Awesome Fat Guy of the Week.

Barry White working hard to get you laid.

After spending so much time on Awesome Fat Comedians I thought it would be a nice change to move back to the world of music. Since I spoke about Funny Fat Guys, Powerful Fat Guys, and Athletic Fat Guys, I thought it would be a good idea to talk about the Romantic Fat Guy. There were a few choices for this but one man stood head and shoulders above the rest. Barry White. The man responsible for more nights of passion than any cheap wine. Mr. "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe." himself.

Barry White rocking a perm.

Barry white was Barry Eugene Carter in Galveston, Texas on September 12, 1944. He grew up in the crime ridden areas of South Central Los Angeles. As a child White listened to his mother's classical music collection. He eventually took to the piano to emulate what he heard on the records.

Barry White rocking a perm even harder.

White has been quoted as saying "[As a child] I had a normal squeaky kid voice. Then as a teenager, that completely changed. My mother cried because she knew her baby boy had become a man." Before joining the world of music Barry fell to a life of crime. At 17 he was jailed for four months for stealing $30,000 worth of Cadillac tires. While in prison White heard Elvis Presley sing "It's Now of Never" he credits the experience with changing the course of his life.

You will never be this cool.

At the beginning of the 60s Barry began his music career. He had some success as a song writer. Mostly for Bobby Fuller and The Banana Splits. He worked on "Harlem Shuffle" for Bob & Earl, the song became a hit in the UK in 1969.  He would go on to discover and sign Viola Wills and Felice Taylor for Mustang/Bronco Records.

White spent the first few years of 70's as a producer. He got his big break producing Love Unlimited. A girl group he had discovered. Their first album, which would go on to be a million album seller, was partially financed by White's best friend Larry Nunes. Nunes was a music industry businessman.  Larry Nunes would end up taking the recording to Russ Regan, the head of Uni, a label owned my MCA, which resulted with the band signing with Uni. During this time White produced, wrote, and arranged the song "Walking In the Rain With The One I Love" which reached #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 Pop chard and #6 on the Billboard R&B chart in late 1972. This song was also Barry's debut of sorts. While he did not sing his voice is heard early on in the song.

I'm not going to lie. I would love a jacket like that.

After his success with an all girl group, whose lead singer he would end up marrying, White decided he wanted to work with a male artist. He worked on a few demos for a male singer, while doing this he made three song demos of himself singing and playing. Nunes heard them and told White to re-record them and release them himself. White was hesitant at first, but agreed. He went on to write several other songs and record an entire album.

Barry was planning on using the name "White Heat" but decided to use his given name instead. In 1973 White's first solo album "I've Got So Much to Give" was released. It included "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby" which became his first solo chart hit. The song also rose to the top spot on Billboard's R&B charts.

The 70's were a good time for Barry White. He had much success as a solo artist.  He was behind Love Unlimited who I already spoke about, and The Love Unlimited Orchestra. White originally created The Love Unlimited Orchestra, a 40 piece orchestral group, to be used as back up for Love Unlimited. After a while White decided to try to make them a success in their own right. In 1974 he released an album of their music called "Rhapsody in White". One of the compositions "Love's Theme" reached #1 on the Billboard Pop charts. One of only a few instrumental recordings to receive that accolade. After doing so much good White decided to do something very bad. He created Disco.

The father of Disco. The jacket makes much more sense now. I still want it.

To be exact he is credited with bringing forth the "disco" sound. He blended R&B and classical music which somehow made Disco. I'm not really sure how that works. Any way he is also credited with eh first disco hit with "Love's Theme". I won't blame him completely for all the Disco crap that came next but he has to bear some of the responsibility.

Barry White still being cooler than you.

With the 80's came some difficult times for White.  After years with 20th Century, which he joined after Larry Nunes left Uni, White left to start his own label Unlimited Gold. At this time White's solo success had begun to slow. He continued to release albums but could not relive his prior success. The closest he came was with 1982's "Change" which reached #12 on the Billboard R&B Top 20. His label did reach the level of success he had hoped and so he folded it in 1983.

After 4 years he signed with A&M Records. He returned to the charts in 1987 with "The Right Night & Barry White". The single  "Sho' You Right" reached #17 on the Billboard R&B charts. Two years later he had 4 top 40 singles on the Billboard R&B charts. All of them were from "The Man Is Back!".

The 70's nostalgia fad of the 1990's allowed Barry White to enjoy renewed popularity. He had a very successful come back with several albums. Each of them more successful than the last. In 1994 he reached #1 on the Billboard R&B album charts with "The Icon Is Love". He also reached #1 on the Billboard R&B singles chart with "Practice what You Preach". It was his first #1 in almost 20 years. He continued his comeback by having duets with Tina Turner and Chris Rock. With the 90's coming to an end he released "Staying Power" it was his last album. It resulted with his last his song and won him two Grammy Awards.

Aside from music White was also an actor. Although he was a not prolific one, he did have a number of interesting roles. He stared in the 1975  feature Coonskin. He played himself on the Simpsons and Ally McBeal. He also appeared in a number of commercials.

White died on July 4, 2003 from total renal failure. He had been clinically obese for most of his life and it had cost him. He suffered from kidney failure in 2002 as a result of high blood pressure. Before he died he suffered a stroke that forced him to retire from public life. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered by his family off the coast of California. He was posthumously inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame in September 20, 2004.

Barry White thinking about fucking you. He seems to  like the idea.

There is one last thing I want to mention about Barry White. All great men have nicknames. Barry was no exception, and his was one for the ages. Barry white was known as the Walrus of Love. How awesome is that.

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I have two more quick videos for you.

Sam Main, 19, could not produce his train ticket. He was asked to leave. He did not. He made a scene and cursed at the elderly train attendant. Allan Pollock, the Big Man as he has been called, comes to the attendant's aid and removes the young man. I think he did the right thing but some people, mainly Sam Main and his family, feel other wise. Read the story and decide for yourself.

This video is just a short skit done by two young men. It is juvenile but there are a few good lines. I love when young Fat Guys can make fun of themselves. It show confidence. That's it for this week's Awesome Fat Guy. See you next time.