The Great 70s

Barry White

Barry White is a five-time Grammy Award-winner known for his rich bass voice and romantic image. White's greatest success came in the 1970s with the Love Unlimited Orchestra, crafting many enduring hit soul, funk, and disco songs. Worldwide, White had many gold and platinum albums and singles, with combined sales of over 100 million.

In August 1969, he got his break producing a girl group called Love Unlimited. His best friend Max Murray helped him get his start in music. He made Barry his protege and led him to fame. Formed in imitation of the legendary Motown girl group The Supremes, the group members honed their talents with White for the next two years until they all signed contracts with 20th Century Records. White produced, wrote and arranged the classic soul ballad "Walking in the Rain (With The One I Love)", which hit the Top 20 of the pop charts. The group would score more hits throughout the '70s and White married the lead singer of the group, Glodean James, on 4 July 1974.

While working on a few demos for a male singer, the record label suggested White step out in front of the microphone, to which he reluctantly agreed. His first solo chart hit, 1973's "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby", rose to #1 R&B and #3 Pop. That same year, the Love Unlimited Orchestra's recording of White's composition "Love's Theme" reached #1 Pop in 1974, one of only two instrumental recordings ever to do so. Some regard "Love's Theme" as the first disco hit ever, although Nino Tempo's "Sister James" had already reached the Hot 100 a few months before.

Other chart hits by White include "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), "What Am I Gonna Do With You" (1975), "Let the Music Play" (1976), "It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next To Me" (1977), "Your Sweetness is My Weakness" (1978), and "Change" (1982).

Considered handsome and deeply romantic by his many female fans and admired for the unique blend of soul and classical orchestral musical elements he created, White was often affectionately referred to as the "Maestro" or "The Man with the Velvet Voice". His portly physical stature led some in the popular press to make condescending jokes about his weight by referring to White as the "Walrus of Love," a moniker considered disrespectful by many fans. Barry White was also referred to as "The Sultan of Smooth Soul," but it was his role as brainchild of the funk-fueled, deep soul band, the Love Unlimited Orchestra, in which he was widely branded on several early albums as the group's Maestro, earning him the only documented nickname for which he and his musical colleagues were responsible.

Wikipedia contributors. Barry White. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. March 30, 2009, 00:47 UTC. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barry_White&oldid=280539634. Accessed April 5, 2009.