Barry White

Barry Eugene White (born Barrence Eugene Carter, September 21, 1944(1944-09-21) – 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[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 $10,000 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 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), "It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next To Me" (1977), "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 with the albums The Icon Is Love (1994), whose biggest hit, "Practice What You Preach" 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, at the age of 58 from renal failure. White was cremated, and his ashes were scattered by his family, and Michael Jackson, off the California coast.
Barry White's death bed words 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.
In the film Bruce Almighty, Bruce (played by Jim Carrey) has been given God-like powers and makes the stereo play "Never, Never Gonna Give You Up" in order to seduce Jennifer Aniston's character. of Love" (a monicker not appreciated by some fans).