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Luther Vandross

This article is about the singer. For his self-titled album, see Luther Vandross (album).

Luther Vandross
Vandross in 1985
Vandross in 1985
Background information
Birth nameLuther Ronzoni Vandross Jr.
Born(1951-04-20)April 20, 1951
New York City, U.S.
DiedJuly 1, 2005(2005-07-01) (aged 54)
Edison, New Jersey, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • record producer
Years active1969–2004
Labels
Websiteluthervandross.com

Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer. Throughout his career, he achieved eleven consecutive RIAA-certified platinum albums and sold over 40 million records worldwide.[1] Known as the "Velvet Voice", Vandross has been recognized as one of the 200 greatest singers of all time (2023) by Rolling Stone,[2] as well as one of the greatest R&B artists by Billboard.[3] In addition, NPR named him one of the 50 Great Voices. He was the recipient of eight Grammy Awards,[4] including Song of the Year in 2004 for a track recorded shortly before his death, "Dance with My Father".[5] In 2021, he was posthumously inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame.

Vandross worked as a backing vocalist in the 1970s, and appeared on albums by artists such as Roberta Flack, Donny Hathaway, Todd Rundgren, Evelyn Champagne King, Judy Collins, Chaka Khan, Bette Midler, Diana Ross, David Bowie, Ben E. King, Stevie Wonder, and Donna Summer. He later became a lead singer of the group Change, which released the Gold-certified album, The Glow of Love, in 1980 on Warner/RFC Records. After Vandross left the group, he was signed to Epic Records as a solo artist and released his debut solo album, Never Too Much, in 1981.

His hit songs include "Never Too Much", "Here and Now", "Any Love", "Power of Love/Love Power", "I Can Make It Better", and "For You to Love". Many of his songs were covers of original music by other artists such as "If This World Were Mine" (duet with Cheryl Lynn), "Since I Lost My Baby", "Superstar", "I (Who Have Nothing)", and "Always and Forever". He performed duets such as "The Closer I Get to You" with Beyoncé, "Endless Love" with Mariah Carey, and "The Best Things in Life Are Free" with Janet Jackson of which the latter two were hit songs in his career. The tribute album So Amazing: An All-Star Tribute to Luther Vandross, was released shortly after his death.

  1. ^ Barker, Andrew (June 3, 2014). "Luther Vandross Receives Star on Walk of Fame". Variety. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
  2. ^ "The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time". Rolling Stone. January 1, 2023. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  3. ^ "The 35 Greatest R&B Artists of All Time". Billboard. November 12, 2015. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  4. ^ "Vandross' Funeral Soulful and Powerful". Yahoo! News. July 8, 2005. Archived from the original on April 28, 2006. Retrieved December 2, 2006.
  5. ^ "Obituary: Luther Vandross". BBC News. July 1, 2005. Retrieved December 2, 2006.

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