Barry White had a rough beginning but turned to music which became the rhythm of his life, offering him a way to express his intense thoughts while serving as a source of income. He loved learning so he started by learning how to play the piano and from there, his prowess in music escalated.
As his love for music grew over time, White dropped out of school in 1962, during his senior year. His plan was to focus more on his dreams which were singing and producing his own records. How did that work out for him? Let’s find out.
Barry White Bio
Barry White whose birth name was Barry Eugene Carter was born on the 12th of September, 1944, in Galveston, Texas, to parents who were never married. His father was Melvin A. White, and his mother was Sadie Marie Carter. The music icon grew up in South Central Los Angeles, California, and he had one brother Darry, who was 13 months younger; however, he died in a rival gang.
Barry White as he was popularly known, started his music career in the year 1955 when as an 11 years old boy, he played the piano which he learned by himself on Jesse Belvin’s 1956 hit single, “Goodnight My Love”. After this, there wasn’t much until he got out of jail in the 1960s and signed up with small independent labels.
White recorded several singles under his own name in the early 1960s, backed by vocal groups like the Atlantics and the Majestics. Later on, he was hired by Bob Keane of Del-Fi Records as an A&R man in the mid-1960s and he started working with the label’s artists as a songwriter, session musician, and arranger. Barry White also mentored some singers like Felice Taylor who he helped with hit songs.
In all, Barry was a singer, soloist, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He released 20 albums which had amazing titles like ‘I’ve Got So Much To Give’, ‘Stone Gon’, ‘Can’t Get Enough’, ‘Just Another Way To Say I Love You‘, ‘No limit on love’, ‘Let the Music Play’, ‘I Love To Sing the Songs I Sing ‘, ‘The Icon is love’ and many others. Barry White has over 70 songs to his name with his greatest hit song being “You’re the First, the Last, My Everything”. His 19th studio album (The Icon is love) was his most significant album.
His Net Worth
Barry’s music has grown over time and has become widely acclaimed. Little wonder he was posthumously inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame in 2004 and awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2013. Yeah, beyond making fine music, Barry was also into acting.
Barry White reportedly owned a multi-million dollar worth of estate as of 2003, the year he died. 14 years after his death, Forbes (2017) recorded Barry White’s net worth at $20 million.
Barry’s Wife and Children
On the 18th of November 1962, Barry married his sweetheart Betty Smith, but they eventually got divorced after having 4 children together. He moved on to marry Glodean Beverly Jame from the band “Love Unlimited” in 1974 and they were married till 2003, though they were separated for a big chunk of the years when Katherine Denton became his girlfriend.
White fathered nine children – Barry White Jr., Melva White, Nina White, and Darryl White from his first marriage. Later on, he had Shaherah White and Bridgett White from his marriage to Glodean White. Denise White formerly known as Dennis Donnell is also White’s son from his relationship with Gurtha Allen. The details of his 2 other children are unknown.
Meanwhile, Katherine Denton, his estranged girlfriend gave birth to a baby girl four weeks before he died and claimed it was his. But then, her claims were silenced by the result of a paternity test which was presented to the court.
Cause of Death – What Killed Barry White?
Barry’s health began to deteriorate when he lost control of his weight. He was overweight most of his adult life, so this exposed him to suffering high blood pressure in 1995. In July 2002, his health condition worsened, making him even miss a planned concert tour. Things got worse as he was hospitalized in September 2002 and diagnosed with kidney failure which was caused by diabetes mellitus and high blood pressure.
The music star underwent dialysis while he awaited a kidney transplant; howbeit, he was struck with a stroke which caused him to avoid public function. On the 4th of July 2003, White died at the Cedars–Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles as a result of kidney failure; he was 58.
