Barry White White, Barry (1944—)
Barry White's immediately recognizable husky bass-inflected voice that obsessed over making love was a staple on black radio during the 1970s. Songs such as "Your Sweetness Is My Weakness," "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe," and the appropriately titled "Love Makin' Music" made this heavy-set man a sex symbol, and were probably responsible for conceiving quite a few babies as well. And while his star did not shine as brightly through the 1980s and 1990s, White evolved into a oft-referred-to popular culture icon—appearing as himself on television shows like The Simpsons singing parodies of his own songs (which were already almost self-parodies).
Born in Galveston, Texas, White would work primarily out of Los Angeles and New York as an adult. White began his career in the music business at age 11, when he played piano on Jesse Belvin's hit single "Goodnight My Love." He recorded as a vocalist for a number of different labels in the early to mid-1960s, then went on to work as an A&R man for a small record label named Mustang. In 1969, White formed both a female trio called Love Unlimited, and a 40-piece instrumental group dubbed Love Unlimited Orchestra, the latter of which produced a number one Pop single in 1973, "Love's Theme."
The period of 1973-1974 was his commercial highpoint, with White performing on or producing a number of albums and singles that grossed a total of $16 million. Among his top ten Pop singles were: "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby," "Never, Never Gonna Give Ya Up," "You're the First, The Last, My Everything," "What Am I Gonna Do With You," and the number one 1974 smash, "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe," as well as a handful of hits by Love Unlimited and Love Unlimited Orchestra.
While all of his up-tempo dance numbers and down-tempo slow jams tend to blend together, White was neither generic nor unoriginal. He had his own distinct style that can best be summed up lyrically in the following few lines from his song "Love Serenade": "Take it off / Baby, take it aaaaalllllllllll 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." White's spoken word delivery arguably influenced future rappers, and the drum breaks on songs like "I'm Gonna Love You Just Little More Baby" were sampled often by Hip-Hop artists.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Barry White's chart presence almost seemed contingent on collaborating with other artists. For instance, his 1990 hit "The Secret Garden" (Sweet Seduction Suite) featured Al B. Sure!, James Ingram, Quincy Jones, and El DeBarge, and he also appeared on Big Daddy Kane's 1991 rhythm and blues hit "All of Me," Lisa Stansfield's cover of "Never, Never Gonna Give You Up," and Edie Brickell's "Good Times" (one of the strangest pairings of the 1990s). White also enjoyed some exposure from the sitcom Ally McBeal, in which the character John Cage sings and dances to White's "You're the First, the Last, My Everything" to prepare himself for a date.
Further Reading:
Vincent, Rickey. Funk: The Music, the People and the Rhythm of the One. New York, St. Martin's Griffin, 1996.
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