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Barrence Whitfield

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Barrence Whitfield
Birth nameBarry White
Born (1955-06-13) June 13, 1955 (age 69)
Jacksonville, Florida, US
GenresR&B, soul, gospel
Occupation(s)Musician, bandleader
InstrumentVocalist
Years active1970s-present
LabelsRounder, others
WebsiteBarrence Whitfield official site

Barrence Whitfield (born Barry White, June 13, 1955) is an American soul and R&B vocalist, best known as the frontman for Barrence Whitfield & the Savages in the 1980s and 1990s.

Life and career

White was born in Jacksonville, Florida. When he was a child, his family moved to East Orange, New Jersey, where he began singing in a gospel choir. While attending West Side High School he sang and played drums in rock and funk bands. In 1977 White enrolled at Boston University to study journalism. While in school, he worked in a record shop, where his singing was heard by musician Peter Greenberg of The Lyres. White adopted the stage name Barrence Whitfield to avoid confusion with superstar Barry White and began performing with Greenberg and former members of the Lyres as Barrence Whitfield & the Savages.[1][2]

The band garnered a strong reputation for explosive stage performances, described as "raucous and rough, in high gear from the moment they hit the stage."[2] Whitfield himself was described as "a soul screamer in the spirit of Little Richard, Wilson Pickett, Solomon Burke, and early Don Covay."[2] In 1984, the band released their self-titled debut album, mostly comprising cover versions of obscure soul and R&B songs. It received good critical reviews. The following year, they released a second album, Dig Yourself, on Rounder Records. Their music was heard by English radio DJ Andy Kershaw, who taped a Boston performance for airplay in Britain, and brought them to the UK to tour.[1][2][3]

Whitfield released a third album, Call of the Wild, in the UK in 1987, featuring a new line-up of his band; an expanded version, retitled Ow! Ow! Ow! was later issued in the US. He toured widely in Europe, and won supporting slots on US tours by artists including Bo Diddley, Tina Turner, George Thorogood, Robert Cray, and Solomon Burke. Back home Whitfield earned seven Boston Music Awards.[1] A live album recorded in 1987–88 - Live Emulsified - was followed by the album Let's Lose It, produced by Jim Dickinson and issued in France.[4]

In the 1990s, Whitfield contributed tracks to Merle Haggard and Don Covay tribute albums, and recorded two albums with country music singer-songwriter Tom Russell. The album Ritual of the Savages was released in 1995. In 1997, he began working with a New Hampshire-based jump blues and rockabilly octet, The Movers.[3] As well as continuing to perform in the UK and Europe, Whitfield has also contributed to film scores, including the 2007 film, Honeydripper.[1]

In December 2010 Barrence, Peter Greenberg (DMZ, Lyres, Customs) and Phil Lenker (Lyres) were joined by Andy Jody (Gazelles!, Pearlene, Oxford Cotton, Long Gones) and saxophonist Tom Quartulli to perform two live shows and record a new Barrence Whitfield and The Savages record. That album, Savage Kings, was released on Spanish Label Munster Records and Shake it Records in the US. Dig Thy Savage Soul, was released on Bloodshot Records in September 2013. European tours ensued and an appearance on BBC's Jools Holland Show. A new record was recorded January 2015 at UltraSuede studio. In August 2015, the band released Under the Savage Sky on Bloodshot Records, which Whitfield described as "giving the kids a musical karate chop to the head." [5]

Discography

References

  1. ^ a b c d Biography at BarrenceWhitfield.com
  2. ^ a b c d Biography by John Dougan at AllMusic
  3. ^ a b Barrence Whitfield at Black Cat Rockabilly
  4. ^ Article in Trouser Press
  5. ^ from an interview on Americana Music Show #262, published September 1, 2015.
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