Beret Wearer Barrence Whitfield

Barrence Whitfield (born Barry White, 1955) is an American soul and R&B vocalist, best known as the frontman for Barrence Whitfield & the Savages in the 1980's and 1990's.

White was born in Jacksonville, Florida. As a child, he and his family moved to East Orange, New Jersey, where he began singing in a local gospel choir. He also sang and played drums in local rock and funk bands. In 1977 White enrolled at Boston University to study journalism and worked in a local record shop, where his singing was heard by musician Peter Greenberg of The Lyres. White adopted the stage name of Barrence Whitfield to avoid confusion with the other Barry White and began performing with Greenberg and other former members of the Lyres as Barrence Whitfield & the Savages.