Barry White In 'Great Spirits' After Suffering Stroke

05/19/2003 3:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
LAUNCH Radio Networks

(5/19/03, 3 p.m. ET) -- Barry White is said to be doing well after suffering a stroke on May 1, according to his daughter Shaheara. White has been waiting for a kidney transplant and has been undergoing dialysis to stabilize his kidney disease, the result of a long-term high blood pressure condition. Shaheara said at a press conference that the stroke affected her father's speech and the right side of his body, "but he is in great spirits." She added, "Have no fear, he'll be fine. He will definitely be performing again," according to AP.

Shaheara White spoke at a press conference regarding the renaming of the South Park Recreation Center in Los Angeles after her father. White was born in Galveston, Texas, but grew up in the area where the recreation center is located. The City Council in Los Angeles recently voted unanimously to rename the center for White.

In an online fan chat with ABC News a few years ago, White was asked if he enjoyed his music as much now as he did when he was younger. He said, "Oh yes, I think maybe a little more today than I did when I was younger. The older you get, the closer sometimes things come to you. Especially things you've been involved with for some time, and I've been making music for quite a long time."

When asked about his longevity and whether he thought it would last as long as it has, White said, "I had no idea how long of a run I was going to enjoy...I am tremendously thankful and grateful that it did happen to me, that I've had the pleasure to bring music to people around the world for the last 30 years." White's debut album, I've Got So Much To Give, came out in 1973, although he had been involved in the music business since 1960.

White was asked what keeps him going in the music business, and he answered, "The love for music, this insatiable appetite I have for making music, for writing songs, for arranging songs. Being affiliated with music is my life. It's not just a career of making money, and fame and fortune--it's much deeper than that with me."

White added, "I have done many, many things. I have been very blessed in this life, I've seen many things, I've been many places, I've met many people, so I've had a very extremely gracious life. I've had a very outstanding life, I really have."

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