How One Song On The Radio Completely Changed Barry White’s Life

How is it possible for a single song played on the radio one night to change the entire course of someone’s life?

In this 1999 interview Barry White talks about his memoir Love Unlimited.
Get your copy of Love Unlimited by Barry WhiteAs an Amazon Associate, Now I've Heard Everything earns from qualifying purchases.

You may also enjoy my interviews with Gladys Knight and Otis Williams

For more vintage interviews with celebrities, leaders, and influencers, subscribe to Now I've Heard Everything on Spotify, Apple Podcasts. and now on YouTube
#1970s #memoir #R&B #Ally McBeal

respect other people. I think I've carried that all
through my life. Singer-songwriter Barry White
today and now I've heard everything.
I'm Bill Thompson. How is it possible for one song,

(00:27):
a single song played on the Radio One night to change the
entire course of someone's life?I'm talking about Barry White,
the multiple Grammy award-winning, multiple gold and
platinum record. Barry White, the
singer-songwriter whose work helped define the 1970s and
beyond. He's one of the best selling

(00:48):
artists of all time. But his career almost ended
before it started because as a teenager growing up in Los
Angeles, he fell in with the wrong crowd, wound up in jail
for, for, for theft. Now that's where the song on the
radio story comes in, as he tells in his 1999 memoir called

(01:08):
Love Unlimited. Now, when that book came out,
his publisher gave me a few minutes to talk with him on the
phone from his home in Los Angeles.
In just a moment, our conversation.
We're about to take a step back and listen to an iconic voice
from our recent past. It's one of over 10,000
interviews noted radio personality Bill Thompson did
over a 30 year span. We think you'll enjoy it.

(01:35):
So we're here now from 1999, Mary White.
Why did you decide to write thisbook?
Well, people have been an athlete for years and years to
do a book and I just didn't feelit was time.
And last year I felt that it wastime for me to do a book.
Did it feel right to finally tell the the whole story of your

(01:56):
life? Yes it does.
You're a Virgo child. That's right.
That's. Right.
In the interest of Full disclosure, I have to tell you
I'm an Aquarius myself. So I don't know, I don't know
how that fits into the the scheme of things that's.
A good sign? Is it really?
Yes. Oh.
Good. I'm.
I'm glad you you say early on inthe book that your music has has

(02:18):
a definite appeal that helps putpeople in the mood for romance.
Yes, is is. Is that something you set out to
do purposely? No, no, it it just happened.
That's the, that's the combinations of my sounds, you
know, of the way I record, of the way I use my
instrumentation, the way I arrange music.

(02:40):
That's what did that. You are.
Are you the the Guru of Love? No, I'm not.
Oh Jesus, no. But still, it must be very, very
heartwarming when people come upto you on the street and tell
and tell you that all the thingsthat have happened to them
romantically because of you. It is.
It's very nice compliments and Iappreciate them.

(03:04):
I'm glad that I am able to do something in life that
contributes so much life to people and music died that.
How early in your life did you know that music was going to be
a major part of your life? I know he's 16 years old now.

(03:25):
This was after you got out of jail.
That's. Right.
That's right. Actually, you know, one of the
most dramatic moments in your book is as you say that with
that Wednesday night, May in Mayof 1960.
Tell us about what happened thatnight.
When I was, you know, getting ready to lay down and go to
sleep that night and every nightwe had the radio on, they just

(03:46):
kept the radio on without, without within the dorm at the
in juvenile hall. And I'm laying there thinking
about my life and I'm miserable.I am in there and what I can I,
what can I do to change the way I think and the way I'm living.

(04:08):
And I said to myself, man, I gotto stop this.
I really got to cut this gang banging out.
I got to do this. And right in the middle of that
statement, a song came on the radio, a song that I'd heard
many times because it was a hit song, you know, but to this
night, it really had a profound effect on my life.

(04:33):
And it said it's now or never. It was by Elvis Presley.
And I said, that's right, that'smy life.
It's now or never. And I made the commitment and
the the commitment that I, once I got out of jail, I was going

(04:55):
to turn my life around and I did.
Now, did you know at that point on that day that part of turning
your life around was going to bedropping out of school and going
to. Hollywood.
I had no idea what it meant. All I knew is I was going to
make a change. That takes a lot of courage,
though, to not only to make the change, but then to say, Mom,
I'm dropping out of school. Yeah, well, I was at a point

(05:18):
where it had to do. I had to do something because I
I knew where I was heading. And if I didn't change my life,
I would have ended up just like my brother.
He didn't have music to rescue him.
Yeah, he had music, but he didn't want music.
He could sing, he could do things, but he was happy in the

(05:41):
crime world. Then I knew the crime world
didn't get too much much of nothing.
But your mother was not at all happy that you were dropping out
of school, though. Oh no, she was.
She was very, very sad. In fact, that's the hardest I've
ever heard my mother cry. I'd heard her cry many times,

(06:06):
but that was when I told her I was dropping out of school, that
really, that almost killed her. But she must have known as as
you found out. But it's not.
It's not easy to make it in showbusiness.
It's a lot harder than it looks.Took me 11 1/2 years. 11 1/2
year overnight success, right? That's right.

(06:29):
There must have been times alongthe way when you thought, what
in the world am I doing? What?
What was I thinking? There was those times when I was
saying, you know, that it didn'tlook like what it looked like.
I was making progress, but it wasn't a lot of progress.
There was times it looked like, what the hell are you doing?

(06:53):
Why did I quit school, you know?But I kept going because I did
believe in myself. And and it it is probably at
that point that you wonder, is there really a living to be had
in in music, you know, but wouldn't I be better off working
in a toy store for a? Century that's right, that's

(07:13):
right. That's not a toy store game when
they came up. That's why I I flirted with
going to do sell toys. I I can picture you, you'd be
good at it. Yeah, I was good at it.
I mean that's I'm not stroking my feathers, but I was very good
at it. After this short break, Barry

(07:34):
White talks about his incredibleappearance at a very popular TV
show. You know, AI is not just for 22
year old coders. A lot of us older adults are
drawing on our life experience to find unique and creative ways
to use AI at home or at work. Got an AI success story you'd

(07:55):
like to share? Tap the link below to visit our
YouTube channel, AI After 40 andLet's keep learning together.
Now back to my 1999 conversationwith Barry White.
You have a natural affection forpeople and that's what you need
to work in a in in any kind of store, especially a toy store.

(08:19):
I would think that comes throughon every page of this book is is
the genuine not just not just, you know, a lot of people say,
oh, I love people. I'm a real people person, but
you really are. You are a people person.
Yes, I am. That is very true.
And that that really comes through not just in what you've
written in this book, but in also all of your music, that is,
that, I gather, is what you havedone on purpose.

(08:41):
Yes it is. Yes, it is.
That's the but that that is, yousaid at another point in the
book that that you owe a great deal of all this to the
unconditional love that you had for your mother.
That's right. And, and of course, obviously
she had a great deal of love foryou as well.
Yes she did. Yes, she did.
Were you? Were you?

(09:02):
Were you her favorite? No, she didn't.
She didn't show favorites like that.
She didn't believe in that. I knew my mother loved my
brother, and I knew my mother loved me.
She never showed us favorites. See, when she brought us things,
she brought us both at the same time.

(09:22):
You said a few years ago that you would be finally started
doing a few commercials with with your music.
That's true and. And I love the quote that you
had from Sandra Bernhard, the comedian who said she'd been a
lifelong vegetarian until she heard your commercial from
McDonald's. That's funny.
Yeah, I, I have. I couldn't help thinking how
many young people are going to be introduced to your music,

(09:45):
perhaps for the first time if they are Ally Mcbeal fans.
That's true. That is very true and that is
truly happening. I I tell you, I love that show.
And the first time they started using one of your songs as a
motif for for a little this little mousy John Cage on there.
Oh, I thought, this is delicious.
This is so good. Wow.
What was the what was your reaction when they first said

(10:07):
to, hey, you know, you, we're going to use your songs in this
weird, offbeat new show that David Kelly's doing?
Well, like, they didn't tell me.They just, they just used it.
I looked up one day on TV and there I was sanging away.
And then they finally called me and asked me would I do a
segment of Anime Bill's show. And because they've been so

(10:29):
beautiful and so supportive of my music, I told them yeah,
there was no problem, which it wasn't.
And we went in and did the episode and it turned out real,
real nice. I got to tell you that is
perhaps my favorite episode of last season.
That was a thank you. That was a great episode.
It was just, I mean, but you areyou are such a presence.

(10:50):
So it must have been. I mean, I can't imagine that the
the audience in that shot, in that scene was, was putting this
on and there was genuine awe andadmiration for you in that
scene. You, you wouldn't have believed
it. It was really, they have
beautiful, beautiful feeling they gave me.
I'm telling you, they were very nice, very professional.

(11:12):
It was just a it was a nice cometogether.
It really was. What do you suppose it takes?
What is the magic ingredient these days to be a success in
music for as long as you have been?
It's a combination of things. There's no one thing.
It's the songs, the music, BarryWhite's personality.

(11:33):
I remember when I was a little boy, the one thing my mother
used to drill and I is was make sure you're able to get along
with others. Make sure you're able to respect
other people, to show respect and to respect.
And I think I've carried that all through my life.

(11:54):
That's one of the reasons my my loyalty and dedication to music
is something else. I think they can feel in those
songs there's quite a few thingsand there's no one thing.
Do you, when you are writing, doyou have a sense of which songs

(12:16):
are likely to make it big and. Yes, every every writer and
producer has that, but that doesn't mean we're right.
And it doesn't mean you can recreate it.
That's. Right.
That's right. There's just, are there certain
songs that you just knew from the from day one as soon as you
put pen to paper that they were going to be big?

(12:36):
Oh yeah. Oh.
Yeah, such as? I'm never going to give you up.
I'm going to love you just a little more.
Baby can't get enough. First, last, everything.
Let the music play ecstasy. All those I knew when I was
doing them, they were going to be big.
Oh, yeah. Now we should point out these
are not disco. No, these are not rap.

(12:58):
Even though, even even though you've been called the the, the,
I know all these things. You really kind of defy
categorization. That is very true, Sir.
You're the first person in my career that I've ever heard say
that, and I've always felt that and known that.
But I, I don't argue with people, I don't stroke my own

(13:20):
ego and all this. I don't do that.
Wasn't there someplace else in your book that you mentioned
that you were selling records inplaces where they couldn't even
buy phonographs? Yeah, that's true.
My president, president of my record company told me that.
That that takes extraordinary songwriting down.
I know, I know. Well, listen, you've been very,
very kind to speak with me. I certainly appreciate it.

(13:42):
And good luck in in there on therest of your tour.
And you're you're off to Europe,I guess soon.
That's right. They have great fan.
Yeah. And you're, you're always very
loyal to England because they'vebeen loyal to you.
That's right. Well, listen, have a good trip.
Thank you, Sir. Thank you so much for speaking
with me. You too.
Barry White died in 2003. He was 58.
Now you can get your copy of Love Unlimited The Book by Barry

(14:04):
White by tapping the link in ourshow notes by clicking the link
in the description below. If you're watching this on
YouTube or by going to our website, heardeverything.com, we
may earn an Amazon Commission ifyou make a purchase.
Heard everything.com is where I can also find my 2007
conversation with Gladys Knight.We came across this song and it
said Midnight Plane to Houston. We said we like the way the

(14:25):
storyline goes, so we came up with Midnight Train to Georgia.
That sounds better. And my 1988 conversation with
Otis Williams. When we are performing, we find
that we see a lot of, you know, kids that weren't even born when
my girl and a lot of our early hits were out.
And we said, now wait a minute, you're too young to know
anything about my girl. How do you know about this?

(14:47):
They would say my mom or my dad and.
Of course, we post new episodes of Now I've Heard Everything
every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
And you can find us wherever youfind podcasts.
And thank you so much for listening.
Next time on NOW I've Heard Everything.
A profile of a man who is the face of ABC television news for
many years. The anchor of the Evening News
on ABC, Peter Jennings, My 2007 conversation with his widow,

(15:11):
Casey Jennings, and AB CS Lynn. Scher There's no doubt that
Peter knew he was good at what he did.
What people didn't see is how much work he put into it.
They didn't see what happened when he went home at night and
kept working. They didn't see when he got up
early in the morning and read 5 papers.
That's next time. Now I've heard everything.
I'm Bill Thompson.