Barry White’s seventh album Barry White Sings For Someone You Love restored his chart relevance with the support of two popular singles;”It’s Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next To Me” and “Playing Your Game, Baby.” The former boasted a funky bass-heavy symphonic groove underneath White’s bewitching baritone. Nelson Pigford and Ekundayo Paris co-wrote and Barry White arranged the song. White’s description of intimacy was accented by his rapturous growls which were clearly for a bedroom scene but the music was made for dancing. His singing about sex with a pulsating dancefloor arrangement was undeniable and allowed the song to peak on multiple charts.
The musical science of “It’s Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next To Me” outlasted the disco era and reaffirmed White’s status as one of R&B’s eternally favored love men. His beginnings with a soul orchestra in the ’70s brought him success as a producer and a solo artist and in the ’90s he was able to make a modern style transition that tastefully kept the essence of his musical mojo. Mary J. Blige’s “You Bring Me Joy” sampled “It’s Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next To Me” and it is also heard in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. Barry White was posthumously added to the Hollywood Walk Of Fame in 2013.
