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[h3]Barry White was born into a musical family and grew up singing in a gospel choir alongside his mother. As a child he also taught himself to play the piano. [/h3]

When Barry was 10 years old, the White family moved from Texas to South Central Los Angeles, where Barry unfortunately became involved with the city’s notorious gang culture. At the age of just 17, he was jailed for 4 months for stealing $30,000-worth of Cadillac car tyres. But whilst in prison, he heard a recording of [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/116:0/Elvis_Presley.htm]Elvis Presley[/urlnew] singing “It’s Now Or Never” on the radio, which he later claimed helped him turn his life around. Once Barry left prison, his passion for music helped him to overcome the temptation to return to a life of crime.

Barry made his musical debut whilst he was still a child. At the age of 11, he played the piano on record called “Goodnight my Love” by Jesse Bevin. Barry went on to make his first vocal recording a few years later at the age of sixteen, when he recorded a song called “Little Girl” on a local L.A. label called Lummtone Records, where he was accompanied by a group called The Upfronts. Barry’s talent soon began to be recognised more widely and as the music explosion of the Sixties began to gather momentum, he started to work with a bigger range of recording labels in and around Los Angeles.

Barry soon landed a position doing A&R for Bob Keane, who previously produced Sam Cooke’s music. Keane owned and ran a group of record labels which included Del-Fi, Mustang and Bronco; in the mid-60s, Keane’s Mustang label was doing particularly well, notably with a group called the Bobby Fuller Four. Keane hired Barry to do A&R for the whole spread of labels, for which he was paid the princely sum of 40 dollars per week. During this period, Barry also formed a close friendship with Larry Nunes, who became his mentor and adviser.

Barry’s big break came when he was enlisted to perform backing vocals for a talented girl band, which later came to be known as Love Unlimited. Interestingly, the lead singer of the group was Glodean James, who would later become Barry’s second wife. Love Unlimited sought to imitate the success of Tamla Motown’s girl group The Supremes, and Barry stayed with the group for the next two years, whilst they perfected their act. The girls rehearsed tirelessly with Barry, who’d also tried his hand at writing songs for the girls to sing. During this period, he wrote “Walkin’ In The Rain (With The One I Love), which was reportedly inspired by conversations with Glodean James; the song was a great success and made it into the Top 20, when it was later released. On the advice of Larry Nunes, the girls signed to the Uni label, which was owned by RCA. However Barry soon became disenchanted with Uni and began working with a male singer instead.

During this period, he also worked hard on his own solo demo tracks, and eventually he produced three tracks of himself singing and playing the piano. He took the tracks to Larry Nunes, who was wildly enthusiastic about the tracks, and eventually helped Barry to secure a recording contract with 20th Century records. The demo tracks formed the basis of Barry’s first album, which was called I’ve Got So Much To Give, and included the hit song “I’m Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby”. He managed to secure his release from Uni for Love Unlimited, who then joined him at 20th Century Records. Barry dubbed his group the Love Unlimited Orchestra and the rest is musical history. The single “Love’s Theme” went to number One in the pop charts and sold over a million copies; it went on to become a smash hit all over the world, earning him a BMI award, with final sales totaling in excess of three million records.
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Barry’s debut album coincided with the explosion in popularity of disco and soul music during the Seventies and his music found an audience ready and waiting. His records had a very distinctive sound that featured strong orchestral instrumentation, including a full complement of strings, woodwind, brass and keyboards, as well as a powerful drum section and up to half a dozen electric guitars. Another memorable feature of Barry’s singing was the sexually provocative spoken interludes and introductions that punctuated so many of his songs. Down the decades, many listeners have associated Barry’s music with their most intimate and romantic times. It’s widely agreed that the most outrageous of these verbal segments appeared in the track “Love Serenade”, from his 1975 album, “Just Another Way To Say I Love You”:

[quote]“Take it off Deb…Baby, take it all off…I want you the way you came into the world…I don’t wanna feel no clothes…I don’t wanna see no panties…take off that brassiere, my dear…Everybody’s gone…we’re gonna take the receiver off the phone…because, baby, you and me, heh…this night, we’re gonna get it on…”[/quote]

Barry’s studio band included such renowned artists as guitarists Ray Parker Jr., bassists Nathan East, Wah Wah Watson, David T. Walker, Dean Parks, Don Peake, drummer Ed Greene, percussionist Gary Coleman and keyboard player Rahn Coleman. For the five years between 1974 and 1979, Barry’s fame was at its zenith, and virtually every song he recorded became a smash hit. His biggest hits included, “You See the Trouble With me”, “I’ll Do Anything You Want Me To”, Sha La La Means I Love You”, and “I Belong To You”. He also wrote a soundtrack for the film The Together Brothers, which became very popular on home video.

As the 1970s came to a close Barry’s star began to fade. He fell out with his producers at 20th Century Records after his old ally Russ Regan left the company. Barry fulfilled his contractual obligations but decided to follow Regan and quit his 20th Century in favour of a new custom label deal with CBS Records - at the time, this was reportedly one of the most lucrative contracts ever signed by an artist.

Barry’s new label was called Unlimited Gold and in addition to Barry, the line-up included Love Unlimited, the Love Unlimited Orchestra, Jack Perry and a teenage singer called Danny Pearson who broke into the charts with a song called “What’s Your Sign, Girl?”. Barry also recorded a duet album with his future wife, Glodean James, which was called Barry and Glodean. With the exception of the gold album, The Message Is Love, few of the albums he recorded during this period achieved noteworthy sales.

In the 1990s, he attempted to launch a comeback by releasing the album, The Icon Is Love, which came out in 1994. The highest selling track from this album was “Practise What You Preach”, which reached the top of the charts. Another big hit was the track “Staying Power”, which earned him two Grammy Awards.
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Barry’s deep velvety voice was his greatest asset, and throughout his career, he also undertook work as a voice actor. His voice was featured in several episodes of [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/677:0/The_Simpsons.htm]The Simpsons[/urlnew], including the famous “Whacking Day” sequence. Here, Barry used his deep bass voice played though speakers on the ground, in order to attract snakes. He was also offered the opportunity to do the voice for the part of Chef in the cartoon series South Park but turned it down on religious grounds; Barry was a highly devout Christian and said that he was uncomfortable with the irreverent humour of South Park. The South Park part Barry rejected eventually went to Isaac Hayes.

Barry’s music was also frequently alluded to in the 1990s hit TV series, Ally McBeal, where the character of John Cage (played by actor Peter McNichol) would hear the song “You’re My First, My Last, My Everything” sung by Barry inside his head, whenever he wanted to give his confidence a boost. This TV exposure helped to revitalise Barry’s career and he even made a guest appearance in the show.

Sadly, ill health brought Barry’s life and career to a premature close. Throughout his life, he struggled to keep his weight problem under control, as this had led to chronically high blood pressure. Sadly, in the autumn of 2002, he was diagnosed with renal failure, and began receiving dialysis. He subsequently suffered a stroke In May 2003, which caused him to withdraw from public life. Barry White died on 4 July, 2003 at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles; he was 58-years-old. Following his death, his great friend and fellow singing star [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/151:0/Luciano_Pavarotti.htm]Luciano Pavarotti[/urlnew] gave an interview in which he said that Barry would be sorely missed.

[i]Jane Bowles[/i]
Barry White biography



- Was born under the astrological star sign of Virgo.

- Was a member of a street gang at the age of 10.

- Was already 6ft 3in tall by the time he was 14.

- His trademark was his deep voice.

- His nicknames were “The Maestro” and “The Walrus of Love”.

- He was a vegan.

- Was ranked no. 78 on VH1’s 100 Sexiest Artists.

- In 2001, he appeared in an advertisement for Apple Computers.

- Was the model for a character from South Park called Chef. The producers of the show offered Barry the role, but he rejected it, on the grounds that he was a devout Christian.

- Six months before he died, he was featured on the cover of My Generation magazine.

- His last words before he died were: “Leave me alone, I’m fine.”

- His ashes were scattered off the Californian coast by his family.
Barry White biography




Barry White biography



[b]Albums:[/b]

[b]With Love Unlimited & Love Unlimited Orchestra[/b]

1972: From a Girl's Point of View We Give to You

1973: Under the Influence Of

1974: Rhapsody in White

1974: Together Brothers

1974: White Gold

1975: Music Maestro Pleas

1976: My Sweet Summer Suite

1977: He's All I've Got

1978: My Musical Bouquet

1979: Love Is Back

1981 Let 'Em Dance

1982 Love Unlimited Orchestra Presents Mr. Webster Lewis:
Welcome Aboard

[b]Solo[/b]

1973: I've Got So Much to Give

1973: Stone Gon'

1974: Can't Get Enough

1975: Barry White's Greatest Hits

1975: Just Another Way to Say I Love You

1976: Let the Music Play

1976: Is This Whatcha Wont?

1977: Barry White's Greatest Hits Vol 2

1977: Barry White Sings for Someone You Love

1978: The Man

1979: The Message Is Love

1979: I Love to Sing the Songs I Sing

1980: Sheet Music

1981: Barry & Glodean

1981: Beware!

1982: Change

1983: Dedicated

1985: Heart and Soul

1987: The Right Night & Barry White

1988: The Collection

1989: The Man Is Back!

1991: Put Me In Your Mix

1994: The Icon Is Love

1994: All-Time Greatest Hits

1999: The Ultimate Collection

1999: Staying Power

2003: Best of Barry White: 20th Century Masters/The Millennium Collection

2003: Love Songs

2005: White Gold - The Very Best Of

THE ROLE THAT CHANGED MY LIFE: I Got Buff Thu 20th Nov - 6:00PM

Ricky Martin Thu 20th Nov - 4:30PM

PARANORMAL STATE: Sixth Sense Thu 20th Nov - 10:00PM