He produces several songs and shops them to major labels.Įpic Records signs Luther Vandross and releases the self-produced Never Too Much. While on tour with Roberta Flack, she implores Luther to follow his joy. Luther finds success on Urban Contemporary radio with his vocals on "Searching" and "The Glow Of Love" for the studio band Change. Luther leads the chorus on "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" by Donna Summer and Barbra Streisand, then sings backup for Cher, Evelyn "Champagne" King and several studio groups. Luther sings on Quincy Jones’ Sounds… And Stuff Like That!! with Patti Austin and Gwen Guthrie. Luther sings on the demo for Chic’s "Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)." He later sings on Sister Sledge’s "We Are Family" and "Lost In Music." The group Luther releases a second album, This Close To You, and is then dropped by Cotillion. Luther forms the group Luther, and releases a self-titled album on Atlantic’s Cotillion label.
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King, Chaka Khan, Carly Simon, Roberta Flack and the Average White Band. On Bowie’s recommendation, Bette Midler hires Luther to sing on her new record and he makes an immediate impression on producer Arif Mardin.
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Bowie hires Luther on the spot and then reworks Luther’s "Funky Music (Is A Part Of Me)" as his own "Fascination." Luther goes on tour with Bowie. He also composes "Everybody Rejoice" for "The Wiz."Ĭarlos Alomar invites Luther and Robin Clark to the sessions for David Bowie’s Young Americans album. Luther contributes vocals and writes a song for Delores Hall’s RCA debut (credited as Luther Van Dross). They release a single, "Only Love Can Make A Better World." Luther and Shades of Jade appear on Sesame Street. Luther makes four appearances at the Apollo Theater’s brutal Amateur Night competition, but never wins. Luther decides to become a singer after hearing Dionne Warwick sing the Bacharach-David songbook at Brooklyn’s Fox Theatre.Īt William Howard Taft High School, Luther meets singers Robin Clark, Anthony Hinton, Diane Sumler, Fonzi Thornton and guitarist Carlos Alomar they form Shades of Jade. When Luther is eight years old, his father dies suddenly. is born to Luther Sr., an upholsterer, and Mary Ida, a nurse, in New York City. Luther Vandross & Clive Davis (Billboard 2004) Luther Vandross passed away on Friday, July 1st, 2005 in Edison, NJ. His last album, “ Dance With My Father” received 4 Grammy Awards (including Song of the Year for the title song “Dance With My Father”) and has generated worldwide sales exceeding 3 million copies.Ĭollectively, Luther’s body of work has sold in excess of 30 millions records worldwide, winning eight Grammy Awards, numerous Soul Train, BET, NAACP Image Awards and American Music Awards. He ranked as one of the most successful R&B singers of the 1980’s and broke through to even wider commercial success in 1989 with the “ Best of Luther Vandross, the Best of Love,” which included the new song “ Here and Now,” his first Grammy winning hit which became a signature wedding song. Luther was one of a kind.” – Patti LaBelle
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“He had one of the greatest voices that ever sang a song. “ When history books are written, I’d like it to be said that I am one of the premiere singers of our time,” said Vandross in an interview with BET. Luther was also a prolific writer and producer for such musical icons as Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Whitney Houston and Dionne Warwick thereby fulfilling a lifelong dream. Through the 1980’s, he recorded a string of platinum albums, including “ Forever,” “For Always,” “For Love,” “Busy Body” and “The Night I Fell in Love.” His 1981 debut, “ Never Too Much,” reached the top of the R&B charts and sold more than one million copies. Luther Vandross recorded two albums under the name “Luther” for Cotillion, and also recorded with session groups Roundtree and Change and sang on hits by Chic before landing a solo deal with Epic. He did spots for Kentucky Fried Chicken and the U.S. Luther soon became a sought-after backup vocalist and arranger, working for artists from Bette Midler to Barbra Streisand, and he helped pay the bills as one of the most popular jingle singers of the time. In 1972, the song Vandross wrote, “ Everybody Rejoice,” was included in the Broadway musical “ The Wiz.”īut his biggest early break came when he landed a job as a backup singer for David Bowie and created vocal arrangements for the hit album “ Young Americans.” Luther Vandross was undeniably one of the most significant vocalists of our time.īorn in New York City in 1951, Luther was the youngest of four children.