The music world is mourning the loss of the R&B crooner with the lush baritone voice, Barry White, who passed away in Los Angeles last night, aged 58.



White, famous for songs that oozed sex appeal and that no doubt aided in many seductions the world over, had been battling kidney failure for some time, and suffered a stroke in May. He had been hoping to regain enough strength to undergo a kidney transplant operation, his daughter Shaheara White said in May.



Smoky ballads such as “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love Baby” and “You’re the First, the Last, My Everything” have been in the soundtrack to many a love life for nearly thirty years. He also found success as a composer, a conductor of instrumental recordings and as the producer of the female vocal trio Love Unlimited. White won two Grammys in 2000 for best male and traditional R&B vocal performance for the song “Staying Power,” the title track from his 1999 Private Music album of the same name. His last release was the two-disc “Ultimate Collection,” issued by Universal in 2000.



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



(Reuters/AAP)