Barry Eugene Carter, better known by his stage name Barry White, was an American singer and songwriter.
51 Facts About Barry White
2.
Barry White's influences included James Cleveland, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, The Supremes, the Four Tops and Marvin Gaye.
3.
Barry White's father was Melvin A White, and his mother was Sadie Marie Carter.
4.
Barry White grew up in the Watts neighborhood of South Central Los Angeles, California.
5.
Barry White was the older of two children; his brother Darryl was 13 months younger.
6.
Barry White grew up listening to his mother's classical music collection and first took to the piano, emulating what he heard on the records.
7.
Barry White has often been credited with playing piano, at age 11, on Jesse Belvin's 1956 hit single, "Goodnight My Love".
8.
However, in a 1995 interview with the Boston Herald, Barry White denied writing or arranging the song.
9.
Barry White believed the story was an exaggeration by journalists.
10.
Barry White was jailed for four months at the age of 16 for stealing $30,000 worth of Cadillac tires.
11.
Barry White had another moment of inspiration on his 18th birthday, which was the first day back for his graduating year of high school.
12.
Barry White skipped class to walk to Capitol Records headquarters in downtown Los Angeles, and stood across the street from the office staring for hours.
13.
Barry White first released "Too Far to Turn Around" in 1960 as part of The Upfronts before working for various small independent labels in Los Angeles.
14.
Barry White recorded several singles under his own name in the early 1960s, backed by vocal groups the Atlantics and the Majestics.
15.
In 1965, Barry White produced "Feel Aw Right" by the Bel Cantos, released on the Downey label.
16.
Barry White discovered singer Felice Taylor and arranged her song "I Feel Love Comin' On", co-written with his friend Paul Politi.
17.
Barry White wrote "Doin' the Banana Split" for TV bubblegum act The Banana Splits in 1968.
18.
In 1969, Barry White was signed by Forward Records of Los Angeles, a division of Transcontinental Entertainment Corporation, as a producer.
19.
In 1972, Barry White got his big break producing a girl group he had discovered called Love Unlimited.
20.
Barry White married the lead singer of the group, Glodean James, on July 4,1974.
21.
In 1973, Barry White created The Love Unlimited Orchestra, a 40-piece orchestral group to be used originally as a backing band for the girl-group Love Unlimited.
22.
However, Barry White had other plans, and in 1973 he released a single with "Love's Theme", which reached No 1 on the Billboard Pop charts.
23.
Later, in 1974, he made the first album of the Love Unlimited Orchestra, Rhapsody in Barry White, containing "Love's Theme".
24.
Barry White wanted to work with another act, but decided to work with a solo male artist.
25.
Barry White then wrote several other songs and recorded them for what eventually became an entire album of music.
26.
Barry White was going to use the name "White Heat", but decided on using his given name instead.
27.
Barry White was still hesitating up to the time the label copy was made.
28.
Barry White had a strong following in the UK, where he scored five Top 10 hits and a No 1 for "You're the First, the Last, My Everything".
29.
In 1996, Barry White recorded the duet "In Your Wildest Dreams" with Tina Turner.
30.
Barry White voiced the character Brother Bear in the film Coonskin, and played the character Sampson in the movie's live-action segments.
31.
Barry White appeared as himself in two episodes of The Simpsons.
32.
Barry White was a fan of the show, and had reportedly contacted the staff about wanting to make a guest appearance.
33.
Barry White made a second cameo in the episode "Krusty Gets Kancelled".
34.
Barry White played the role of a bus driver for a Prodigy commercial in 1995, and he portrayed the voice of a rabbit in a Good Seasons salad-dressing-mix commercial, singing a song called "You Can't Bottle Love".
35.
Barry White provided voice-over for Arby's Restaurant commercials on television and radio to promote its Market Fresh menu.
36.
Barry White made three guest appearances on the comedy-drama television series Ally McBeal, as his music was often featured on the show in dream sequences.
37.
Barry White was first married to his childhood sweetheart, identified as just Mary in his autobiography, by the time he was 19.
38.
Barry White had four children with his second wife Glodean James.
39.
Barry White had a daughter, Denise Donnell, born in 1962 to Gurtha Allen.
40.
Barry White did not discover who her biological father was until 1988.
41.
Barry White was accepted by White and with his help she changed her name to Denise White.
42.
Denton claimed that she was owed money and personal items that Barry White had promised to give her.
43.
Barry White was overweight for most of his adult life and suffered from related health problems.
44.
Barry White was known to be a heavy smoker, reportedly smoking approximately 150 cigarettes a day; roughly between 7 and 8 packs.
45.
Barry White was in a coma for four days but was discharged a week after coming out of it.
46.
Family, friends and associates reported that as the 2000s began, Barry White was in such poor health that he could hardly stand up; his last performances suffered as a result.
47.
In September 2002, Barry White was hospitalized with kidney failure attributed to chronic high blood pressure; he was believed to have been diabetic.
48.
Barry White suffered multiple seizures in his last few weeks.
49.
Barry White's remains were cremated, and the ashes were scattered in the ocean off the California coast.
50.
On September 20,2004, Barry White was posthumously inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame at a ceremony held in New York.
51.
Barry White was nominated for 11 Grammy Awards; winning two for Staying Power at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards in 2000.