''Staying Power'' is the twentieth and final

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by American R&B singer

Barry White Barry Eugene Carter (September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003), better known by his stage name Barry White, was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came ...

, released on July 27, 1999. The album was White's first release for five years, and his only recording for the

Private Music Private Music was an American independent record label founded in 1984 by musician Peter Baumann as a "home for instrumental music". Baumann signed Ravi Shankar, Yanni, Suzanne Ciani, Andy Summers, Patrick O'Hearn, Leo Kottke, and his former ...

label, with whom he had signed following a four-album deal with A&M which had culminated in 1994 with the acclaimed ''

The Icon Is Love ''The Icon Is Love'' is the nineteenth studio album by American R&B singer Barry White, which was released on October 4, 1994 on A&M Records. The album represented a major comeback for White both critically and commercially, and went on to beco ...

'', his most successful album since the 1970s. ''Staying Power'' features duets with

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan (), is an American singer. Her career has spanned more than five decades, beginning in the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. Known as the " Qu ...

and

Lisa Stansfield Lisa Jane Stansfield (born 11 April 1966) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. Her career began in 1980 when she won the singing competition ''Search for a Star''. After appearances in various television shows and releasing her first ...

. These are the only White tracks with a shared vocal credit, apart from the 1981 duet album ''Barry and Glodean''. Lead single "

Staying Power "Staying Power" is the first track on Queen's 1982 album ''Hot Space''. It was written by lead singer Freddie Mercury and is notable as being the only Queen song to have a horn section, which was arranged by Arif Mardin. The song is driven by a ...

", although not a significant hit, won White two Grammy Awards in 2000 in the categories

Best Male R&B Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance was awarded between 1968 and 2011. The award has had several minor name changes: *In 1968 it was awarded as Best R&B Solo Vocal Performance, Male *From 1969 to 1994 it was awarded as Best R&B V ...

and Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance. It also contains covers of

War War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

's "Low Rider", which seems tailor-made for White's voice and a slowed-down version of

Sly and The Family Stone Sly and the Family Stone was an American band from San Francisco. Active from 1966 to 1983, it was pivotal in the development of funk, soul, rock, and psychedelic music. Its core line-up was led by singer-songwriter, record producer, and multi-i ...

's "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again)" (done the same way Sly recorded it on his "There's A Riot Goin' On' album) with a rap by a rapper solely identified as Mr. Rogers. ''Staying Power'' was less successful than ''The Icon Is Love'', peaking at #13 on the

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

and #43 on the

pop chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include rec ...

. Similarly, its critical reception was more mixed, the overall opinion tending to the view that while there is little to find fault with, the material and production is less distinguished than had been the case with ''The Icon Is Love''. (

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

reviewer Stephen Erlewine for example describes ''Staying Power'' as "...classy and entertaining, but tdoesn't add to the legacy".)

Track listing

# "

" (Rory Holmes, Joey Paschal) - 6:10 # "Don't Play Games" (Barry White, Jack Perry, Steve Guillory) - 7:24 # " The Longer We Make Love" (White, Aaron Schroeder, Marlon Saunders) - 5:48 (duet with

) # "I Get Off on You" (White, Perry,

Kashif Kashif (also spelled Kaashif, Kaşif, Khasif or Kashef, ar, کاشف) is an Arabic word, commonly used as a male given name in the Muslim world. Its meaning is close to the "revealer", "discoverer", "uncoverer" or "pioneer", "explorer". When use ...

) - 6:30 # "Which Way Is Up" (White, Perry, Doug Rasheed) - 5:42 # "Get Up" (White, Perry) - 6:11 # "Sometimes" (White) - 6:55 # "

Low Rider "Low Rider" is a song written by American funk band War (American band), War and producer Jerry Goldstein (producer), Jerry Goldstein, which appeared on their album ''Why Can't We Be Friends?'', released in 1975. It reached number one on the Hot ...

" (Howard Scott, Charles Miller, Lee Oskar, Leroy Jordan, Jerry Goldstein, Morris Dickerson, Harold Brown, Sylvester Allen) - 5:17 # "

Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again) "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" is a 1969 song recorded by Sly and the Family Stone. The song, released as a double A-side single with " Everybody Is a Star", reached number one on the soul single charts for five weeks, and reached num ...

" (

Sylvester Stewart Sylvester Stewart (born March 15, 1943), better known by his stage name Sly Stone, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer who is most famous for his role as frontman for Sly and the Family Stone, playing a critical role in the ...

) - 5:46 # "Slow Your Roll" (White, Perry, Paschal) - 5:46 # "The Longer We Make Love" (White, Schroeder, Saunders) - 6:27 (duet with

)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Singles

* "Staying Power" (

US R&B The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

#45)

Certifications and sales

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Staying Power Barry White albums 1999 albums Private Music albums Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance