Barry White

Barry Eugene White was born Barry Eugene Carter on September 12, 1944, and spent the 1970s turning R&B into something lush and unshakable. He wrote "Love's Theme" for the Love Unlimited Orchestra and watched it hit #1, then followed with his own solo run: "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe" and "You're the First, the Last, My Everything" became the sound of slow dances and long nights. He pulled from James Cleveland, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, the Supremes, the Four Tops, and Marvin Gaye, then stretched it all into disco-era soul with strings thick enough to drown in. Twenty studio albums, 20 gold singles, 10 platinum, over 100 million records sold worldwide. White died July 4, 2003, two Grammys to his name and a catalogue that still plays whenever someone needs to set a mood.