June 2, 2003, p. 53.
• Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service, June 20, 1996.
• Los Angeles Times, November 12, 1987; July 7, 1990, p. F5; July 10, 1990, p. F9.
• New York Times, July 9, 1995, sec. 2, p. 29; July 14, 1995, C3.
• People, January 23, 1995, pp. 66-67.
• People Weekly, January 22, 1996, p. 80; October 23, 2000, p. 21; July 21, 2003, p. 71.
• PR Newswire, December 1, 2000; July 10, 2003; July 23, 2003.
• Rolling Stone, February 9, 1995, p. 30.
• United Press International, July 6, 2003.
• Vibe, February 1995, pp. 60-61.

Other

• Additional information for this profile was obtained from A&M Records press materials, 1992 and 1994.

— Joanna Rubiner and Catherine V. Donaldson

Quotes:

"In my day, we didn't have the cocaine, so we went out and knocked somebody over the head and took the money. But today, all this cocaine and crack, it doesn't give kids a chance."

Biography

His voice is unmistakable, and the impact that singer Barry White had on the world of R&B, undeniable. With his seductive grooves highlighted by smooth baritone vocals, White turned up the heat with such memorable songs as "Can't Get Enough of Your Love Babe" and "It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next to Me." In the world of cinema, the good-humored actor/musician scored numerous films in addition to utilizing his voice to striking effect in Ralph Bakshi's Streetfight (1975) and a pair of appearances on the enduring animated sitcom The Simpsons. A native of Galveston, TX, who developed affection for gospel music in his youth, the self-taught pianist later moved to South Central Los Angeles with his mother. As a teen living in California, White began singing with his church choir, later experimenting with recording while working with various independent record labels around the city. Briefly jailed for stealing tires at age 16, White heard Elvis Presley's "It's Now or Never" and decided to get his life in shape and focus on his career as a singer.

From the early '60s on, White was elevated to legendary status following a series of stratospheric hits. Though regarded as a unflinchingly serious man, White is often credited with sparking the carefree disco craze, and his film work shows that he did indeed have a sense of humor regarding his public image. White's score for the 1974 film Together Brothers proved a solid introduction to the film world, though most of his music would be featured in such 1990s efforts as Dead Presidents (1995) and Love Serenade (1996), in addition to contributions to the hit television series Ally McBeal. Plagued by such health problems as kidney failure due to high blood pressure in his later years, White was forced to cancel tour dates in 1999 due to exhaustion. In September of 2002, he was hospitalized due to kidney failure and subsequently underwent dialysis, but a stroke in May of 2003 further debilitated him. On July 4, 2003, legendary crooner Barry White died in a Los Angeles hospital as a result of his health problems. He was 58. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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For The Record...

Born September 12, 1944, in Galveston, TX (one source says Los Angeles, CA), raised in Los Angeles; married Glodean James (a singer), July 4, 1974; children: Kevin, Bridgett, Barry, Jr. Sang in Galveston church choir at age eight; became church organist and part-time choir director at ten; professional debut at age 11 playing piano on Jesse Belvin’s recording of “Goodnight My Love”; joined Los Angeles rhythm and blues band the Upfronts as singer/pianist at 16; worked as arranger for Rampart Records under name Lee Barry and as road manager for Bob and Earl; songwriter and producer for Mustang/Bronco Records, beginning 1966; producer for Love Unlimited singing trio, beginning 1972; signed recording contract with Twentieth Century-Fox, 1973; conductor, composer, and arranger for Love Unlimited Orchestra, beginning 1973; founded recording company, Unlimited Gold, 1979; other business interests include Sa-Vette Music, Soul Unlimited, and Barry White, Inc. Awards: 20 gold singles and 103 gold albums; 10 platinum singles and 38 platinum albums. Addresses: Record company—A&M Records Inc., 1416 North La Brea Ave., Hollywood, CA 90028.

Singer, songwriter, composer, arranger, record producer

During the mid-1970s singer/songwriter Barry White was the undisputed maestro of sensual soul music. Growling seductive lyrics in a deep, husky voice backed by lush orchestration, White produced a string of hit songs during the decade, with titles such as "I’m Gonna Love You Just a Little Bit More, Baby," "I’ll Do Anything You Want Me To," and "I’m Qualified to Satisfy." His repetitive melodies and danceable rhythms were major influences on the disco music that emerged later in the decade; with his 41-piece Love Unlimited Orchestra he produced the prognostic disco hit "Love’s Theme" in 1973. The multifaceted White frequently wrote, arranged, and produced for other performers as well as himself; by the time his popularity as a singer had waned in the late seventies, his musical talents had earned him more than one hundred million dollars in worldwide record sales. "Before Teddy Pendergrass’s snarl, Luther Vandross’s arpeggios and Michael Jackson’s hiccups, there was Barry White’s deep, smooth moan," High Fidelity writer Havelock Nelson recalled. "He promised his baby virtually everything," Dave Marsh remarked in the New Rolling Stone Record Guide, "in a way still acceptable to the FCC."

White grew up in poverty and, like many poor black performers, got his musical start at a local church. At eight he began singing in the choir and two years later he played the organ and assisted the choir director. By the time he was 16 White had joined a rhythm and blues band, the Upfronts, as a singer and pianist performing in small clubs in the Los Angeles area. He next joined Rampart Records and started composing and producing. During this time he met performers Bob and Earl and wrote their 1963 hit "The Harlem Shuffle." In 1966 White became head of A & R (artists and repertoire) for Mustang/Bronco Records, where he wrote, produced, and unsuccessfully recorded as a solo vocalist. While there he met three female singers—Diane Taylor, Linda James, and Glodean James. Naming them Love Unlimited, he produced their first single, "Walkin’in the Rain with the One I Love" which turned gold. In 1973 White and his female associates signed recording contracts with Twentieth Century-Fox Records. His initial release, "I’m Gonna Love You Just a Little Bit More, Baby," topped the charts, the first in a succession of million-selling singles and albums which included "Never, Never Gonna Give You Up," "You’re My First, My Last, My Everything," Can’t Get Enough, and Just Another to Say I Love You. White’s easy-listening soul appealed to both pop and rhythm and blues audiences and was described as "sophistisoul." In 1973 White formed the Love Unlimited Orchestra to accompany him on his concert tours. The performer and his entourage left Twentieth Century-Fox when he founded his own recording company, Unlimited Gold, in 1979.

Although White’s appeal declined in the 1980s, he continued to compose, produce, and perform. His 1982 album Chance sold particularly well. Marsh quipped that the singer’s "corpulent frame" and "cluster of huge rings" sabotaged his reign as "a black matinee idol." In a 1990 Jet interview White deemed many current love songs "blatant and … vulgar." "Making love is one thing," he related, "having sex is another … I’ve always advocated loving, sharing, giving, understanding, making love, making time for each other, making time to communicate, stimulate." While critics have noted more uptempo tunes and less heavy orchestration in later White albums, a People critic wrote in a review of Change that "the product seems to be the same basic White bread: a little change, and a lot of status quo." Still, in his High Fidelity critique of the 1988 album The Right Night and Barry White, Nelson concluded: "During any quiet storm, underneath White satin is still a pretty good place to be."

Selected discography

Compositions
Has written numerous songs, including “The Harlem Shuffle,” recorded by Bob and Earl and The Rolling Stones; “I Feel Love Coming On,” recorded by Felice Taylor; and the instrumental “Love’s Theme,” recorded by the Love Unlimited Orchestra.
Albums
I’ve Got So Much to Give, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1973.
Stone Gon’, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1973.
Rhapsody in White, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1974.
Can’t Get Enough, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1974.
Just Another to Say I Love You, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1975.
Barry White’s Greatest Hits, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1975.
Let the Music Play, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1976.
Is This Whatcha Want?, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1976.
Barry White Sings for Someone You Love, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1977.
The Man, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1978.
The Message Is Love, Unlimited Gold, 1979.
I Love to Sing the Songs I Sing, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1979.
Sheet Music, Unlimited Gold, 1980.
Best of Our Love, Unlimited Gold, 1981.
Beware, Unlimited Gold, 1981.
Barry White’s Greatest Hits, volume 2, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1981.
Change, Unlimited Gold, 1982.
Dedicated, 1983.
The Right Night, A&M, 1987.
The Man Is Back, A&M, 1989.
Put Me in Your Mix, A&M, 1991.
Also contributed to Quincy Jones’s Grammy Award-winning “The Secret Garden (The Seduction Suite)” from the album Back on the Block, and to rapper Big Daddy Kane’s “All of Me Wants All of You,” 1990.
Sources
Books
The Encyclopedia of Rock, edited by Phil Hardy and Dave Laing, Schirmer Books, 1988.
The New Rolling Stone Record Guide, edited by Dave Marsh and John Swenson, Random House, 1983.
The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock and Roll, edited by Jon Pareles and Patricia Romanowski, Summit Books, 1983.

Periodicals
Daily News (New York), May 20, 1990.
Ebony, March 1990.
Elle, December 1989.
High Fidelity, March 1988.

Jet, July 9, 1990.
Newspaper, June 7, 1990.
People, August 18, 1980; October 4, 1982; September 26, 1983.
Washington Times, June 21, 1990.

• Genres: Rhythm & Blues

Biography

Say the name Barry White and you'd be hard pressed to follow it with the name of any other recording artist with such a huge, cross-sectional following. He was at home appearing on Soul Train, guesting with a full band on The Today Show, and appearing in cartoon form in various episodes of The Simpsons. During the '70s, Dinah Shore devoted a full hour of her daily syndicated Dinah! show to White. While there was a period where Barry White wasn't releasing records or making the pop charts, he did stay active touring and appearing on other artists' records including Quincy Jones' "The Secret Garden (The Seduction Suite)," Regina Belle, and rap star Big Daddy Kane's "All of Me." It's surprising to find out that such an illustrious career almost didn't happen because White wasn't interested in being a recording artist.

Born in Galveston, TX, Barry White grew up singing gospel songs with his mother and taught himself to play piano. Shortly after moving from Texas to South Central Los Angeles, White made his recording debut at the tender age of 11, playing piano on Jesse Belvin's "Goodnight My Love." He made his first record when he was 16 with a group called the Upfronts. The song was called "Little Girl" on a local L.A. label called Lummtone Records. Later he worked for various independent labels around Los Angeles, landing an A&R position with Bob Keane, the man responsible for the first pop recordings by Sam Cooke. One of his labels, Mustang, was hot at the time with a group called the Bobby Fuller Four in 1966. White was hired for 40 dollars a week to do A&R for Keane's family of labels: Del-Fi, Mustang and Bronco. During this time, White flirted with the idea of being a recording artist, making a record for Bronco called "All in the Run of a Day." But he chose to stick with his A&R duties. One of the first groups he worked with was the Versatiles who later changed their name to the 5th Dimension. White's first big hit came from an artist familiar to dancefloor denizens -- Viola Wills, whose "Lost Without the Love of My Guy" went Top 20 R&B. His salary went up to 60 dollars a week. White started working with the Bobby Fuller Four. Bob Keene and Larry Nunes -- who later became White's spiritual advisor and true friend -- wanted to cut a female act. White had heard about a singer named Felice Taylor. They had three hit records, "It May Be Winter Outside," "I'm Under the Influence of Love," and "I Feel Love Coming On." They were huge hits in England. White started making 400 dollars a week.

When Bronco went out of business, White began doing independent production. Those were some lean times for White. Veteran arranger Gene Page, who would later arrange or co-arrange White's hits, helped him out, giving him work and non-repayable loans. Then three years later, Paul Politti, who also worked at Bronco, contacted him to tell him that Larry Nunes was interested in starting a business with him. Nunes had started cutting tracks for a concept album he was working on. Meanwhile, White had started working with this girl group who hadn't done any singing professionally. They rehearsed for almost a year. White wrote "Walkin' in the Rain (With the One I Love)" with lyrics that were inspired by conversations with one of the singers, Glodean James (who would later become White's second wife). White christened the group Love Unlimited.

Larry Nunes took the record to Russ Regan, who was the head of the Uni label owned by MCA. Love Unlimited's From a Girl's Point of View became a million-seller. Soon after, Regan left Uni for 20th Century Records. Without Regan, White's relationship with Uni soured. With his relationship with Uni in chaos and Love Unlimited contract-bound with the label, White decided he needed to work with another act. He wanted to work with a male artist. He made three song demos of himself singing and playing the piano. Nunes heard them and insisted that he re-record and release them as a recording artist. They argued for days about it. Then he somehow convinced White to do it. White was still hesitating up to the time the label copy was made. He was going to use the name "White Heat," but the record became the first Barry White album. That first album was 1973's I've Got So Much to Give on 20th Century Records. It included the title track and "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby."

White got a release from Uni for Love Unlimited and they joined him over at 20th Century Records. Then he had a brainstorm for another concept album. He told Regan he wanted to do an instrumental album. Regan thought he had lost it. White wanted to call it the Love Unlimited Orchestra. The single, "Love's Theme," went to number one pop, was a million-seller, and was a smash all over the world. The song earned him a BMI award for over three million covers.

For the next five years, from 1974 to 1979, there was no stopping the Barry White Hit Train -- his own Stone Gon, Barry White Sings Love Songs for the One You Love ("It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next to Me," "Playing Your Game Baby"), Let the Music Play (title track, "You See the Trouble with Me"), Just Another Way to Say I Love You ("I'll Do for You Anything You Want Me To," "Love Serenade"), The Man ("Your Sweetness Is My Weakness," "Sha La La Means I Love You," "September When We Met," a splendid cover of Billy Joel's "Just the Way You Are"), and Love Unlimited's In Heat ("I Belong to You," "Move Me No Mountain," "Share a Little Love in Your Heart," and "Love's Theme," with lyrics). He also scored a soundtrack for the 20th Century Fox film The Together Brothers, enjoying a resurgence on home video.

His studio band included such luminaries as guitarists Ray Parker, Jr. (pre-Raydio, co-writer with White on "You See the Trouble With Me"), bassist Nathan East, Wah Wah Watson, David T. Walker, Dean Parks, Don Peake, bassist Wilton Felder of the Crusaders, Lee Ritenour, drummer Ed Greene, percussionist Gary Coleman, and later keyboardist Rahn Coleman. His hit streak seemed, well, unlimited. Then it all derailed. Russ Regan and another ally, Hosea Wilson, left 20th Century Records and White was left with management that he thought of in less than glowing terms.

White left after fulfilling his contract with two more album releases, Love Unlimited Orchestra's My Musical Bouquet and his own I Love to Sing the Songs I Sing. White signed a custom label deal with CBS Records. At the time it was touted as one of the biggest deals ever. He started a label called Unlimited Gold. The roster included White, Love Unlimited, the Love Unlimited Orchestra, Jack Perry, and a teenaged singer named Danny Pearson who charted with a song called "What's Your Sign Girl." He also did a duet album with Glodean James called Barry & Glodean. Aside from the gold album The Message Is Love, most of the albums weren't huge sellers. After eight Barry White albums, four Love Unlimited albums, four Love Unlimited Orchestra albums, constant touring, and dealing with the rigors of the music industry, White decided to take a break.

Then in 1992, White signed with A&M, releasing the albums The Man Is Back, The Right Night & Barry White, and Put Me in Your Mix (which contains a duet with Issac Hayes, "Dark and Lovely"). The Icon Is Love became his biggest-selling album since the '70s releases, going multi-platinum. It includes the platinum single "Practice What You Preach." The production lineup includes Gerald Levert and Tony Nicholas, his godson Chuckii Booker, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and White and his longtime friend Jack Perry. While some later efforts buried his vocals in whiz-bang electronic effects, on The Icon Is Love, White's deep steam engine baritone pipes are upfront in the mix. Staying Power followed in 1999, showcased in the best tradition of soul music where the focus is the singer and the song. The album earned White two Grammys. White's career took him from the ghetto to international success with 106 gold and 41 platinum albums, 20 gold and ten platinum singles, with worldwide sales in excess of 100 million.

White, who suffered from hypertension and chronic high blood pressure, was hospitalized for kidney failure in September of 2002. He was undergoing dialysis treatment, but the combination of illnesses proved too much and he died July 4, 2003 at a West Hollywood hospital. By the time of his death, Barry White had achieved a near-universal acclaim and popularity that few artists achieve and even fewer within their own lifetime. ~ Ed Hogan & Wade Kergan, Rovi

barry white rhymes with [offensive] shite
rubbish; nonsense: turn that off - it's barry white

Barry White (1944-2003), the 'Walrus of Love', was a soul singer renowned for his deep voice and prodigious girth.

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