Barry White was born Barry Eugene Carter on 12 September 1944, in Galveston, Texas, and grew up listening to his mother's classical music collection, first taking up the piano to emulate what he heard on the records. He attended Jacob A. Riis High School, an all-boys academy in southeast Los Angeles, and when he was 13 or 14 his his voice suddenly deepened almost overnight, which was something of a shock for his mother. At aged 16 he was jailed for four months for stealing $30,000 worth of Cadillac tires (equivalent to about $320,000 now), and while in jail he listened to Elvis Presley singing 'It's Now or Never' on the radio, an experience he later credited with changing the course of his life. After his release from jail, White left gang life and began a musical career at the beginning of the 1960's in singing groups. His first release was 'Too Far to Turn Around' in 1960 as part of the Upfronts, before working for various small independent labels in Los Angeles. He also recorded several singles with The Atlantics (for the Rampart and Faro labels) and The Majestics (for the Linda and Jordan labels). In 1965 he released one side of a split single with The Essence, under his birth name of Gene Carter, and he also produced 'Feel Aw Right' by the Bel Cantos, released on Downey Records, and the label also released his debut solo single, 'Man Ain't Nothin''/'I Don't Need It', under the name Lee Barry in 1966.
In the mid-'60s, Bob Keane of Del-Fi Records hired him as an A&R man for his new Bronco Records imprint, and White started working with the label's artists, including Viola Wills and The Bobby Fuller Four, as a songwriter, session musician, and arranger. He discovered singer Felice Taylor and arranged her song 'I Feel Love Comin' On', and Bronco also issued one of White's first singles under his new name, 1967's 'All In The Run Of A Day'. In 1969, he was signed by Forward Records of Los Angeles, a division of Transcontinental Entertainment Corporation, as a producer, and as one final parting shot he released a cover of 'In The Ghetto' under the name Gene West in 1970. Two years later, White got his big break producing a girl group he had discovered called Love Unlimited, and after honing their talents for two years, they were signed to Uni Records, and music industry businessman Larry Nunes helped to finance their album. After it was recorded, Nunes took the recording to Russ Regan, who was the head of the Uni label owned by MCA, and the resulting record, 1972's 'From A Girl's Point of View We Give to You... Love Unlimited', became the first of White's string of long-titled albums and singles. From this point his career took off, with a strings of hit singles and albums under his own name, as well as with Love Unlimited, and the Love Unlimited Orchestra, but everyone has to start somewhere, and this post charts Barry White's early years in the music industry up until that big break.
Track listing
01 Too Far To Turn Around (The Upfronts 1960)
02 Married Jive (The Upfronts 1960)
03 Boo-Hoo-Hoo (The Atlantics 1961)
04 Remember The Night (The Atlantics 1962)
05 Flame Of Love (The Atlantics 1962)
06 Home On The Range (The Atlantics 1963)
07 Let Me Call You Sweetheart (The Atlantics 1963)
08 Strange World (The Majestics 1963)
09 Everything Is Gonna Be Alright (The Majestics 1963)
10 It Took Time (It Took You) (The Upfronts 1963)
11 Baby, For Your Love (The Upfronts 1963)
12 Tracy (All I Have Is You) (Barry White And The Atlantics 1964)
13 Ring Around My Rosie (as Gene Carter 1965)
14 Man Ain't Nothin' (as Lee Barry 1966)
15 I Don't Need It (as Lee Barry 1966)
16 All In The Run Of A Day (as Barry White 1967)
17 Don't Take Your Love From Me (as Barry White 1967)
18 In The Ghetto (as Gene West 1970)
19 Little Girl (as Gene West 1970)
