WHITE, BARRY [EUGENE] (12 SEP 1944–)

With his heavy-breathing vocals and lush orchestrations, White trod a fine line between soulfulness and easy-listening. Yet singles such as “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe” (20th Century #2120, 1974; #1 pop/R&B) and “You’re My First, My Last, My Everything” (20th Century #2133, date 1974; #2 pop, #1 R&B) achieved infectiousness by blending a driving rhythm track with an appealing willingness to come close to a parody of soul. He cut his teeth musically as an organist for a local church in Galveston, Texas. In 1966, as an A&R man at Mustang Records (owned by producer Bob Keene), White teamed up with three female singers to form the Love Unlimited Orchestra, who had a hit with “Walking in the Rain with the One I Love” (1972) Love Unlimited later had an instrumental hit with “Love’s Theme” (20th Century #2069; 1973), which highlighted his skill as a producer. In 1973 to 1974 alone, White wrote, produced, or performed on records that had sales totaling more than $16 million. White had a string of hits through the later 1970s, culminating with his last major pop hit, “It’s Ecstasy (When You Lay Down Next to Me)” (20th Century #2350, #4 pop, #1 R&B). However, by the late 1970s, White’s appeal began to wane, though he had a minor hit in 1979 with a cover of Billy Joel’s “I Love You Just the Way You Are.” White enjoyed somewhat of a career boost in the early 1990s when his earlier hits were prominently featured as background music on the hit television series, Allie McBeal, as well as his “appearances” on the animated show, The Simpons. He scored a number one R&B, number 18 pop hit with his comeback song, “Practice What You Preach” in 1994 (A&M #0778), from the multiplatinum The Icon Is Love (A&M #540280) album. White is said to have sold over 100 million albums worldwide.