Luther treated his songs & by extension, us, his fans with the utmost respect. Luther’s music had class, a certain sophistication, if you will. In this day & age where almost anything goes lyrically, that is no small feat. Luther managed to convey an aura of romance, that while lending itself to sex, never dwelt or fixated on it. Luther didn’t sing about sex, he sang about LOVE…love lost, love found & the quest to find it. Luther made songs that were so sexy & romantic, without being blatantly sexual in nature. What I appreciated most about Luther though, is that he was a throwback to the days of classy lyrics & the power of subtlety. If you had a cozy atmosphere, a little wine & Luther singing sweetly in the background, how could a guy go wrong? If a brother couldn’t connect romantically with Luther supplying the mood….Well, either he was totally inept & beyond any earthly help, the lady didn’t like him very much, or, he simply wasn’t trying. Luther’s music served as the liaison to many a romantic interlude. His voice was a combination of satin & silk, with a touch of filet mignon added for spice. The pureness of his tonality, the timbre of his voice & his enunciation, was & is, second to none. Luther indeed possessed one of the most original voices in Soul music history. I’d rather reflect on what I appreciated about Luther.
I won’t do that, as his accomplishments & status as a legend, is etched in stone. I could go on & on with superlatives about Luther. Luther wouldn’t record another LP under his own name until 1981’s, “Never Too Much”. After that, he was credited as lead vocalist with Change on “The Glow Of Love” & “Searching”. The album would eventually earn double platinum sales status.įrom there, Luther sang with Chic & was credited as a “Special Guest Artist” on 1978’s “Ces’t Chic” LP. ‘Never Too Much’ stressed his romantic style, and the single of the title track quickly reached the number 1 slot on the R and B charts. His debut solo album ‘Never Too Much’ was released in 1981 by Epic Records, setting Vandross on course for a decade of chart-topping albums and singles that made him a global star. Until the 1980s Vandross, supported himself primarily by making television advertising jingles, but his recording work for music mogul Quincy Jones as well as Sister Sledge maintained his profile in the industry. 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. ” 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. 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. And there was no doubt about whether Vandross liked the song “The Glow of Love”. 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 all three, opened up the world for Vandross. ” Luther 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. Luther also sang lead vocals for a disco band called Greg Diamond’s Bionic Boogie singing lead for the song titled “Hot Butterfly. Vandross also wrote and sang commercials jingles during the late 1970s and early 1980s,continued his successful career as a popular session singer during the late 1970s. Reed, and Christine Wiltshire, also called Luther, signed to Cotillion Records. His next recording credit was on an album by Roberta Flack in 1972.īefore his breakthrough, Vandross was part of a singing quintet in the late ’70s, consisting of former Shades of Jade members Anthony Hinton and Diane Sumler, Theresa V. Vandross attended Western Michigan University for a year before dropping out to continue pursuing a career in music. His sister Patricia sang with vocal group The Crests Luther Vandross was in a high school group, Shades of Jade, that once played at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. He grew up in a musical family that moved to the Bronx when he was thirteen. Born on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City in the Smith Housing Project, Vandross began playing the piano at the age of three. During his career, Vandross sold over twenty-five million albums co-written with Richard Marx. Luther Ronzoni Vandross (Ap– July 1, 2005) was an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter, and record producer. Today JLuther Vandross died four years ago today!! I just want to keep him out front.
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