1973 Smooth Soul Classic, Which Became an Iconic Seduction Song, Was Released 53 Years Ago
Barry White, nicknamed the Walrus of Love, is known for his sultry, iconic voice. The musician has released countless hits, from "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe" to "You're the First, the Last, My Everything."
53 years ago today, he released the soul song, "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby," as his debut single. The song rose to the top of the US R&B chart, where it remained for two weeks. It also hit No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 23 on the UK Singles chart.
Over the years, this song has been featured in countless seduction scenes in movies and television shows. It was included in Birds of Prey, Friends, Chuck, That ‘70s Show, High Fidelity, Love Island UK, and Kissing Jessica Stein.
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In a 1987 interview with Joe Smith, White spoke about why he got into writing love songs. "Everyone, to me, has to pick a subject to talk about in music if you're gonna be a writer," he said. "Mine is love. Because I know when a man's making love, the last thing he thinks about is war. The last thing he thinks about is how can he blow up a nation."
In a conversation with Oprah Winfrey, he also made a powerful statement about music. He said, "Music and memories naturally go together. That's what brings people back to their favorite songs, the memories. What they were doing, what happened to them, what they went through in their life at that time. I'm very honored, I'm very grateful, that I was chosen as one of those songwriters to write songs that would live as long as mine have."
Throughout his career, White recorded 20 studio albums, selling millions of records. He also worked as a producer and did voice-over work for TV and movies, including voicing himself twice on The Simpsons. He was named one of the greatest singers of all time by Rolling Stone and was posthumously awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
White died in 2003 of kidney failure. He was 58.
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