White, Barry

White, Barry, African American soul crooner whose sound became synonymous with seduction; b. Galveston, Tex., Sept. 12, 1944. His voice became so distinctive, his songs so charged with pheremonal energy that he joked about women continually introducing him to children conceived to his records. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, if Barry White was not part of your seduction package, you weren’t trying.

Ironically, White initially would have preferred a career behind the scenes. He started singing in church in Galveston, but by 10 he had moved on to church organist and choir director. Soon, his family relocated to Watts. At 16, he started recording with The Upfronts, singing and playing piano. He worked on the sessions that produced Bob and Earl’s minor hit, ’The Harlem Shuffle” (later a bigger hit for The Rolling Stones).

White’s studio prowess impressed Bob Keane, a successful independent record owner who had recorded Sam Cooke and had big hits with Ritchie Valens, the Bobby Fuller Four, and numerous surf bands. Keane took White on as an A&R man. He worked with The Versatiles (who would later morph into the Fifth Dimension). He produced (and surfed with) The Majesties. He produced a Top 20 hit for Viola Wills in the mid-1960s and some late 1960s hits with Felice Taylor.

Eventually, Keane dissolved several of his labels in 1968 and White went independent. He found odd jobs like producing the music for the kid’s show The Banana Splits. By 1972, he was on welfare. Another former Keane employee contacted White about a girl group with whom he wanted White to work. The process took nearly a year, but the group, Love Unlimited, started off with the #14 pop hit “Walking in the Rain (with the One I Love).” The album From a Girl’s Point of View sold over a million copies. However, relationships with their record label became bad, forcing White to put Love Unlimited on hold.

He started making demos for another project, a male vocal group. On hearing the demos, friends convinced him that no one else could sing these songs as well as he could. His album I’ve Got So Much to Give came out in 1973, and suddenly the 275-pound White became the sexiest man on vinyl. From being on welfare just a year earlier, in 1973 White paid $1 million in income tax.

Feeling successful, he decided to take a risk. He put together a complete orchestra and recorded what amounted to a small sonata. With swirling strings and a big R&B back beat, the Love Unlimited Orch.’s “Love’s Theme” topped the charts and went gold. The vocal group Love Unlimited extricated themselves from their label problems and started recording.

For the next five years, using this three-pronged attack, White ruled the airwaves and record stores. He went Top Ten pop with “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love Baby” (#1,1974), “You’re the First, the Last, My Everything” (#2, 1974) and “It’s Ecstasy When You Lie Next to Me” (#4,1977), to name but a few. During that time, his work in its various guises sold nearly 100 million records worldwide.

Despite a slightly waning success, CBS offered him a custom label in 1980, paying him in the neighborhood of $14 million, alleged to be the most money offered for such a project to that date. Unfortunately for all parties concerned, the Unlimited Gold label was not the success they hoped it would be. The tides had started to change from the big, lush productions that had come to typify White’s work. Over the course of the deal, White’s hits were few and far between. When the deal ran out, White decided to retire.

As musical retirements go, White gave it a good run. However, in 1988 A&M records thought the time was again right for Barry White and signed him up, starting with an album whose title announced The Man Is Back! He released three more albums with A&M over the next six years, finishing off with the multi-platinum The Icon Is Love.

Although he took another five-year hiatus from recording, his profile remained high. His voice was featured on several episodes of the animated series The Simpsons. On the late 1990s hit television series Ally McBeal, one character couldn’t get in the mood without at least playing White’s “You’re the First, the Last, My Everything” in his head. This thread climaxed with a live appearance by White on the show.

The appearance coincided with his return to recording on adult-oriented Private Music. His Staying Power featured a leaner sound (though not a leaner White), that showed off his voice well. Although he’s not likely to have another run like he did in the 1970s, the new record illustrates that his creative success continues to be unlimited.

Discography

I’ve Got So Much to Give (1973); Stone Gon’ (1973); Can’t Get Enough (1974); Just Another Way to Say I Love You (1975); Barry White’s Greatest Hits (1975); Let the Music Play (1976); is This Whatcha Wont? (1976); Barry White Sings for Someone You Love (1977); The Man (1978); The Message Is Love (1979); I Love to Sing the Songs I Sing (1979); Barry White’s Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 (1980); Sheet Music (1980); Barry & Glodean (1981); Beware! (1981); Change (1982); Dedicated (1983); The Right Night and Barry White (1987); The Man is Back! (1988); Put Me in Your Mix (1992); Just for You (boxed set; 1992); The Icon Is Love (1994); Barry White’s Ail-Time Greatest Hits (1994); Staying Power (1999). LOVE UNLIMITED: From a Girl’s Point of View We Give to You…(1972); Under the Influence of…(1973); In Heat (1974); He’s All I’ve Got (1976); Love is Back (1979); The Best of Love Unlimited (1995). THE LOVE UNLIMITED ORCH.: Rhapsody in White (1974); Together Brothers (soundtrack; 1974); White Gold (1974); Music Maestro Please (1975); My Sweet Summer Suite (1976); My Musical Bouquet (1978); Super Movie Themes, Just a Little Bit Different (1979); Let ’Em Dance (1981); Welcome Aboard (Presents Mr. Webster Lewis) (1981); Rise (1983); The Best of Love Unlimited Orch.(1995).

—Brock Helander