Barry White
Photo: Universal

Barry White, the legendary R&B singer whose smooth, deep baritone set the standard for romantic crooners for years to come, died Friday after a lengthy battle with numerous health problems. He was 58.

White passed away at Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Friday morning, according to a spokesperson for the late singer. White suffered kidney failure last fall and had a stroke in May (see "For The Record: Quick News On Barry White, J. Lo, Metallica, White Stripes, Radiohead, Hanson, Tori Amos, Raekwon & More"). He had been waiting for his health to improve in hopes of undergoing a kidney transplant.

"His generous nature, courtly manners and timeless music made him the most giving and sought-after human being I’ve ever known," White's longtime manager, Ned Shankman, said.

White's voice — at once booming and tender — seemed an extension of his imposing presence. The singer's large frame seemed matched only by his charisma and his talent. His career spanned more than three decades, but he is perhaps best known as the velvet voice behind such classics as "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe" and "You're the First, the Last, My Everything."

White's first foray into music came at age 16 when he recorded the song "Little Girl" with the group the Upfronts. He later worked as an A&R rep (with the 5th Dimension and the Bobby Fuller Four) and as a producer (putting together Love Unlimited). Soon White began working on demos of his own, which eventually yielded his first album, 1973's I've Got So Much to Give.

White then joined forces with Love Unlimited, rechristened it the Love Unlimited Orchestra, and began to churn out a string of hits that made him one of the most successful R&B artists of the '70s. Songs like "It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next to Me," "You See the Trouble With Me," "I'll Do for You Anything You Want Me To" and "Love Serenade" established White and Love Unlimited as the music of choice for many a romantic evening through the disco era.

The '80s brought a handful of less successful albums and eventually a hiatus for White. However, he re-emerged in the '90s with the albums The Man Is Back, The Right Night & Barry White and Put Me in Your Mix. Despite his early success, White would not win his first Grammy Award until 2000, for his album Staying Power.

White was preparing a "duets" album for release on Def Soul later this year.

White is survived by eight children: La nece, Deniece, Nina, Shehera, Barriana , Barry Jr., Darrell, and his stepson, McKevin. He is also survived by his companion (and the mother of Barriana), Catherine Denton.

• Barry White

Barry White
Photo: Private Music

Soul crooner Barry White suffered a stroke on May 1 that affected his speech and the right side of his body, Reuters reports. The 58-year-old White, whose deep, mood-setting voice is as dependable as roses and candy on Valentine's Day, suffered kidney failure last fall and is awaiting a transplant when his condition improves. ...

Jennifer Lopez is being sued for $5 million for breach of contract by film director Adam Shankman, with whom she worked on the film "The Wedding Planner." Shankman claims that he and Lopez talked about having her play the lead role in a new film version of the classic opera "Carmen," but that she then turned around and sold the idea to Universal Pictures without his knowledge. ...

Metallica have chosen some openers for their May shows at San Francisco's Fillmore. CKY, who opened the ill-fated Guns N' Roses tour, will play Sunday; Systematic, who were signed to Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich's record label, will play Monday; and Death Angel, a reunited San Francisco-area '80s thrash band, will play Thursday. No act has been announced for Wednesday's show. ...

The White Stripes have announced dates for the first leg of their upcoming summer tour. Jack and Meg White will kick off the trek June 16 in Raleigh, North Carolina, and wind things down July 23 at Central Park's Summer Stage in New York. ... Several, if not all, of the finished tracks from the new Radiohead album, Hail to the Thief, surfaced online Thursday. Earlier versions of the tunes, purported to be stolen, were downloadable weeks ago. The follow-up to 2001's Amnesiac is slated for a June 10 release. ...

Great White have created a trust fund to which fans can donate money in order to help the group with its legal fees. While the bandmembers were recently dropped from the suits filed by at least one attorney because their pockets aren't deep enough to warrant suing, two other lawyers are still naming the rockers as defendants. There is also the possibility Great White will face criminal charges from the February 20 fire in a West Warwick, Rhode Island, club that ignited after the band shot off pyrotechnics during its show. ... T.A.T.U.'s manager, Ivan Shapovalov, was arrested in Moscow's Red Square on Thursday for disturbing the peace while filming a video for one of the group's new, untitled songs. The crafty manager already had two requests to film the allegedly lesbian duo in front of the Kremlin rejected when he set up cameras and invited 200 girls to parade around and make out in front of Lenin's Tomb and the church of St. Basil, a mere 200 yards from the Kremlin. Filming was scrapped after police intervened. Shapovalov was reprimanded by a judge, but was not punished. ...

On the heels of their split with Island Def Jam earlier this month, Hanson are being courted by two record labels. The brothers are aiming to release their upcoming album, Unleashed, in September. ... Coldplay will broadcast a two-hour live concert from the Hollywood Bowl to over 150 radio stations nationwide on May 31 at 9 p.m. The band launches a North American tour on Tuesday in Edmonton, Alberta. Dates run through June 13 in New York. ... For the first time in more than four years, Blur will cross the pond for a North American trek beginning June 8 at the Field Day festival in Calverton, New York. The 10 confirmed dates, through June 21 in Vancouver, support the band's seventh album, Think Tank, which dropped last week. More dates are expected to be added to the itinerary. ...

Apparently feeling left out from sum of the summer fun, Sum 41 have decided to hop onboard the Vans Warped Tour for eight dates. The group will play on June 29 in Chicago, then July 8 in Pomona, California, through July 15 in Peoria, Arizona. ... Ivories abound when pianists Tori Amos and Ben Folds hit the road together beginning July 26 in Redmond, Washington. The 25-date run, supporting headliner Amos' latest LP, Scarlet's Walk, concludes September 3 in Orlando, Florida. ...

Raekwon is set to star in "The Coalition," a film that tells the story of a lucrative New York construction business and how it is exploited by minority nonunion labor. The movie begins filming in June. ... Wilco, R.E.M., Common, Black Eyed Peas, Macy Gray and Rhett Miller are among the artists headlining the 33rd annual Bumbershoot festival in Seattle. Tickets to the event, taking place over Labor Day weekend at the Seattle Center, can be purchased at www.bumbershoot.com. ...

Ween will release their first studio album in three years, Quebec, on July 22. Fictitious brothers Dean and Gene Ween's follow-up to White Pepper is their first album for Sanctuary Records after residing for over a decade at Elektra. ... Ozzy Osbourne's son Louis Osbourne, a deep house/techno DJ, will embark on a U.S. club tour beginning June 12 at New York's Discotheque and wrapping up July 19 at Hollywood's Spundae. Kelly and Jack's half brother also recently signed on for a DJ mix compilation to be released by Blue Chip Records next year. ...

05.15.03

While Mark Romanek is handling Linkin Park's next video, the band's own Joseph Hahn will return to the director's chair for the group's third single from Meteora. That video and a clip for the next European single will be shot in Prague, Czech Republic next week, Hahn said Tuesday, although he wouldn't reveal what songs they will be for. "You need to focus on 'Faint,' " he joked. "I shouldn't be talking so far ahead." ...

Russian police barred T.A.T.U. from filming their new video in Moscow's Red Square on Thursday (May 15). Several hundred fans, many decked out in schoolgirl uniforms, showed up to be extras in what was supposed to be the duo's video for the Eurovision song contest. Russia chose the kissing crooners to represent the country at the contest, happening later this month in Riga, Latvia. ... Mandy Moore is giving fans a sneak preview of her upcoming covers album, Coverage. Four of the album's 12 tracks are available for listening on her official Web site, www.mandymoore.com. The songs are covers of John Hiatt's "Have a Little Faith in Me," XTC's "Senses Working Overtime," Todd Rundgren's "Can We Still Be Friends" and Joan Armatrading's "Drop the Pilot." Moore is also about to film Warner Bros.' "First Daughter," with co-stars Mark Harmon, Jeremy Piven and Annabella Sciorra. ...

Chevelle have scheduled 14 shows during down days on this year's Ozzfest. Four of the shows will be with Korn, six will be with Disturbed and the rest will be headline gigs. The first date is June 30 in Lubbock, Texas, and the last announced show is August 31 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. ... "Revealing Jewel: An Intimate Portrait by Family and Friends," a book about the personal details of the star's life, is being released in June with her approval. The tome, by author Kenneth Calhoun, features interviews with Moby, Billy Bob Thornton, producer Arif Mardin, Jewel's father, Atz Kilcher, and her mother and manager, Lenedra J. Carroll, among others. ...

All proceeds from Santana's summer tour will be donated to Artists for a New South Africa, an organization dedicated to fighting the spread of AIDS in Africa. The trek starts June 11 in Atlanta and continues through July 14 in Los Angeles. Angelique Kidjo will open every show. ... Henry Rollins is planning to perform material included on the compilation LP he put together last year, Rise Above: 24 Black Flag Songs to Benefit the West Memphis Three, on a world tour kicking off June 1. Joining the Rollins Band on the U.S. dates of the outing will be Keith Morris, leader of the Circle Jerks and original singer for Black Flag. All proceeds from the shows will go to the West Memphis Three Defense Fund, created to help overturn the convictions of Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, whom many feel were not given a fair trial in the 1993 murders of three young boys in West Memphis, Arkansas. ...

• Barry White
• Jennifer Lopez
• Metallica
• The White Stripes
• Radiohead

Whitney Houston filmed a video last week with director Kevin Bray (Brandy, four prior Houston clips) for "Whatchulookinat," the first single overseas from her new album, Just Whitney. A track list for the album, due by the end of the year, has not been finalized, but songs titled "Tell Me No" and "Unashamed" will likely be included. ... Usher will play Marvin Gaye in an upcoming episode of the NBC drama "American Dreams." Nick Carter and Michelle Branch will also guest on the show, which revolves around "American Bandstand." ...

Barry White, soulful crooner and master of the love song, has started a course of kidney dialysis therapy treatment stemming from a preexisting condition of hypertension, according to his doctor. White will be a candidate for a kidney transplant once he is stabilized. ... Scott Weiland's wife, model Mary Forsberg, filed for divorce on Tuesday in L.A. Superior Court siting irreconcilable differences, according to the Associated Press. The Stone Temple Pilots frontman, who wed Forsberg in May 2000, pleaded guilty to domestic battery last December; the couple has two children. ...

The Strokes will reissue their debut album on October 1 with a DVD featuring videos for "Last Nite," "Hard to Explain" and "Someday." The DVD will also have two previously unreleased performances from an MTV2 $2 bill show: "The Modern Age" and "New York City Cops." ... Adema will release an enhanced EP, Insomniac's Dream, on October 22, featuring the new song, "Immortal." Also included on the disc is a live version of "Do What You Want to Do," the previously unreleased track "Shattered," a cover of Alice in Chains' "Nutshell" and remixes of "Freaking Out" and "The Way You Like It." ...

Backstreet Boy Kevin Richardson joined Recording Artists Coalition founder Don Henley and other artists Tuesday at a California Senate committee hearing in Los Angeles to debate industry accounting practices. The artists are lobbying for penalties for inaccurate accounting practices by record labels. ... Dave Matthews Band bassist Stefan Lessard, the Roots' Scratch, Black Crowes bassist Andy Hess, Galactic drummer Stanton Moore, John Scofield and DJ Logic have joined the lineup of performers for the 2002 Jammy Awards. The Grateful Dead's Bob Weir and Ratdog are headlining the event October 2 at Roseland Ballroom in New York. ...

Linkin Park are showing off their Reanimation videos at reanimation.linkinpark.com. Clips for "Kyur4 Th Ich" and "Frgt/10" can be watched, along with "Pts.Of.Athrty," on their Reanimation Player. ... Matchbox Twenty will release "Disease" as the first single from More Than You Think You Are, due November 19. Singer Rob Thomas described the song, engineered by Greg Collins (System of a Down) and hitting airwaves September 30, as "Monsters of Rock goes to Studio 54." ... Mudvayne fans are getting their Chanukah gifts early this year, the band's Web site is giving an advance listen of "Not Falling," the first single off their new album, The End of All Things to Come. ...

The Studded Paul, the second in the Kiss Kondom series, will be available beginning Friday. The Kondoms can be found at Spencer Gifts, Tower Records, specialty gift shops and at www.kissonline.com. ... Electronic music pioneers Richie Hawtin and Sven Väth have collaborated on the mix album The Sound of the Third Season, due November 26. The collection features material the DJs spun at their Cocoon parties this summer at Amnesia in Ibiza, Spain. ... "Phase One: Celebrity Take Down," the Gorillaz DVD due November 11, will feature tracks from the group's debut album mixed in 5.1 surround sound, along with animation by visual mastermind Jamie Hewlett. A bonus CD-ROM containing games and Web links will also be included. ...

09.25.02

Justin Timberlake previewed his new LP, Justified, Tuesday night at New York's Centrofly. Musiq, as well as one of the album's producers, Timbaland, were on hand to help the singer celebrate. Among the songs J.T. previewed was "Take It From Here," where he sings, "I wanna be your air/ So sweet and dear." ... To raise awareness about drunk driving, Timberlake will write and produce a 30-second public service radio and television spot for RADD, Recording Artists, Actors, and Athletes Against Drunk Driving. The singer was moved to become a spokesperson for the organization after a fan, Anna White, was killed by a drunk driver outside of a radio station in Los Angeles earlier this month. ...

Renegade 3LW member Naturi Naughton spent the weekend in Atlanta at producer Jermaine Dupri's studio, where they "just vibed." Although no tracks were recorded, she said a collaboration is possible. ... The Murderdolls, Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison's side project, will film an episode of the WB TV series "Dawson's Creek" in Wilmington, North Carolina, Thursday. The horror-flick-inspired quintet will play themselves performing at a Halloween party in the episode, which is titled "Living Dead Girl" and is set to air October 30. ...

Peter Gabriel will launch his first North American tour in nearly a decade on November 5 with a date at Philips Arena in Atlanta. The 20-date trek in support of his just-released studio album, Up, is currently slated to run through a December 15 date at the Compaq Center in San Jose, California; a dollar from each ticket will be donated to Witness, a human rights organization co-founded by Gabriel. ... In the midst of sessions for their third album, Houston's Fenix TX have thrown in the towel. The group cited the age-old "creative differences" as the reason for the split, and it is not known at this time if the songs the group completed for its follow-up to 2001's Lechuza will be released. ... A section of State Highway 19 near Nutbush, Tennessee, will be renamed the "Tina Turner Highway," after powerhouse diva Tina Turner, according to The Tennessean. Nutbush, Turner's birthplace, is the subject of her 1973 hit song, "Nutbush City Limits." ...

High on Fire have announced two separate tours through the U.S., one with Superjoint Ritual (starting October 7), the other with Mushroomhead and Shadows Fall (starting October 24). ... Earache Records has signed Matt Zane's band Society 1. Zane is the adult film director responsible for the "Backstage Sluts" series. The band will release Exit Through Fear in early 2003. ... Steve Von Till of Neurosis will release his next solo album, If I Should Fall to the Field on October 1. ... Traktor 7 Records has finally opened its doors and released the first album by the band Crash and Burn. ... Carnal Forge have returned to the studio to work on their next album, The More You Suffer. ... Lounge singer Bud E. Love has recorded lounge versions of a batch of Black Sabbath songs. The album is called, fittingly, Diary of a Loungeman. ...

English dance duo Basement Jaxx are currently in the studio working on the follow-up to their 2001 album, Rooty, which featured the dance hit "Where's Your Head At." So far, they've written about 30 new songs and hope to have the record ready for release next spring. ... The Chemical Brothers will release the appropriately titled U.S.-only AmericanEP on November 19. The five-track EP will feature rare and unreleased remixes of "Star Guitar (Trisco LA Funk Dub)," "Come With Us (H Foundation Mix)," the B-side "HIA," "Electronic Battle Weapon 6" and a live version of "Temptation/Star Guitar," in addition to videos for "The Test" and "Star Guitar." ... Chicago Tribune rock critic Greg Kot has signed on with Broadway Books to write "Wilco: Learning How to Die." Not just a history of the band, the book is said to be a study of music business politics as well. The book has a projected release date of spring 2004.

• Whitney Houston
• Usher
• The Strokes
• Stone Temple Pilots
• Barry White