Barry White

Barry White was a successful American musician, composer, and producer born on September 12, 1944, in Galveston, Texas, and died on July 4, 2003, in Los Angeles, California. He began his career as a pianist and played on Jesse Belvin's R&B hit "Goodnight My Love". At the age of 11, White made several recordings under his own name as "Barry Lee" and as a member of The Upfronts, The Atlanties, and The Majestics.

Although White had some success as a solo artist, he found greater success as a background figure and manager of other artists, including Felice Taylor and Viola Wills. In 1969, he founded Love Unlimited, a female vocal trio consisting of Diane Taylor, Glodean James (his future wife), and her sister Linda. He also founded the Love Unlimited Orchestra, a 40-piece ensemble to accompany himself and the vocal trio, providing music direction, composition, and arrangement. Love Unlimited had a hit in 1972 with "Walkin', In the rain with the one I love," which revitalized Barry White's own career.

During this time, White had great success in the US with hits like "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby," "Never Never Gonna Give You Up" (both 1973), "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe," and "You're the First, the Last, My Everything" (both 1974), and others. These songs established a sophisticated formula in which catchy pop/soul melodies merged with opulent arrangements and the singer's rough voice. However, the music quickly tended toward self-parody as the sexual content of the lyrics became increasingly explicit.

Although his pop hits declined in the late 1970s, he remained an icon of live performance. His last major US hit was the top-five hit "It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next to Me" in 1977. The following year, he made the British top 20 with a cover version of Billy Joel's "Just the Way You Are." Later, White recorded several songs with his wife Glodean, but went through a period of stagnation before returning to the British top 20 in 1987 with "Sho You Right." British singer Lisa Stansfield, who often praised White's work, worked with him in 1992 to record a new version of her hit "All Around the World."

In the 1990s, several commercially successful albums demonstrated White's status as more than just a cult figure. He also became a minor TV star, appearing on popular shows like The Simpsons and Ally McBeal. At the beginning of the new millennium, White's health began to deteriorate, and he died on July 4, 2003, in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 58 from kidney failure.

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