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Barry White: Mister Love
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With his large frame and unmistakably deep, rich, voice, Barry White was a towering figure in the world of soul music. Dubbed the Walrus of Love, he enjoyed a virtual monopoly on pillow talk disco during the mid-1970s.
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Barry White - sometimes referred to as "The Walrus of Love" - first came to prominence with hits on Radio during the disco era of the 1970s. White won two Grammy Awards in 2000 for the song "Staying Power" - one for Best Male and one for Traditional R&B Vocal Performance.
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Born in Texas and raised in SoCal, Barry White started his career as a notable teenage session pianist. But his real desire was to become a producer, and after a number of increasingly important roles at small record labels, he formed the girl group Love Unlimited (featuring future wife Glodean) and wrote and produced for them the sweet 1972 single "Walking In the Rain (With the One I Love)." It became a top ten smash and opened a new world of opportunity for White.
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[I]n 1992, White signed with A&M, releasing the albums The Man Is Back, The Right Night & Barry White, and Put Me in Your Mix (which contains a duet with Issac Hayes, "Dark and Lovely"). The Icon Is Love became his biggest-selling album since the \'70s releases, going multi-platinum. It includes the platinum single "Pratice What You Preach." The production lineup includes Gerald Levert and Tony Nicholas, his godson Chuckii Booker, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and White and his longtime friend Jack Perry. While some later efforts buried his vocals in whiz-bang electronic effects, on The Icon Is Love, White\'s deep steam engine baritone pipes are upfront in the mix. Staying Power followed in 1999, showcased in the best tradition of soul music where the focus is the singer and the song. The album earned White two Grammys. White\'s career took him from the ghetto to international success with 106 gold and 41 platinum albums, 20 gold and ten platinum singles, with worldwide sales in excess of 100 million.
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White had a brother just 13 months younger than he, though they looked like twins. Unfortunately Darryl liked trouble as much as White loved music. Growing up in Watts during the 1950s and 1960s, both boys easily found trouble. They were in and out of gangs, but were mostly considered a gang of two. Darryl went to jail--juvenile detention--for the first time when he was just eight. White himself went at age 16 after stealing thousands of dollars' worth of tires from Cadillacs on a lot.
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White parlayed that initial success into a high-flying solo career. His 1973 debut album, I've Got So Much To Give, featured the single, "I'm Gonna Love Ya Just a Little More, Baby." The tune bore all the hallmarks of the White sound: sophisticated r&b melodies complemented by soaring strings. By the close of the '70s, White had produced 22 albums and released a slew of hit singles such as "It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next to Me," "What Am I Gonna Do With You" and "Let the Music Play," among others.
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