Barry White [ tickets ], famous for his baritone delivery and catalog of seductive hits, died on Friday (7/4) after a lengthy hospitalization. He was 58.

White had been hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles since last September, where he was awaiting a kidney transplant; the singer's kidneys had failed due to years of high blood pressure.

Matters were further complicated in May when, while undergoing surgery to have a catheter placed in his arm for use in dialysis treatment, White suffered a stroke that impaired his speech and rendered his right side partially paralyzed.

Born in Galveston, Texas, on Sept. 12, 1944, White spent years working behind the scenes in the music business before making his solo debut with the 1973 album "I've Got So Much to Give," which featured the title track and "I'm Gonna Love Ya Just a Little More Baby."

A plethora of '70s-era hits followed, including "You're the First, the Last, My Everything," "Let the Music Play," "It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next to Me," "Playing Your Game Baby" and perhaps his best-known track, "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe."

White also enjoyed success as a writer and producer, most notably for the soul-instrumental group the Love Unlimited Orchestra, whose 1974 debut album, "Rhapsody in White," spawned the No. 1 single "Love's Theme."

"Staying Power," White's most-recent studio set, surfaced in 1999, and won the singer his first pair of GRAMMY^® awards. Prior to his death, he was reportedly working on a duets album due for release later this year.

Over the course of his career, White scored 106 gold and 41 platinum albums, 20 gold and ten platinum singles, and sold more than 100 million records worldwide.