Barry White

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Barry White
White performing the song "Just The Way You Are"
Background information
Birth name	Barrence Eugene Carter
Born	September 12, 1944 Galveston, TX
Died	July 4, 2003 (age 58) Los Angeles, CA
Genre(s)	Soul Disco
Instrument(s)	keyboards, vocals
Years active	1973 to 2003
Label(s)	20th Century A&M Mercury Records
Associated acts	Love Unlimited Orchestra

Barry Eugene White (born Barrence Eugene Carter, September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003) was a Grammy Award winning American record producer, songwriter and singer responsible for the creation of numerous hit soul and disco songs. He released 106 gold and 41 platinum albums, 20 gold singles and ten platinum singles. All inclusive, record sales of White's music with singles, albums, compilation usage and paid digital downloads as a singer, songwriter and producer now exceed 100 million worldwide.

He created the Love Unlimited Orchestra,which consisted of live musicians, including string and percussion players. Records featuring White's deep bass voice and suave delivery were used by couples wishing to create a romantic ambience. Considered handsome and deeply romantic by his many female fans and admired for the unique blend of soul and classical orchestral musical elements he created, White was often affectionately referred to as the "Maestro" or "The Man with the Velvet Voice". His portly physical stature led some in the popular press to refer to him as the "Walrus of Love", a monicker not known to have been employed by fans who appreciated the great affection with which White performed for live audiences and who considered him a mainstay among soul music artists throughout his career.

1 Biography
2 Acting
3 Cultural references
4 Discography
- 4.1 Albums
- 4.2 Singles and US chart placings
5 External links
6 See also

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life and career

White was born in Galveston, Texas, [1] and grew up in the high-crime areas of South Los Angeles, where he joined a gang at the age of 10. At 17, he was jailed for four months for stealing $30,000 worth of Cadillac tires.

After being jailed, White left gang life and began a musical career at the dawn of the 1960s in singing groups before going out on his own in the middle of the decade. The marginal success he had to that point he was as a songwriter; his songs were recorded by rock singer Bobby Fuller and TV bubblegum act The Banana Splits. He was also responsible in 1963 for arranging "Harlem Shuffle" for Bob & Earl, which became a hit in the UK in 1969.

[edit] Success

In 1969, he got his break backing up three talented singers in a girl group called Love Unlimited. Formed in imitation of the legendary Motown girl group The Supremes, the group members honed their talents with White for the next two years until they all signed contracts with 20th Century Records. White produced, wrote and arranged the classic soul ballad "Walking in the Rain (With The One I Love)", which hit the Top 20 of the pop charts. The group would score more hits throughout the '70s and White eventually married the lead singer of the group, Glodean James.

Luciano Pavarotti and Barry White performing a duet at a fundraising concert in Modena, Italy, May 29, 2001

While working on a few demos for a male singer, the record label suggested White step out in front of the microphone, to which he reluctantly agreed. His first solo chart hit, 1973's "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby", rose to #1 R&B and #3 Pop. That same year, the Love Unlimited Orchestra's recording of White's composition "Love's Theme" reached #1 Pop, one of only two recordings ever to do so. Other chart hits by White included "Never, Never Gonna Give You Up" (1973), "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe" (1974), "You're the First, the Last, My Everything" (1974), "What Am I Gonna Do With You" (1975), "Let the Music Play" (1976), "Your Sweetness is My Weakness" (1978), and "Change" (1982).

[edit] Comebacks

Although White's success on the pop charts slowed down as the disco era came to an end, he maintained a loyal following throughout his career. In the 1990s he mounted an effective comeback in the 1990s with the albums Practice What You Preach (1994), whose title track reached the top of the charts, and Staying Power (1999), for which he won 2 Grammy Awards.

[edit] Death

White had been ill with chronically high blood pressure for some time, which resulted in renal failure in the autumn of 2002. He suffered a stroke in May 2003, after which he was forced to retire from public life. On July 4, 2003, he died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in West Hollywood. White was 58. His death was reported as being from renal failure. White was cremated, and his ashes were scattered by his family off the California coast. Barry White's last words on his death bed were, "Leave me alone - I'm fine"^{[citation needed]}. On September 20, 2004, he was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame at a ceremony held in New York.

[edit] Acting

Over the course of his career White occasionally did work as a voice actor. He voiced the character Bear in the 1975 film Coonskin (and also played the character Sampson in the movie's live-action segments). He was featured in several episodes of The Simpsons including "Whacking Day", in which he used his deep bass voice played through speakers placed on the ground to attract snakes. He also did the voice of a rabbit in a Good Seasons salad dressing mix commercial, singing a song called You Can't Bottle Love.^{[citation needed]} White had been offered the chance to play the voice of Chef in the cartoon series South Park (who had been modeled after White), but declined; as a devout Christian, White was uncomfortable with South Park's often irreverent humor. The part was eventually played by Isaac Hayes.

[edit] Cultural references

White's music was frequently showcased on the late-1990s television show Ally McBeal; the show often used esoteric references to what was going on inside characters' heads. For example, John Cage (played by Peter MacNicol) would hear "You're the First, the Last, My Everything" play inside his head, in order to increase his confidence, often accompanied with a dance routine. The use of White's music on the show revitalized his career, and he eventually made a guest appearance during the show's second season.

Is mentioned by Jim Carrey in the film Bruce Almighty when Bruce has been given God-like powers Bruce makes the stereo play "Never, Never Gonna Give You Up" in order to seduce Jennifer Aniston.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] Love Unlimited & Love Unlimited Orchestra

1972: From a Girl's Point of View We Give to You
1973: Under the Influence Of
1974: Rhapsody in White
1974: Together Brothers
1974: In Heat
1974: White Gold
1975: Music Maestro Please
1976: My Sweet Summer Suite
1977: He's All I've Got
1978: My Musical Bouquet

[edit] Barry White

1973: I've Got So Much to Give
1973: Stone Gon'
1974: Can't Get Enough (Barry White Album)
1975: Just Another Way to Say I Love You
1976: Let the Music Play
1976: Is this whatcha wont?
1977: Barry White Sings for Someone You Love
1978: The Man
1979: The Message Is Love
1979: I Love to Sing the Songs I Sing
1980: Sheet Music
1981: Barry & Glodean
1981: Beware!
1982: Change
1983: Dedicated
1985: Love Is only Good With Animals
1987: The Right Night & Barry White
1989: The Man Is Back!
1991: Put Me In Your Mix
1994: The Icon Is Love
1994: All-Time Greatest Hits. PolyGram Records
1999: The Ultimate Collection
1999: Staying Power
2000: Just For You 4 CD box set - 39 tracks, 32 page booklet

[edit] Also Appears On

1999: The Prodigy Presents The Dirtchamber Sessions Volume One
1999-Current: Ed, Edd n Eddy (no actual appearance; named appeared on one of Eddy's retro records)
1999: Ally McBeal as singing guest star in the episode "Those Lips, That Hand"
1992-93: The Simpsons Season Four, Guest Stars as himself in the episodes Whacking Day and Krusty Gets Kancelled.

[edit] Singles and US chart placings

US Pop chart peaks: Billboard 100; Dance chart peaks: Hot Dance Music/Club Play.

[edit] Love Unlimited

1972 "Walkin' In the Rain With the One I Love (#14 US, #14 UK)
1973 "It May Be Winter Outside (But In My Heart It's Spring) (#83 US, #11 UK)
1974 "Under the Influence Of Love" (#76 US)
1975 "I Belong To You (#27 US)

[edit] Love Unlimited Orchestra

1974 "Love's Theme"
1974 "Rhapsody in White"
1975 "Satin Soul"

[edit] Barry White

1973 "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby" (#3 US, #23 UK)
1973 "I've Got So Much Love To Give" (#32 US)
1974 "Never, Never Gonna Give You Up" (#7 US, #14 UK)
1974 "Honey Please, Can't Ya See" (#44 US)
1974 "Can't Get Enough Of Your Love Babe" (#1 US, #8 UK)
1975 "You're the First, the Last, My Everything" (#2 US, #2 US Dance, #1 for 2 weeks UK)
1975 "What Am I Gonna Do With You" (#8 US, #5 UK)
1975 "I'll Do For You Anything You Want Me To" (#40 US, #20 UK)
1976 "Let the Music Play" (#32 US, #9 UK)
1976 "You See The Trouble With Me" (#2 UK)
1976 "Baby, We Better Try To Get It Together" (#92 US, #15 UK)
1976 "Don't Make Me Wait Too Long" (#17 UK)
1977 "I'm Qualified To Satisfy You" (#30 US Dance, #37 UK)
1977 "It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next To Me" (#4 US, #5 Dance, #40 UK)
1978 "Just the Way You Are" (#12 UK)
1978 "Oh What a Night For Dancing" (#24 US)
1978 "Your Sweetness Is My Weakness" (#60 US, #16 US Dance)
1979 "Sha La La Means I Love You" (#55 UK)
1987 "Sho' You Right" (#14 UK)
1987 "Never, Never Gonna Give You Up" (re-release) (#63 UK)
1987 "For Your Love (I'll Do Most Anything) (#94 UK)
1990 "The Secret Garden (Sweet Seduction Suite)" (Quincy Jones with Al B. Sure!, James Ingram, El DeBarge and Barry White) (#31 US, #67 UK)
1991 "All of me" Big Daddy Kane featuring Barry White (#14 US R&B)
1992 "All around the world" Lisa Stansfield and Barry White. Released in UK as B-Side of Lisa Stansfield Single "Time to make you mine"
1992 "Dark and lovely" with Isaac Hayes (#29 US R&B)
1994 "Practice What You Preach" (#18 US, #20 UK)
1995 "Love Is The Icon" (#20 UK, as a Double-A side with "Practice With You Preach")
1995 "I Only Want To Be With You" (#36 UK)
1995 "Come On" (#87 US)
1996 "Slow Jams" (Quincy Jones featuring Babyface, Tamia, Portrait and Barry White) (#68 US)
1996 "In Your Wildest Dreams" (with Tina Turner) (#32 UK, #36 US, #2 Austria)
2000 "Let the Music Play 2000" (#45 UK)