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By Marcus Errico
Barry White's baritone pipes have provided the soundtrack for many a make-out session over the past four decades. Now comes word the deep-voiced funkster has suffered a stroke which has impaired his speech.
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It's the latest health woe for the 58-year-old soul man, who announced last fall that he needed a kidney transplant after years of battling high blood pressure.
Speaking at a press conference in Los Angeles Friday, White's daughter, Shaheara, said her father suffered the stroke while undergoing dialysis treatment for his kidney failure.
"My dad had surgery May 1 to place a catheter in his arm," she told reporters, according to wire reports. "He had a stroke...that affected his speech and the right side of his body, but he is in great spirits."
But she also insisted that the stroke was "a minor setback," adding, "have no fear, he'll be fine. He will definitely be performing again."
The singer, who has been ailing since 1999, needs to be stablilized before he can receive a new kidney, his daughter said.
Known for warbling such get-it-on hits as "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe," "You're the First, the Last, My Everything," "Your Sweetness Is My Weakness," "It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next to Me," "I'm Gonna Love You, Just a Little More Baby" and "Love's Theme," White has had worldwide sales in excess of 100 million. He's also chalked up 106 gold albums, 41 platinum albums, 20 gold singles and 10 platinum singles.
White won his first two Grammys ( news - web sites) for his last studio album, 1999's Staying Power. He boasts an illustrious musical track record. All that and he saved Springfield, the hometown of The Simpsons ( news - Y! TV), in the fourth season episode "Whacking Day," using his trademark vocals to solve the town's serpent problem.
In happier news, the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously on Wednesday to rename a recreation center in the city's South Park neighborhood after White, who was born in Texas but grew up in the area