Barry White – Biography, Wife, Net Worth, Children and Cause of Death

Barry White had a rocky start but turned to music that became the rhythm of his life, giving him a way to express his intense thoughts while serving as a source of income. He loved to learn, so he started by learning to play the piano and from there his musical prowess escalated.

As her love for music grew over time, White dropped out of school in 1962, during her senior year. His plan was to focus more on his dreams singing and producing his own records. How did it work for him? Let’s find out.

Barry White Biography,

Barry White whose birth name was Barry Eugene Carter was born on September 12, 1944 in Galveston, Texas to parents who never married. Her father was Melvin A. White and her mother was Sadie Marie Carter. The music icon grew up in South Central Los Angeles, Calif., and he had brother Darry, who was 13 months younger; however, he died in a rival gang.

Barry White as he was popularly known, started his musical career in 1955, when he was an 11 year old boy, he played the piano which he taught himself on Jesse Belvin’s 1956 single, ‘Goodnight Mon Amour”. After that, there wasn’t much until he got out of prison in the 1960s and signed with small independent labels.

White recorded several singles under his own name in the early 1960s, backed by vocal groups like the Atlantics and the Majesties. Later, he was hired by Bob Keane of Del-Fi Records as an A&R man in the mid-1960s and he began working with the label’s artists as a songwriter, session musician and arranger. . Barry White also mentored some singers like Felice Taylor whom he helped with hit songs.

All in all, Barry was a singer, soloist, songwriter, composer and record producer. He released 20 albums which had amazing titles like ‘I have so much to give’, ‘Stone Gon’, ‘Can’t Get Enough’, ‘Just Another Way To Say I Love You’, ‘No limit on love”, “Let the music play”, “I like to sing the songs I sing”, “Icon is love” and many more. Barry White has over 70 songs to his name, his biggest hit song being “You’re the first, the last, my everything”. His 19th studio album (The Icon is love) is his most significant album.

His net worth

Barry’s music grew over time and became widely acclaimed. No wonder he was posthumously inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame in 2004 and awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2013. Yes, beyond fine music, Barry was also an actor.

Barry White reportedly owned a multi-million dollar estate in 2003, the year of his death. 14 years after his death, Forbes (2017) recorded Barry White’s net worth of $20 million.

Barry’s wife and children

On November 18, 1962, Barry married his sweetheart Betty Smith, but they eventually divorced after having 4 children together. He then married Glodean Beverly Jame of the band ‘Love Unlimited’ in 1974 and they were married until 2003, although they were estranged for much of the years when Katherine Denton became his girlfriend.

White fathered nine children – Barry White Jr., Melva White, Nina White and Darryl White from his first marriage. Later he had Shaherah White and Bridgett White from his marriage to Glodean White. Denise White formerly known as Dennis Donnell is also White’s son from his relationship with Gurtha Allen. Details of her other 2 children are unknown.

Meanwhile, Katherine Denton, his estranged girlfriend gave birth to a baby girl four weeks before her death and claimed it was hers. But then his claims were silenced by the result of a paternity test which was presented in court.

Cause of death – What killed Barry White?

Barry’s health began to deteriorate when he lost control of his weight. He was overweight for most of his adult life, which put him at risk of high blood pressure in 1995. In July 2002, his condition worsened, even causing him to miss a concert tour planned. Things got worse when he was hospitalized in September 2002 and diagnosed with kidney failure caused by diabetes mellitus and high blood pressure.

The music star underwent dialysis while he awaited kidney transplant; however, he was stricken with a stroke which caused him to avoid public office. On July 4, 2003, White died at Cedars–Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles due to kidney failure; he was 58 years old.