Barry White Biography

Barry White was known as “the Walrus of Love,” a nickname that encompassed his size, his deep voice and his reputation as one of R&B’s most romantic singers.

Barry White grew up in Los Angeles and got into the music business at an early age. By the late 1960s he had organized and produced a girl group called Love Unlimited, whose 1972 hit “Walkin’ in the Rain With the One I Love” featured Barry White’s voice through a telephone. His own debut album, I’ve Got So Much To Give (1973), included the hit “I’m Gonna Love Ya Just a Little More, Baby.”

White’s distinctive, smooth bass voice was backed by the Love Unlimited Orchestra, and during the ’70s he had several hits, including “Love’s Theme,” a slickly-produced soul song that signaled the beginning of the disco era. During the ’80s his career waned, but in the ’90s his career was revived, thanks in part to appearances on the TV shows Ally McBeal and The Simpsons.

After selling millions of records over three decades, Barry White won his first Grammy with his album Staying Power (1999). By the time of his death in 2003, White was a pop culture icon whose name was synonymous with intimate mood music.