b. 12 September 1944, Galveston, Texas, USA, d. 4 July 2003, Los Angeles, California, USA. Raised in Watts, Los Angeles, White immersed himself in the local music fraternity while still very young, playing piano on Jesse Belvin’s R&B hit, ‘Goodnight My Love’, at the age of 11. Barry made several records during the early 60s, under his own name, as ‘Barry Lee’, and as a member of the Upfronts, the Atlantics and the Majestics. However, he found a greater success as a backroom figure, guiding the careers of, amongst others, Felice Taylor and Viola Wills.
In 1969 White put together Love Unlimited, a female vocal trio made up of Diane Taylor, Glodean James (his future wife) and her sister Linda. He also founded the Love Unlimited Orchestra, a 40-piece ensemble to accompany himself and the singing trio, for which he conducted, composed and arranged. Love Unlimited’s success in 1972 with ‘Walkin’ In The Rain With The One I Love’, featuring White’s gravelly, passion-soaked voice on the telephone, rejuvenated Barry’s own career, during which he scored major US hits with ‘I’m Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby’, ‘Never, Never Gonna Give Ya Up’ (both 1973), ‘Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe’, and ‘You’re The First, The Last, My Everything’ (both 1974) all of which proved just as popular in the UK. With these, the artist established a well-wrought formula where catchy pop/soul melodies were fused to sweeping arrangements and the singer’s husky growl. The style quickly verged on self-parody as the sexual content of the lyrics grew more explicit, but although his pop hits lessened towards the end of the 70s, he remained the idolatry subject of live performances. The singer’s last major US hit was 1977’s Top 5 ‘It’s Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next To Me’. The following year he graced the UK Top 20 with a cover version of Billy Joel’s ‘Just The Way You Are’.
White later undertook several recordings with his wife Glodean, but experienced a fallow period before returning to the UK Top 20 in 1987 with ‘Sho’ You Right’. The UK singer Lisa Stansfield, who had often voiced her approval of White’s work, teamed up with the singer in 1992 to re-record a version of Stansfield’s hit, ‘All Around The World’. During the 90s, a series of commercially successful albums proved White’s status as more than just a cult figure. He also emerged as a minor television celebrity, making self-deprecatory appearances in popular shows such as The Simpsons and Ally McBeal. At the start of the new millennium, White’s health began to deteriorate and he eventually succumbed to kidney failure in July 2003.
The subject of critical approbation, particularly with reference to his large frame, White’s achievements during the peak of his career in the 70s, in securing gold and platinum discs for worldwide sales, should not be underestimated.
