The Voice: the unmistakable Barry White
Barrence Eugene Carter, better known as Barry White, was born in Galveston, Texas (USA) on September 12, 1944. Raised in the southern neighborhoods of Los Angeles, he soon became acquainted with the harsh laws of the street and gangs.
At the age of ten, Barry became a member of one of these gangs, but trouble was just around the corner; in fact, at only seventeen, he ended up in prison for stealing tires. After completing his sentence, towards the early seventies, he began a new path, first performing in a group called “The Up Front,” with whom he recorded six singles. Subsequently, he did not achieve great success as a soloist, but instead established himself as a songwriter.
In 1969, he created the group “Love Unlimited” as a response to the legendary Supremes. In the following two years, with Barry serving as producer, songwriter, and arranger, the group secured a contract with 20th Century Fox Records and recorded their first soul ballad: “Walking in the Rain with the One I Love.”
Success was immediate; the record sold a million copies. Few people know that Barry White always maintained an intense production activity, a behind-the-scenes role that he shared with his passion for singing and solo performance. Following the success of Love Unlimited, which he produced, he launched a solo adventure the following year, releasing the instrumental “Love Theme,” which is credited with inaugurating the era of Disco Music. In 1974, he brought the album “Can’t Get Enough” to the top of the world charts. In 1988, he also found the time to divorce for the second time from Glodean James, who, among other things, was the lead singer of “Love Unlimited.” The good Barry left behind another 4 children, adding to the four he had with his first wife, totaling eight. A rather prolific man.
The eighties were a period of lights and shadows; it was only in 1994 with the track “Practice What You Preach” that Barry White saw the top of the charts again after nearly seventeen years of absence. A curious fact is that although Barry White reached his peak popularity in the 70s, he won his first Grammys in 2000 for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance, thanks to the recent “Staying Power.”
Among his hits that have made billions of romantics dance and accompanied many young lovers, we must mention: “I’m Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby” (1973), “Never, Never Gonna Give You Up” (1973), “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe” (1974), “You’re the First, the Last, My Everything” (1974), “Let the Music Play” (1976), “Change” (1982), and finally “Practice What You Preach” (1994).
The 1988 live concert in New York’s Central Park, alongside the great Luciano Pavarotti, was one of the last events in which he was the protagonist; more than one and a half billion people followed the event worldwide. Chronically suffering from hypertension, his health was often threatened, also due to his considerable size, weighing between 120 and 150 kg; he suffered kidney failure in the fall of 2002 and a stroke in 2003, which forced him to retire from the stage. He died at only 58 years old on July 4, 2003 (American Independence Day), due to further kidney failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in West Hollywood.
A beautiful, warm, and mellow voice, a true soundtrack to our youth.
Farewell, Barry
