Barry White
Barry Eugene Carter (September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003), better known by his stage name Barry White,[1] was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came in the 1970s as a solo singer and with the Love Unlimited Orchestra, crafting many enduring soul, funk, and disco songs such as his two biggest hits: "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe" and "You're the First, the Last, My Everything".
This article is about the American singer. For the U.S. Ambassador to Norway, see Barry B. White.
Barry White
Barry Eugene Carter
Lee Barry
September 12, 1944
Galveston, Texas, U.S.
July 4, 2003 (aged 58)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
- Singer
- songwriter
- record producer
- composer
- Vocals
- keyboards
1958–2003
- Downey
- 20th Century Fox
- Unlimited Gold
- Casablanca
- Mercury
- Private
- BMG
- A&M
- Eagle
-
Mary(divorced)
White recorded 20 studio albums during the course of his career, but multiple versions and compilations were released worldwide that were certified gold, 41 of which also attained platinum status. White had 20 gold and 10 platinum singles, with worldwide record sales in excess of 100 million records, and is one of the best-selling music artists of all time.[2] His influences included James Cleveland, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, the Supremes, the Four Tops and Marvin Gaye.
Early life[edit]
White was born Barry Eugene Carter on September 12, 1944, in Galveston, Texas.[3][4] His father was Melvin A. White, and his mother was Sadie Marie Carter. His parents never married, so his mother gave him her last name, but he later took on the surname of his father.[5][6] He grew up in the Watts neighborhood of South Central Los Angeles, California.[7] He was the oldest of two children; his brother Darryl was 13 months younger. White grew up listening to his mother's classical music collection and first took to the piano, emulating what he heard on the records.
White has often been credited with playing piano, at age 11, on Jesse Belvin's 1956 hit single, "Goodnight My Love".[8][9] However, in a 1995 interview with the Boston Herald, White denied writing or arranging the song. He believed the story was an exaggeration by journalists. While White and Belvin lived in the same neighborhood, Belvin was 12 years older than White.
White attended Jacob A. Riis High School, an all-boys academy in southeast Los Angeles.[10] White's voice deepened suddenly when he was 13 or 14.[11] He recalled: "[As a child], I had a normal squeaky kid voice. Then as a teenager, that completely changed. My mother cried because she knew her baby boy had become a man." In an 2000 interview with Conan O'Brien he further recalled: "I woke up one morning when I was 14. I spoke to my mother and I scared both of us."[12] White also told the BBC that this happened when he was 13.[13][14]
White was jailed for four months at the age of 16 for stealing $30,000 worth of Cadillac tires (equivalent to about $310,000 now).[15] While in jail, he listened to Elvis Presley singing "It's Now or Never" on the radio,[16] an experience he later credited with changing the course of his life.[17] White had 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.[10]
Personal life[edit]
Marriages[edit]
White was first married to his childhood sweetheart, identified as just Mary in his autobiography, by the time he was 19. They separated in 1969 and later divorced.[26]
In 1974, White married singer Glodean James. The couple collaborated on the 1981 album Barry & Glodean.[26] They reportedly separated in 1988,[31][26] but they were still legally married until White's death in 2003, although they lived separate lives.[32] Although estranged from White for over a decade, as his widow she was made sole executor of his estate.[33]
Children[edit]
White had at least nine children.[32] By the age of 16, White had fathered two children with his first wife Mary.[34] They had four children together.[26] In 2017, his son Darryl White from his first marriage sued his estate, claiming he was cut off financially.[33]
White had four children with his second wife Glodean James.[26] Their daughter Shaherah was his personal assistant. Barry Jr. played in the Love Unlimited Orchestra and was also his tour manager. White's son MacKevin worked in his publishing administration.[31]
White had a daughter, Denise Donnell, born in 1962 to Gurtha Allen. She did not discover who her biological father was until 1988.[32] She was accepted by White and with his help she changed her name to Denise White. In 2016, she sued White's estate after she stopped receiving money.[32]
After White's death in 2003, his girlfriend Katherine Denton claimed her infant daughter Barriana was his biological child.[35] Denton also claimed that she was owed money and personal items that White had promised to give her. Paternity tests revealed that he was not the father of her child and Denton subsequently lost her court case.[32]
Health problems and death[edit]
While undergoing dialysis and awaiting a kidney transplant in May 2003, White suffered a severe stroke, which forced him to retire from public life. He also suffered multiple seizures in his last few weeks.[36]
White's unstable health prevented him from receiving a new kidney, and he died on July 4, 2003, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after suffering cardiac arrest. He was 58 years old.[36][37] His remains were cremated, and the ashes were scattered in the ocean off the California coast.[38]
Legacy[edit]
On September 20, 2004, White was posthumously inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame at a ceremony held in New York. On September 12, 2013, which would have been White's 69th birthday, he was posthumously awarded the 2,506th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6914 Hollywood Boulevard in the category of recording.[39] The show Counting Cars paid tribute to White by restoring the last car he owned for his widow, Glodean.
In an obituary referring to White by his nickname, "The Walrus of Love", the BBC recalled "the rich timbres of one of the most distinctive soul voices of his generation, about which it was once said: 'If chocolate fudge cake could sing, it would sound like Barry White.'"[40]
In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked White at number 56 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.[41]
Awards and nominations[edit]
White was nominated for 11 Grammy Awards, winning two for Staying Power at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards in 2000.[28]