Barry White (born Barrence Eugene Carter in Galveston, Texas, USA; September 12, 1944 - July 4, 2003) was an American record producer, songwriter and singer. White grew up in his hometown in Galveston, Texas, singing gospel songs with his mother and taught himself to play the piano. Shortly after moving from Texas to South Central Los Angeles, White made his recording debut at the tender age of 11, playing piano on Jesse Belvin's "Goodnight My Love". He made his first record when he was 16 with a group called the Upfronts. ...show more

Barry White (born Barrence Eugene Carter in Galveston, Texas, USA; September 12, 1944 - July 4, 2003) was an American record producer, songwriter and singer. White grew up in his hometown in Galveston, Texas, singing gospel songs with his mother and taught himself to play the piano. Shortly after moving from Texas to South Central Los Angeles, White made his recording debut at the tender age of 11, playing piano on Jesse Belvin's "Goodnight My Love". He made his first record when he was 16 with a group called the Upfronts.

The song was called "Little Girl" on a local L.A. label called Lummtone Records. He later worked for various independent labels around Los Angeles, landing an A&R position with Bob Keane, the man responsible for the first pop recordings by Sam Cooke. One of his labels, Mustang, was hot at the time with a group called the Bobby Fuller Four in 1966.

White was hired for forty dollars a week to do A&R for Keane's family of labels: Del-Fi, Mustang and Bronco. During this time, White flirted with the idea of being a recording artist, making a record for Bronco called All in the Run of a Day. But he chose to stick with his A&R duties. One of the first groups he worked with was the Versatiles who later changed their name to The 5th Dimension. ...show less