composer musician producer singer author songwriter
Barry White was born on September 12, 1944, in Galveston, Texas, United States. He was the eldest of the two children of Melvin White, a machinist, and Sadie Marie Carter, a former actress and music teacher. His parents never married, so his mother gave him her last name, but he later took on the surname of his father. He and his younger brother, Darryl, grew up in a single-parent household in the rough South–Central neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.
Around 1959 Barry White dropped out of high school. During his teenage years, he along with his younger brother took to criminal and gang activities. He was also imprisoned for four months for stealing $30,000 worth of Cadillac tires. Relieved from the prison, Barry switched to civil life and took up a music career.
Barry 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 sixteen with a group called the Upfronts. He released his solo songs in the 1960s, most of which were backed either by the vocal group The Atlantics or The Majestics. In the mid-1960s, he was hired by Bob Keane of Del-Fi Records as an A&R man. In the new profile, he started collaborating with label's artists including Viola Wills and The Bobby Fuller Four, as a songwriter, session musician, and arranger. He wrote ‘Doin' the Banana Split’ for TV bubblegum act The Banana Splits in 1968.
Furthermore, he discovered singer Felice Taylor and made arrangements for the release of her songs, 'I Feel Love Comin' On' and 'Harlem Shuffle'. Both the songs were major hits and established her as an outstanding singer. While his career was scaling steadily, the big break still eluded. In 1972, he hit the jackpot by launching the girl group, ‘Love Unlimited’. The trio group, formed on the lines of the Motown girl group The Supremes, had honed their skills for two years before the launch. It comprised of Diane Taylor, Glodean James and her sister Linda. 'Love Unlimited' released their debut album, 'From A Girl’s Point of View We Give To You…Love Unlimited' in 1972. The song, released under the record label Uni, was a major hit and went on to become a million album seller.
The same year, he penned, produced and arranged for the girl group their classic soul ballad, ‘Walking in the Rain With The One I Love’. The song peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 Pop chart and at number 6 on the Billboard R&B chart. Much of the success of the song can be attributed to his husky vocals as the lover who answers the phone call. The other records that he worked for, along with the group include 'I Belong To You', which remained a blockbuster for five months on the Billboard R&B chart and ‘Under the Influence of Love’, which peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Pop album charts.
White embarked upon his own solo career in 1973. He recorded 'I’ve Got So Much to Give' with the hit song 'I’m Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby.' The song went to number one on the Billboard R&B charts in America. Along with his own songs, he wrote and produced hits for Love Unlimited and the Love Unlimited Orchestra, and performed at elaborate concerts, at one point leading an 80-woman orchestra.
After disco peaked in the late 1970s, Mr. White's career ebbed. But his songs and the image he had created proved durable. Rappers and dance-music acts including 50 Cent, the Beastie Boys and Daft Punk have sampled his music. And in the late 1980s, he began a career resurgence. He appeared on Quincy Jones's ''Back on the Block'' album in 1990 and with the rapper Big Daddy Kane in 1991.
In 1994, he had a two-million-selling album, The Icon Is Love, and his 1999 album, Staying Power, won two rhythm-and-blues Grammy Awards. His All-Time Greatest Hits album, released in 1994, has also sold a million copies. His voice was used on episodes of The Simpsons, and he appeared on Ally McBeal and in a widely broadcast Apple Computer commercial. He even made guest appearances in several television shows.
White achieved 106 gold albums worldwide, 41 of which also attained platinum status. White had 20 gold and 10 platinum singles, with worldwide record sales in excess of 100 million, and is one of the best-selling music artists of all time.
Barry White won two Grammy Awards in the categories of Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance for his final album, "Staying Power". He was posthumously inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame in 2004. He received a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2013.
(Love Unlimited follows Barry from his hungry years as a j...)
1999Barry White was a highly devout Christian.
Barry White did not openly express his political views.
According to Barry White's 1999 autobiography, Love Unlimited: Insights on Life and Love, while in jail he heard Elvis Presley's hit "It's Now or Never,'' and decided to give up crime. His influences included James Cleveland, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley, The Supremes, The Four Tops, and Marvin Gaye.
Quotations: "We are all gods, all forces of nature. We can destroy, we can build. We are like oceans and like fires."
Barry White’s three best qualities are his love for music, his love for people and his love for himself.
Physical Characteristics: Since Barry White suffered from excessive weight issues for most part of his life, health hazards were natural occurrence for the final years of his life. He suffered from high blood pressure and diabetes and was diagnosed with kidney failure as well.
Barry White was first married to his childhood sweetheart, Mary, when he was nineteen years old. They had four children together. Later, they divorced. From 1962 to 1965 he was married to Betty Smith. On July 4, 1974, he married Glodean James, a singer. They reportedly divorced in 1988, however, they were still legally married until White's death in 2003 although they lived separate lives. They have four children. He also had a partner, Katherine Denton.
Darryl White was murdered at the age of 37.
