scriptgirl said:

Syreeta Wright, Stevie Wonder's trusted collaborator and co-writer during the 1970s. She co-wrote "It's a Shame" by the Spinners and co-wrote on Stevie's "Where I'm Coming From" album. Syreeta's hits included "Harmour Love", "Spinnin' and Spinnin' Around", "I'm Goin' Left" and "With You I'm Born Again" with Billy Preston. She died of breast cancer in 2004 at 57 years old.

MuthaFunka said:

Um...I heard there was supposed to be a "poontang potluck"

I'm still looking for my invite

bboy87 said:

SCNDLS is putting together the details, Orgynote...err...Orgnote her!

Timmy84 said:

Wasn't she once Stevie's wife too?

missfee said:

Yeah, for eighteen months between September 1970 and April 1972.

MuthaFunka said:

At least we all will be tuning in to watch the next one, seeking the tragic angle or not

Timmy84 said:

That ain't tragic! That's just circumstance They reunited & errrythang

CalhounSq said:

Yep!

CalhounSq said:

I know that wasn't tragic, I was just saying.

I know he's not all that "unsung," but he died way too young. I lost my virginity to a Barry White song, so he holds a special place in my heart.




Born Sept. 12, 1944, in Galveston, Texas, to a single mother, White and his younger brother, Darryl, spent most of their childhood in south central Los Angeles. He said he had a lifelong love for music. During his early teenage years, he began singing in a Baptist church choir and was quickly promoted to director.

In 1990, White told Ebony magazine that his voice changed overnight from the squeaky tones of a pre-adolescent to the rumbling bass that made him famous.

"It scared me and my mother when I spoke that morning," he said. "It was totally unexpected. My chest rattled. I mean vibrations. My mother was staring at me, and I was staring at her. The next thing I knew, her straight face broke into a beautiful smile. Tears came down her face and she said, 'My son's a man now.'"

He was jailed at age 16 for stealing tires, a punishment he credited with helping him straighten out his life and dedicate his efforts to music.

White joined the Upfronts soul group as bass singer and cut six singles. For several years, he stayed away from performing and focused on work behind the scenes as a songwriter and producer.

He married a childhood sweetheart, identified only as Mary in his autobiography, and fathered four children with her before they separated in 1969 and later divorced.

White discovered the female trio Love Unlimited - which included his future second wife, Glodean - and produced their million-selling 1972 single "Walkin' in the Rain With the One I Love."

The next year, White returned to performing with the song "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby," which topped the R&B chart and hit No. 3 on the pop chart.

He is credited by some for helping launch the disco phenomenon with his orchestral "Love's Theme" in 1973, which he conducted with his group, The Love Unlimited Orchestra.

In 1974, his album "Can't Get Enough" climbed to the top of the pop charts on the strength of the signature hits "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe" and "You're the First, the Last, My Everything."

That year he also married James. The couple had four children together and collaborated on the 1981 album "Barry & Glodean," which featured the songs "I Want You" and "You're the Only One for Me." They divorced in 1988, but he said they always remained good friends.

White suffered a family tragedy in 1983 when his brother, Darryl, was shot and killed in a dispute with a neighbor over change from a $20 bill. In his 1999 autobiography, "Love Unlimited: Insights on Life and Love," Barry White said music likely spared him a similar fate.

After working on more than a dozen albums in the 1970s, his career waned over the next decade as he attempted small comebacks with the albums "The Right Night & Barry White" (1987) and "The Man is Back!" (1989.)

He enjoyed a larger resurgence with 1994 album "The Icon Is Love," and his ballad "Practice What You Preach" became his first No. 1 hit in 17 years. Toward the end of the 1990s, his songs were regularly featured on the Fox comedy series "Ally McBeal" and he made an appearance on the show as himself.

His single "Staying Power," off a 1999 album of the same name, won White two Grammys and proved he hadn't tamed his libidinous lyrics. "Put on my favorite dress, the one that oozes sexiness," he cooed in the title track's opening lines.

That year White's chronic blood pressure forced him to cancel several live performances with the group Earth, Wind & Fire and he was briefly hospitalized.

White's survivors include eight children, grandchildren, and his companion Catherine Denton.

Barry died in July, 2003 at the age of 58. White, who had kidney failure from years of high blood pressure, had been undergoing dialysis and had been hospitalized since a September stroke. He died about 9:30 a.m. at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

My mom says they used to call Barry the Walrus of Love.

bboy87 said:

I love all of your choices.

I'd love for this series to spin off into comedy.

My first four would be:

Dick Gregory
Flip Wilson
Robert Townsend
Arsenio Hall

I had thought that the Unsung shows were very promising. If I had my picks, it would be very, very long really. But just for starters, I think the ones that I would look into would be:

Allison Williams (Def Jam artist)
Siedah Garrett (who used to sing on Quincy Jones songs, and even had a few of her own solo joints)
Cheryl Lynn
Brownstone (they had one great album, and they weren't one hit wonders!)
Sly and The Family Stone (even tho it morphed into Larry Graham's band)
and...
Teddy Riley (and all of his groups: Guy, Blackstreet, Wrecks n Effect, etc.)

These have to be people who were somewhat well known. Alison Williams doesn't fit that bill and Siedah is a very successful song writer and producer. Sly Stone is a legend. Brownstone is way too obscure Teddy Riley too contemporary.

how bout Millie Jackson?

bboy87 said:

Oh my god we need to go out and have a drink

scriptgirl said:

Donny Hathaway, the Clark Sisters and Phyllis Hyman are regarded as legends, lol.

scriptgirl said:

You are seriously missing the point of this discussion Teddy Riley is definitely well known, but believe it or not, some people haven't even heard of Phyllis Hyman, thus, the whole point of the show.

And a lot of people don't know who Millie Jackson is

Let's just say that NONE of us know exactly what they're lookin' for!

MuthaFunka said:

pretty much!

scriptgirl said:

She's like the musical version of a female Red Foxx.

Anyone know if these specials are aired over in the UK? or perhaps TVOne could put them online so they could be watched then. As for other specials, one about Roger Troutman would be very interesting.

I would like to see one on Miss etta james...She makes tina turner life look like a disney film

[Edited 2/18/09 19:10pm]

Vintage said:

Miss etta been beat on badly by men,mother was a hooker,herion addict which messed up her career,weight issues,jail time..etc etta been threw it all

Shuggie

I heard one of the next installments will be on Minnie Riperton.
[Edited 2/20/09 6:35am]

Michael Jackson

tricky2 said:

That's great


She was one of the names I submitted on TV One's web site on who I would like to see featured on UnSung. Minnie Riperton is underrated and deserves to have her story told. And her vocal style clearly had an influence on Mariah Carey and others.

Graycap23 said: