Good morning, Kittens and Dawgs! You’ve made this Cathy happy with your visit. For several months I wanted to spotlight today’s artist. Born Barry Eugene Carter September 12, 1944, this singer/songwriter, composer is a three-time Grammy Award recipient and well-known for his romantic baritone vocals. I give you, Barry White!
White’s two biggest hits were You’re My First, My Last, My Everything (which I don’t remember) and “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love Babe” (I do remember).
But, the song I remember him best from his 1973 #1 Billboard Pop Charts’ hit!
“Love’s Theme” appeared on his first album, Rhapsody in White, under Love Unlimited Orchestra.
I sorta lost touch with Barry White after the 70s but in the late 80s he released, The Man is Back, that produced three Top 40 singles on the Billboard R&B chart. “Super Lover” landed on #34, “I Wanna Do It Good to Ya” hit #26, and “When Will I See You Again” took #32.
With the involvement in Quincy Jones production of The Secret Garden allowed White to ride a new wave of popularity after which he launched several albums returning him to spotlight in 1991 with Put Me in Your Mix at #8 on Billboard R&B Album chart and the song by the same name hit #2 on Billboard R&B Singles chart.
1994 was a good year for White with the release of Icon of Love that went to #1 on the Billboard R&B Album charts and from this album, the first song, “Practice What You Preach” hit #1 on the Billboard R&B Singles Chart which was a first for him in 20 years. (REPLACE)
White’s album was nominated for a Grammy in the Best R&B Album category. However, he lost to TLC’s CrazySexyCool.
In 1996, Barry White teamed up with Tina Turner to produce, “In Your Wildest Dreams”.
Staying Power (1999) was White’s last album which produced his final hit single with the song by the same name at #45 on the Billboard R&B Charts but it also landed him two Grammy Awards: The Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and The Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance.
Barry White was a big man. Unfortunately, his obesity contributed to problems with high blood pressure and diabetes. In May 2003 while on dialysis waiting for a kidney transplant, Barry had a massive stroke forcing him out of the limelight, then two months later on July 4th, White died.
Barry’s career was mega size on a worldwide level with 106 gold albums (41 of these reached platinum), 20 gold and 10 platinum singles and sales of more than 100M dollars. He’s regarded as an all-time world’s best-selling artist. His career inspiration comes from Motown greats – The Supremes, The Four Tops, and Marvin Gaye plus some southern influence from Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, and the King of Rockin’ Roll, Elvis Presley.
Thanks for making me a part of your morning and I hope you’ll share the mews of my new weekly meme with your lovelies with the below tweet or through other social media shares.
Want more romantic mewsic? Visit my Smoother Than Chocolate Love Mewsic post from yesterday and if you stick around a bit you can catch my random Valentine’s Day post on Cathy Chats! ?
Have a tunesational day!
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The first song I heard by him was this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6AL1XnHJZs
He had quite a few hits in his day, and he was a bit larger-than-life, but I always thought he was good.
John, Naturally I stumbled on this tune while I was digging around but I don’t remember it. It’s hard to believe considering it peaked #1 on the US Billboard Best Selling Soul Singles and # 3 on Billboard Hot 100 chart. It’s a nice a song. He amazingly smooth and pleasant considering how deep his vocals are and he’s a solo artist.
Absolutely brilliant Cathy and I’m pleased you included Love Unlimited too Rhapsody In White is one of my favourite tracks of theirs although the whole album is good’ also brilliant that you included some lesser known tracks of his too.
I am now gonna sit back and enjoy these thanks for letting me know 🙂
Hi, Cathy!
I just finished reading your other V-Day post and will be commenting on it when I am finished here. Thanks for linking back to this Barry White post, otherwise I would have missed it.
You and I really are in sync this week because I too have been sifting through Barry White’s catalog and listening to his songs. My focus, however, has been on his early hits and therefore I am grateful to you for tracing his career all the way to the end of the line. This is the first time I heard most of the recordings you posted here.
Barry White’ long and successful career as a recording artist and composer is an example of how you can rise from adversity and change the course of your life through inspiration and perspiration (hard work). According to Wiki, Barry grew up in gangland – a tough neighborhood in South Central Los Angeles. His brother was killed in a gang fight and Barry went to jail at age 16 for stealing $30,000 worth of tires. While behind bars Barry listened to Elvis Presley’s song “It’s Now Or Never” on the radio. The song became a metaphor for taking action now that can transform the quality of your life. That he did and the rest is mewsic history.
I was happy to hear the Barry White recordings produced by Quincy Jones. Jones had the Midas touch and helped many artists update their sound and achieve hits. It was also a pleasure to hear for the first time the duet Barry sang with the legendary Tina Turner.
Thank you very much for the mewsic and the history lesson about one of the most important artists of the 20th century, Barry White!
Tom, That’s interesting you have been listening to Barry White, too. Thanks for recapping White’s youthful indiscretions that landed him in jail. Although he deserved the punishment, it was actually a good thing for the young man. Getting thrown into the slammer probably saved him from a lifetime of crime. I know this isn’t the case with every kid who gets in trouble, but for some, it’s the wake-up call they need. It was a lot of fun learning what became of Barry White and to listen to his newer mewsic. Like I said, I lost touch with the man and it wasn’t until about a year or two ago I got a reintroduction of his earlier tunes while visiting a fellow blogger. Anywho, I’m happy you enjoyed the post. Thanks for stopping by, my friend and have a good day!