Singer Barry White dies, aged 58

Velvet-voiced R&B crooner Barry White, renowned for his lush baritone and carnal lyrics that oozed sex appeal on songs such as Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe, has died.

White, who had suffered kidney failure from years of high blood pressure, died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre, Los Angeles, around 9.30am local time, said his manager Ned Shankman.

The singer was 58.

White had been undergoing dialysis treatment and had been in hospital since last September.

His work epitomised seductive disco music, also known as "make out" music.

White enjoyed three decades of fame for songs like You're the First, the Last, My Everything and It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next To Me.

White's canyon-deep, butter-smooth vocals and throbbing musical tempos emphasised his songs' sexually charged verbal foreplay.

His 1975 song Love Serenade began with the purring, first-person lyrics: "I want you the way you came into the world, I don't want to feel no clothes."

Although his popularity peaked in the 1970s, White received belated recognition for his work in 2000 when he won his first two Grammys for best male and traditional R&B vocal performance for the song Staying Power.

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