Luther Vandross

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Luther Vandross
Image:Replace this image male.svg
Background information
Birth name Luther Ronzoni Vandross, Jr.
Born April 20 1951(1951-04-20)
Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States
Died July 1 2005 (aged 54)
Edison, New Jersey, United States
Genre(s) R&B, soul, quiet storm, soft rock
Occupation(s) Singer, songwriter, record producer
Years active 1968–2005
Label(s) Cotillion, Epic, Virgin, J, Legacy
Website www.luthervandross.com

Luther Ronzoni Vandross, Jr. (April 201951 – July 12005) was an American R&B and soul singer, songwriter, and record producer. During his career, Vandross sold over twenty-five million albums[1] and won eight Grammy Awards[2] including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four times. He won four Grammy Awards in 2004 including the Grammy Award for Song of the Year for the track "Dance With My Father",[3] co-written with Richard Marx.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] 1951–1979: Early life and career

Born on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City, he was born in Smith Housing Project. At age three he began playing the piano. Vandross grew up in a musical family that moved to the Bronx when he was thirteen. His sister sang with vocal group The Crests[3] who had a number two hit in 1958 with "Sixteen Candles", though she left the group before the recording. Vandross' father died of diabetes when Vandross was eight years old.[3] His life-changing moment came when, at the age of thirteen, he heard Dionne Warwick sing "Anyone Who Had a Heart" (a song he would cover in his later years on a duet with Elton John).[citation needed]

Luther Vandross was in a vocal group in high school, Shades of Jade, that once played at the Apollo Theater in Harlem.[4] He was also a member of a theater workshop, "Listen My Brother" who released a the singles, "Only Love Can Make a Better World" and "Listen My Brother", and appeared on the second and fifth episodes of Sesame Street in November 1969.[5][6]

Vandross attended Western Michigan University for a year before dropping out to continue pursuing a career in music.[7]

His next recording credit was on an album by Roberta Flack in 1972. Luther also sang on Delores Hall's Hall-Mark album from 1973. He sang with her on the song "Who's Gonna Make It Easier For Me", which he wrote. He also contributed another song, "In This Lonely Hour". Having co-written "Fascination" for David Bowie's Young Americans, he went on to tour with him as a back-up vocalist in September 1974.[8][6] Vandross wrote "Everybody Rejoice"[9] for the 1975 Broadway musical The Wiz; also appearing as a choir member in the movie.[10]

Vandross also sang backing vocals for Diana Ross, Roberta Flack, Carly Simon, Chaka Khan, Donna Summer, Bette Midler, Chic, and Barbra Streisand. Early in his career, Vandross was content to remain mostly in the background, as a producer and backup singer for other artists, but Flack encouraged Vandross to start his own career.[citation needed]

Before his breakthrough, Vandross was part of a singing quintet in the late '70s, consisting former Shades of Jade members Anthony Hinton and Diane Sumler, Theresa V. Reed, and Christine Wiltshire, also called Luther, signed to Cotillion Records.[11][12] Although the singles "It's Good for the Soul", "Funky Music (Is a Part of Me)", and "The Second Time Around" were relatively successful, their two albums, the self-titled Luther (1976) and This Close to You (1977), didn't sell enough to make the charts. Vandross bought back the rights to these albums after the record label dropped the group, preventing their later re-release.[11]

Vandross also wrote and sang commercials jingles during the late 1970s and early 1980s,[3] earning upwards of $600,000 per year around the New York area.[citation needed] He created and often sang jingles for such advertising campaigns as Kentucky Fried Chicken's "We Do Chicken Right",[citation needed] NBC's "Proud As a Peacock"[citation needed] and The US Army's "Be All You Can Be".[citation needed] Vandross also voiced a cartoon character named Zack for three Saturday morning animated PSA spots for ABC Television called "Zack of All Trades".[citation needed] Vandross continued his successful career as a popular session singer during the late 1970s. His lead vocals can be heard on the Gregg Diamond produced single "Hot Butterfly" from Bionic Boogie in 1978, which gained moderate club success.[citation needed]

[edit] 1980–2003: Career success

Vandross finally made his long desired career breakthrough as a featured singer with the vaunted pop-dance act Change, a studio concept created by French-Italian businessman Jacques Fred Petrus (1949-1986) with songs written and produced by his Italian co-workers Davide Romani, Paolo Gianolio and Mauro Malavasi. Their 1980 hits, "A Lover's Holiday" (by Romani and Willoughby), "The Glow of Love" (by Romani, Malavasi and Garfield) and "Searching" (by Malavasi), of which Vandross sang on the last two, opened up the world for Vandross. And there was no doubt about whether Vandross liked the song "The Glow of Love". In an interview that Vibe Magazine did with him in 2001 Vandross said, "This is the most beautiful song I've ever sung in my life." Vandross was also originally intended to perform on the second and highly successful Change album "Miracles" in 1981, but declined the offer as Petrus didn't pay enough money. Vandross' decision rapidly led to a recording contract with Epic Records that same year but didn't stop him from doing some background vocals on "Miracles" and on the new Petrus created act, NYC band, The B. B. & Q. band in 1981. During that hectic year Vandross jump-started his second attempt at a solo career with his debut album, Never Too Much. In addition to the hit title track, it contained a version of the Burt Bacharach / Hal David song "A House Is Not a Home". The album went double platinum,[citation needed] with the song "Never Too Much", written by himself, reaching number-one on the R&B charts. This period also marked the beginning of frequent songwriting collaboration with bassist Marcus Miller, who played on many of the tracks and would also produce or co-produce a number of tracks for Vandross.

Vandross released a series of successful albums during the 1980s and continued his session work with guest vocals on groups like Charme in 1982. Although the albums were successful overall, many of his earlier albums made a much bigger impact on the R&B charts than on the pop charts. During the 1980s, Vandross had two singles that reached number one on the Billboard R&B charts: "Stop to Love", in 1986, and a duet with Gregory Hines—"There's Nothing Better Than Love."[13] He was also an in-demand producer;[citation needed] he was at the helm for Aretha Franklin's albums Jump to It and Get It Right. In 1983, the opportunity to work with his main music influence, Dionne Warwick, came about with Vandross producing, writings songs, and singing on How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye, her fourth album for Arista Records. The title track duet reached #27 on the Hot 100 chart (#7 R&B/#4 Adult Contemporary),[14] while the second single, "Got a Date" was only a moderate hit (#45 R&B/#15 Club Play).

The 1989 compilation The Best of Luther Vandross... The Best of Love, included the ballad "Here and Now", his first single to chart in the Billboard pop chart top ten. He won his first Grammy award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance in the 1991.

More albums followed in the 1990s, beginning with 1991's Power of Love which spawned two top ten pop hits. He won his second Best Male R&B Vocal in the Grammy Awards of 1992 with the track "Power of Love/Love Power" winning the Grammy Award for Best R&B Song in the same year. In 1992, "The Best Things in Life Are Free", a duet with Janet Jackson from the movie Mo' Money became a hit.

In 1993, Vandross had a brief speaking role in the Robert Townsend movie Meteor Man. He played a hit man who plotted to stop Townsend's title character.

Vandross hit the top ten again in 1994 with Mariah Carey, doing a cover version of Lionel Richie and Diana Ross's duet "Endless Love." He also appears on Frank Sinatra's posthumous Duets album. In the Grammy Awards of 1997, he won his third Best Male R&B Vocal for the track "Your Secret Love". A second greatest hits album, released in 1997, compiled most of his 1990s hits and was his final album released through Epic Records. After releasing I Know on Virgin Records, he signed with J Records. His first album on Clive Davis's new label, entitled Luther Vandross, was released in 2001, and it produced the hits "Take You Out" (#7 R&B/#26 Pop), and "I'd Rather" (#17 Adult Contemporary/#40 R&B/#83 Pop)

In 2003, Vandross released the album Dance With My Father. The title track, which was dedicated to Vandross' memory childhood dances with his father, won Luther and his co-writer, Richard Marx, the 2004 Grammy Award for Song Of The Year. The song also won Vandross his fourth and final award in the Best Male R&B Vocal Performance category. The album was his first to reach number one on the Billboard album chart. The video for the title track features various celebrities alongside their fathers and other family members. Celebrities such as Beyoncé, Celine Dion, Jason Kidd, Stevie Wonder and Quincy Jones submitted home videos or pictures of their families for the music video.[citation needed]

Vandross's last known recording was his version of "One Shining Moment",[citation needed] CBS's closing theme song of the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship.

[edit] 2003–2005: Illness and death

Vandross had diabetes,[3] a disease that ran in his family, as well as hypertension. His alleged penchant for a bacon cheeseburger with doughnuts in place of a bun known as a Luther Burger is considered by many[citation needed] to have influenced his weight. His father, Luther Sr., died of complications from diabetes when Luther Jr. was eight years old[citation needed]. On April 16, 2003, just 4 days before his 52nd birthday, Vandross suffered a stroke in his home in Manhattan.[3] Though the cause of Vandross' stroke was not specifically attributed to diabetes, diabetics have been identified as being much more susceptible to strokes than non-diabetics.

He appeared briefly on videotape at the 2004 Grammys to accept his Song of the Year award, where he said, "Whenever I say goodbye it's never for long because I believe in the power of love".[3] Other than an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, he was never seen in public again. Vandross died on July 1, 2005 at John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Edison, New Jersey at the age of 54.[6]

His funeral was in New York City on July 8, 2005.[15] After two days of viewing, Vandross was laid to rest in George Washington Memorial Park in Paramus, New Jersey.[16]

[edit] Personal life

During Vandross's entire career, he was dogged by questions regarding his sexuality. A lifelong bachelor, his name was never romantically linked in the media with women. Although Vandross never came out of the closet, he also never explicitly denied being a homosexual, and generally attempted to steer questioners away from the issue altogether by saying that his busy lifestyle made marriage difficult and indicated that it was not what he wanted. After his death, an article in Out magazine had several of Vandross' friends, including gay comedy writer Bruce Vilanch, claiming that Luther was indeed a closeted gay man.[17]

[edit] Influences and followers

Vandross was inspired by the soul divas of the 1960s and 1970s: Dionne Warwick, Patti LaBelle, Diana Ross, and Aretha Franklin, whom he eventually produced.

Vandross' songs have also been performed numerous times by American Idol contestants. Notable covers include Season 1 Finalist Tamyra Gray's version of "Dance With My Father" on Boston Public, R&B artist Keyshia Cole's version of "Never Too Much" on her 2005 debut album The Way It Is.

Vandross performed many covers of older songs, such as "Since I Lost My Baby" (originally recorded by The Temptations), "Love the One You're With" (originally recorded by Stephen Stills), "Superstar/Until You Come Back to Me" ("Superstar" was a hit for The Carpenters and "Until You Come Back To Me" was a 1974 hit for Aretha Franklin), "Love Won't Let Me Wait" (originally recorded by Major Harris), "Always and Forever" (originally recorded by Heatwave), "If This World Were Mine" (a duet with Cheryl Lynn, originally recorded by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell), "Creepin'" and "Knocks Me Off My Feet" (both originally recorded by Stevie Wonder), "Hello" (the 1984 number-one hit by Lionel Richie), "Lovely Day" (originally recorded by Bill Withers), "Killing Me Softly" (a hit for Roberta Flack) and the Bacharach/David standard, "A House Is Not A Home." Vandross's hit "Love Power" included snippets of the soul classic "The Power of Love". Another hit, "Bad Boy (Having a Party)", contained a passage from Sam Cooke's "Having a Party".

[edit] Legacy

[edit] Tribute

  • On July 27, 2004, GRP Records released a smooth jazz various artists tribute album, Forever, For Always, For Luther, with ten popular songs written by Luther. The album featured vocal arrangements by Luther, and was produced by Rex Rideout and Bud Harner. Rideout had co-authored songs and contributed arrangements and played keyboards on Luther's final three albums. The tribute album was mixed by Ray Bardani, who recorded and mixed most of Luther's music over the years. It featured an ensemble of smooth jazz performers, many of whom had previously worked with Luther. [18]
  • On November 21, 2006, saxophonist Dave Koz released a followup to the earlier smooth jazz GRP tribute album, this time on his own Rendezvous Entertainment label, an album called Forever, For Always, For Luther Volume II, also produced by Rex Rideout and Bud Harner. Dave Koz played on all the featured Luther Vandross tracks, which were recorded by various smooth jazz artists. [19]

[edit] Posthumous releases

J Records released a song "Shine"—an upbeat R&B track that samples Chic's disco song "My Forbidden Lover"—reaching #31 on the R&B chart. A later remix peaked at #10 on the Club Play chart. "Shine" and a track entitled "Got You Home" are previously unreleased songs on The Ultimate Luther Vandross, a greatest hits album on Epic Records/J Records/Legacy Recordings that was released August 22, 2006.

On October 16, 2007, Epic Records/J Records/Legacy Recordings released a 4 disc box set entitled Love, Luther. It features all of Vandross' hits throughout his 24 year career. A single will be released from the box set entitled, "There's Only You," a version of which had originally appeared on the soundtrack to the 1987 movie Made in Heaven. [20]

[edit] American Idol connection

Pop and gospel singer and 2003 American Idol winner Ruben Studdard did cover versions of the Luther Vandross songs "Superstar" and "If Only for One Night."

[edit] Discography

Main article: Luther Vandross discography

[edit] References

  1. ^ Luther Vandross. AskMen.com (UK Edition). Retrieved on 2006-12-02.
  2. ^ Vandross' Funeral Soulful and Powerful. Yahoo! News (July 8 2005). Retrieved on 2006-12-02.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Obituary: Luther Vandross. BBC News (July 1 2005). Retrieved on 2006-12-02.
  4. ^ Luther Vandross' Swan Song. Yahoo! Music (July 1 2005). Retrieved on 2006-12-02.
  5. ^ Luther Vandross artist page.
  6. ^ a b c Luther Vandross dead at 54. CNN (July 1 2005). Retrieved on 2006-12-02.
  7. ^ Seymour, Craig (2004). Luther: The Life and Longing of Luther Vandross. HarperEntertainment. ISBN 0-06-059418-7. 
  8. ^ Luther Vandross. Vibe.com. Retrieved on 2006-12-02.
  9. ^ Full Cast and Crew for The Wiz. IMDb. Retrieved on 2006-12-02.
  10. ^ Luther Vandross. IMDb. Retrieved on 2006-12-02.
  11. ^ a b Luther Vandross at MTV.com. MTV. Retrieved on 2008-01-02.
  12. ^ Luther Vandross Page. SoulWalking. Retrieved on 2008-01-02.
  13. ^ Artist Chart History
  14. ^ Artist Chart History
  15. ^ Luther Vandross Funeral Plans Set. 6ABC (July 8 2005). Retrieved on 2006-12-14.
  16. ^ Luther Vandross' All-Star Send-Off. E! News (July 8 2005). Retrieved on 2006-12-14.
  17. ^ The Secret Gay Life of Luther Vandross. Out.com. Retrieved on 2006-12-02.
  18. ^ Forever, For Always, For Luther, VerveMusicGroup.com
  19. ^ Forever, For Always, For Luther Volume II, smoothvibes.com
  20. ^ EUR Web article, "Luther Boxed Set Includes Rare/Unreleased Tracks, EURWeb.com

[edit] Sources

  • Seymour, Craig. The Life and Longing of Luther Vandross, HarperCollins, 2004 - ISBN 0060594187
  • Vandross, Luther. The Best of Luther Vandross: The Best of Love, Hal Leonard Corporation, 1990 - ISBN 0793502918

[edit] External links

Persondata
NAME Vandross, Luther Ronzoni Jr.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Vandross, Luther
SHORT DESCRIPTION American singer, songwriter, and record producer
DATE OF BIRTH April 20 1951
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City, New York, United States
DATE OF DEATH July 1, 2005
PLACE OF DEATH Edison, New Jersey, United States
de:Luther Vandross

es:Luther Vandross fr:Luther Vandross io:Luther Vandross id:Luther Vandross it:Luther Vandross nl:Luther Vandross ja:ルーサー・ヴァンドロス no:Luther Vandross oc:Luther Vandross pl:Luther Vandross pt:Luther Vandross fi:Luther Vandross sv:Luther Vandross th:ลูเธอร์ แวนดรอส

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