Barry White, R.I.P.

[W.B.]

Traveling through the wires, this item: Barry White, "The Maestro" who seduced audiences with his lush music from the 1970's right up through the '90's, has died of kidney failure at the age of 58. He had been hospitalized since last September undergoing dialysis.

May I offer my condolences to his family and fans for all the joy he has brought to many over the decades.

 

[LPJim]

Many of you will recall Barry White recorded for A&M beginning in 1987 with THE RIGHT NIGHT & BARRY WHITE (5154), THE MAN IS BACK! (5256 - rel. 1990), PUT ME IN YOUR MIX (5377, rel. 1991) and THE ICON IS LOVE (0115 - rel. 1994).
Yet another of too many losses in the music world of late.
JB

 

[Kathy]

My Gosh! He was almost as old as I am! I'll never forget having "Love's Theme" on the 8-Track tape our car came with back when it came out.

Looks like The Music World is losing a lot of its legends.

Kat

 

[Joe]

This is truly a terrible loss. Barry White was such a talented artist and it shows on all of his songs. Favorite hits: "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe" and "You're the First, the Last, My Everything".

Joe, NP: "You're the First, the Last, My Everything"

 

[Brasil_Nut]

Oh, this is terrible news. Barry was one of the nicest people I had the pleasure to meet as a VIP Host with Walt Disney World. My condolences to his family and loved ones in this time of sadness and loss.

Jon

 

[Captain Bacardi]

I had a feeling this was going to happen. I heard that Barry had a stroke recently and wasn't doing well. Another huge loss for the music world.

I owe quite a few intimate moments to Barry. I used to date a woman who just melted anytime she heard Barry's music, especially the album The Icon Is Love (an excellent album, BTW). I would try to sing "Practice What You Preach" to her to get her going. Anytime I had a cold or would get up really early in the morning I could get my voice down into Barry's range.

There was a "Behind The Music" segment that VH-1 did on Barry a few months ago, and I suspect it will be aired again soon. It was pretty good. He told the story of how all of a sudden his voice changed when he was 13. He walked into the kitchen one morning where his mother was making breakfast and said "Good morning, Mom" when he realized his voice changed. He said his mom freaked out and dropped a frying pan when he said it, saying it scared the hell out of her.


Capt. Bacardi

 

[Rudy]

I often poked gentle fun at Barry White, but it was probably more out of admiration and respect for what he did more than anything else. He was beyond a musician--he was a cultural icon in a sense, a purveyor of all that was about love and happiness, smooth and comforting. Beyond that the music spoke for itself, a sound big, lush and warm just like The Man himself. We were fortunate he spent his short time on earth sharing his gift with all of us.