Singer, songwriter, record producer, composer and actor Barry Eugene White. Born 12th September in Galveston, Texas in 1944, he grew up in the Watts neighbourhood of South Central Los Angeles listening to his mother's classical music collection and first took to the piano, emulating what he heard on the records.

He attended Jacob A. Riis High School, an all-boys academy in southeast Los Angeles and recalled: "[As a child], I had a normal squeaky kid voice. Then as a teenager, that completely changed.

I woke up one morning when I was about 13. I spoke to my mother, and I scared both of us."

Barry was jailed for four months at the age of 16 for stealing $30,000 worth of Cadillac tyres and while in jail, he listened to Elvis Presley singing "It's Now or Never", an experience he later credited with changing the course of his life.

Another moment of inspiration on his 18th birthday, which also was the first day back for his graduating year of high school, he skipped class to walk to Capitol Records headquarters in Hollywood and stood across the street from the office staring for hours. Seeing the liveliness of the area it inspired him to work in Hollywood, in the entertainment industry, despite not knowing how to read or write music.

He started in singing groups and first released "Too Far to Turn Around" in 1960 as part of the Upfronts, before working for various small independent labels in Los Angeles. He also recorded several singles under his own name in the early 1960s, backed by vocal groups the Atlantics (for the Rampart and Faro labels) and the Majestics (for the Linda and Jordan labels).

In 1965, he produced "Feel Aw Right" by the Bel Cantos, released on the Downey label and recorded his debut single, "Man Ain't Nothin'"/"I Don't Need It", under the name "Lee Barry" on Downey in 1966. He also co-wrote "Together Forever", released by Pat Powdrill & the Powerdrills in 1967.

He was hired by Bob Keane of Del-Fi Records as an A&R man for his new Bronco Records imprint, and Barry started working with the label's artists, including Viola Wills and the Bobby Fuller Four, as a songwriter, session musician, and arranger. He discovered singer Felice Taylor and arranged her song "I Feel Love Comin' On", co-written with his friend Paul Politi, becoming a big hit in the UK. Other charting hits written by the pair for her included "It May Be Winter Outside (But in My Heart It's Spring)" and "Under the Influence of Love". Bronco issued one of Barry's first singles, 1967's "All in the Run of a Day", produced by himself and Keane. He also wrote "Doin' the Banana Split" for TV bubblegum pop act the Banana Splits in 1968.

As a producer Barry got his big break producing a girl group he had discovered called Love Unlimited. Formed in imitative style of the Motown girl group the Supremes, the group members had gradually honed their talents with Barry for two years until releasing the album, 1972's From A Girl's Point of View We Give to You... Love Unlimited, becoming the first of a string of long-titled albums and singles.

He produced, wrote and arranged their classic soul ballad "Walkin' in the Rain with the One I Love", which climbed to No. 14 in the Billboard Hot 100 Pop chart and No. 6 on the Billboard R&B chart in late 1972. It became his first million selling single as a writer and producer. This single also reached No. 12 in the UK chart and his voice can clearly be heard in this piece as he plays the lover who answers the phone call of the female lead.

In 1973, Barry created The Love Unlimited Orchestra, a 40-piece orchestral group to be used originally as a backing band for Love Unlimited. However, Barry had other plans, and in 1973, he released a single with "Love's Theme" (written by him and played by the orchestra), which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Pop charts. Later, in 1974, he made the first album of the Love Unlimited Orchestra, Rhapsody in White, containing "Love's Theme". Barry would continue to make albums with the orchestra, achieving successes such as: "Rhapsody in White"; "Satin Soul"; "Forever in Love"; "Midnight Groove"; "My Sweet Summer Suite", Remake of "Theme From King Kong". The orchestra ceased to make albums in 1983 but continued to support him as a backing band.

Barry wanted to work with another act, and decided to work with a solo male artist. While working on a few demos for a male singer, he made three song demos of himself singing and playing, but Nunes heard them and insisted that he re-record and release them himself as a solo recording artist. After arguing for days about it, Barry was finally persuaded to release the songs himself, although he was initially reluctant to step out behind the microphone.

He then wrote several other songs and recorded them for what eventually became an entire album of music, his first solo album, 1973's I've Got So Much to Give included the title track and his first solo chart hit, "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby", which also rose to No. 1 on the Billboard R&B charts as well as No. 3 on the Billboard Pop charts in 1973 and stayed in the top 40 for many weeks.

Other chart hits included:

"Never, Never Gonna Give You Up" (No. 2 R&B, No. 7 Pop in 1973)

"Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe" (No. 1 Pop and R&B in 1974)

"You're the First, the Last, My Everything" (No. 1 R&B, No. 2 Pop in 1974)

"What Am I Gonna Do with You" (No. 1 R&B, No. 8 Pop in 1975)

"Let the Music Play" (No. 4 R&B in 1976)

"It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next to Me" (No. 1 R&B, No. 4 Pop in 1977), and

"Your Sweetness Is My Weakness" (No. 2 R&B in 1978)

among others.

Barry also had a strong following in the UK, where he scored five Top 10 hits and a No. 1 for "You're the First, the Last, My Everything".

After six years, Barry left 20th Century in 1979 to launch his own label, Unlimited Gold, with CBS/Columbia Records.

Although his success on the pop charts slowed down as the disco era came to an end, he maintained a loyal following throughout his career. Despite several albums over the next three years, he failed to repeat his earlier successes, with no singles managing to reach the Billboard Hot 100, except for 1982's "Change", climbing into the Billboard R&B Top 20 (No. 12). His label venture was exacting a heavy financial cost on him so he concentrated on mostly touring and finally folded his label in 1983.

In 1989, he released The Man Is Back! and with it had three top 40 singles on the Billboard R&B charts: "Super Lover", which made it to No. 34, "I Wanna Do It Good to Ya", which made it to No. 26, and "When Will I See You Again", which made it to No. 32.

A 1970s nostalgia fad allowed Barry to enjoy a renewed wave of popularity in the 1990s. After participating in the song "The Secret Garden (Sweet Seduction Suite)" from Quincy Jones's 1989 album Back on the Block, he mounted an effective comeback with several albums, each more successful than the one before. He returned to the top of the charts in 1991 with the album Put Me in Your Mix, which reached No. 8 on the Billboard R&B Albums chart and the song by the same name reached No. 2 on the Billboard R&B singles chart.

In 1994, he released The Icon Is Love, which went to No. 1 on the Billboard R&B album charts, and the single "Practice What You Preach" gave him his first No. 1 on the Billboard R&B singles chart in almost 20 years. The album was nominated for a Grammy in the Best R&B Album category, but lost to TLC's CrazySexyCool.

Barry's final album, 1999's Staying Power, resulted in his last hit song "Staying Power", which placed No. 45 on the Billboard R&B charts. The single won him two Grammy Awards in the categories Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance.

His autobiography, Love Unlimited, written with Marc Eliot, was published in 1999 by Broadway Books.

Sadly whilst waiting for a kidney transplant in May 2003 Barry suffered a severe stroke. His unstable health prevented him from receiving a new kidney and he died on 4th July 2004 from kidney failure aged just 58.

He was posthumously inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame on 20th September 2004. And on what would have been his 69th birthday he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Artist

Barry White

Born:

12th September 1944

Passed : 4th July 2004

Artist Bio

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