Luther Vandross
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Luther Ronzoni Vandross, Jr. (April 20, 1951 - July 1, 2005) was an American R&B singer. During his career, Vandross sold 25 million albums and won eight Grammy awards 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," co-written with Richard Marx.
Biography
Early life and career: 1951-1980
Born on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City, Vandross grew up in a musical family that moved to the Bronx when he was 13. His sister sang with vocal group The Crests who had a number one hit in the early 1960's with "Sixteen Candles." Vandross' father died of diabetes when Vandross was eight years old. His life-changing moment came when at the age of 13 he heard Dionne Warwick sing Anyone Who Had A Heart (a song he would cover in his later years). He knew then that he wanted to be a singer.
Vandross formed a vocal group in high school which once played at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem. His first recording credit was as producer of the album Soul Christmas in 1968 and appeared as a vocalist on a Quincy Jones album Best in 1969. He was also a member of a theater workshop at the time and appeared on the first episode of Sesame Street in November 1969.
His next recording credit was on an album by Roberta Flack in 1972. Vandross wrote "Everybody Rejoice," for the 1972 show and 1978 movie The Wiz. However, Vandross had dropped out of the music scene when a friend from theater workshop invited him to sing in David Bowie's soul-influenced Diamond Dogs tour and appear as the opening act with the Mike Garson Band in 1974. He ended up singing background vocals on Bowie's album Young Americans.
Vandross also sang backing vocals for Diana Ross, Roberta Flack, Carly Simon, Chaka Khan, Bette Midler, CHIC, and Barbra Streisand. During the beginning of his career, Vandross was content to remain mostly in the background, as a producer and backup singer for other artists. Roberta Flack pushed Vandross into starting his own career. She believed he was an incredible talent who, in addition to his songwriting and production skills, deserved to be heard for his self.
Before his breakthrough, he released two albums with a singing group he formed, also called Luther, on Cotillion Records. The group had a successful single entitled "It's Good for the Soul," although their two albums - the self-titled "Luther" in 1976 and "This Close to You" in 1977 - failed to make an impact. Vandross bought back the rights to these albums after the record label dropped the group, preventing their later re-release.
Vandross also wrote and sang commercials jingles during the late 1970s & early 1980s, earning upwards of $600,000 per year around the New York area. He created and/or sang jingles for such well known advertising campaigns as Kentucky Fried Chicken's "We Do Chicken Right," NBC's "Proud As A Peacock" & The US Army's "Be All You Can Be." Vandross also voiced a cartoon character named Zack for 3 Saturday morning animated PSA spots for ABC Television called "Zack of All Trades". Vandross continued his successful career as a popular session singer during the late 70's. His lead vocals can be heard on the Gregg Diamond produced single "Hot Butterfly" from Bionic Boogie in 1978 which gained moderate nightclub success.
Career success: 1980-2003
He eventually made his breakthrough as a guest singer with the group Change. Their 1980 hits, "The Glow of Love" and "Searching" led to a recording contract with Epic Records, and in 1981, he made his first solo recording debut with the LP "Never Too Much.", that contained the track "A House is Not a Home" went double platinum, with the song "Never Too Much" reaching #1 on the R&B charts.
Vandross released a series of million-selling albums during the 1980s and continued his session work with guest vocals on groups like Charme in 1982. Although the albums were very successful overall, many of his earlier albums made a much bigger impact on the R&B charts. Vandross had more modest success on the pop charts during this time. During the 1980s, Vandross had two other singles that reached #1 on the R&B charts: "Stop to Love" in 1986 and a duet with Gregory Hines "There's Nothing Better Than Love". He also sang duets with Dionne Warwick and Cheryl Lynn. He was also in demand as a producer; he was at the helm for Aretha Franklin's albums "Jump To It" and "Get It Right". (Franklin saw some moderate commercial success with those Vandross-produced tracks after a long chart absence.)
The 1989 compilation of greatest hits, The Best Of Luther Vandross...The Best Of Love, included the ballad "Here And Now", the first Vandross single to chart in the Billboard pop chart Top Ten. He also won his first award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance in the Grammy Awards of 1991. "Here and Now" became a staple at weddings, and on Soft AC radio. In addition, the song allowed him to expand his musical horizons beyond R&B. His songs also became popular on smooth jazz radio.
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 nonspeaking 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 "Endless Love", a duet with Mariah Carey and a cover of Lionel Richie and Diana Ross's hit song from the film Endless Love. He also sang a duet with Frank Sinatra on Sinatra's 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 record released through Epic Records. After recording "I Know" on Virgin Records, he signed with J Records. His first album on Clive Davis' new label, entitled Luther Vandross, was released in 2001, and it produced the hits "Take You Out," "Grown Thangs" and "I'd Rather."
In 2003, Vandross released the album Dance With My Father in memory of his father. The title track, which was dedicated to the memory of the younger Vandross' childhood dances with his father, won Luther and his co-writer, singer 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 also the first album by Vandross to reach #1 on the Billboard album chart. The video for the title track features a various celebreties alongside their dads and family members. Celebrities such as Beyonce, Celine Dion, Jason Kidd, Stevie Wonder and Quincy Jones submitted home videos or pictures of their families for the music video.
Vandross's last known recording was his signature version of "One Shining Moment," CBS's closing theme song of the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship.
Illness 2003-2005
Vandross had diabetes, a disease that ran in his family, as well as hypertension. His weight fluctuated several times over the years, and Vandross had weighed over 300 pounds (136 kg) at his heaviest. His father, Luther Sr., died of complications from diabetes when Luther Jr. was eight years old. Luther Jr.'s two sisters and a brother also predeceased him. On April 16, 2003, Vandross suffered a stroke in his home in Manhattan. [Although 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.] Although he appeared briefly on videotape at the 2004 Grammys to accept his Song of the Year award, he was otherwise never seen in public again. On the videotape on which Vandross appeared he sent an emotional message that said: "Whenever I say goodbye it's never for long because I believe in the power of love." Vandross died on July 1, 2005 at John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Edison, New Jersey. He was 54. At this time, the cause of death is not known, although hospital spokesman Rob Cavanaugh has said that Vandross never recovered from the 2003 stroke. It was reported that he died peacefully, surrounded by his family and friends.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a friend of Vandross, described him as "a boy so mellow, so powerful; a boy of rare, rare vintage. We lost Luther very early because of his medical condition, but his legacy will be a powerful legacy."
His funeral was in New York City on July 8, 2005. After two days of viewing, Vandross was buried in George Washington Memorial Park in Paramus, New Jersey.
Influences and followers
Vandross was inspired by the soul divas of the 1960s: Dionne Warwick, Patti Labelle & the Bluebells, Diana Ross & the Supremes and Aretha Franklin, for whom he eventually produced a few albums.
Vandross did many covers of older songs, such as "Since I Lost My Baby" (originally recorded by The Temptations), "Superstar/Until You Come Back To Me" ("Superstar" was a hit for The Carpenters and most recently covered by Ruben Studdard, 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" (originally recorded by Marvin Gaye), "Knocks Me Off My Feet" (originally recorded by Stevie Wonder), "Hello" (the 1984 #1 hit by Lionel Richie), and "Lovely Day" (originally recorded by Bill Withers), and "A House is Not A Home", a Burt Bacharach standard. His 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."
Vandross inspired his J Records labelmate, Ruben Studdard, the American Idol of 2003. Besides Studdard, Vandross also inspired countless other artists, both male and female, such as Boyz II Men, Usher, Beyoncé, Alicia Keys and Brandy. It was with Beyoncé that he recorded yet another cover of a well-known song, "The Closer I Get To You", originally recorded by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway.
Rivalries
In the early stages of his solo career, Vandross' rivals included Peabo Bryson, Teddy Pendergrass and Jeffrey Osborne. In later years, artists like Gerald Levert, James Ingram and Phil Collins shared friendly rivalries with him.
Vandross' best-known rivalry was the one with Freddie Jackson, which was started in the mid-1980s. Many times, Vandross and Jackson were very unfriendly to each other, and their encounters were often heated. Because of this, they are blamed for inspiring future rivalries in R&B/hip-hop music, especially that of Brandy and Monica, who recorded a duet called "The Boy is Mine" in 1998. When the song came out, Brandy was often compared to Vandross, and Monica was inserted into Jackson's role. Even some music critics joked, "Well, it's a shame that Luther Vandross and Freddie Jackson never did 'The Girl - or Boy - is Mine' together!"
However, since Vandross' death, Jackson's feelings have turned noticeably softer. He has been quoted as calling Vandross "a very worthy rival," and "one of the best singers in the music industry."
Sexuality
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 explicitly denied being gay, he never publicly acknowledged it either. He generally attempted to steer questioners away from the issue altogether by saying that his "busy lifestyle" made marriage difficult and indicated that, in any case, "it was not what he wanted." Many gay publications have stated that Vandross's gayness was an "open secret" in the recording industry.
Tribute
On September 20, 2005, the album So Amazing: An All-Star Tribute to Luther Vandross was released. The album is a collection of some of Luther's songs performed by various artists. The artists on this compilation include Stevie Wonder, Mary J. Blige, Usher, Fantasia , Beyonce, Donna Summer, Alicia Keys, Elton John, Celine Dion, Wyclef Jean, Babyface, Patti LaBelle, John Legend, Angie Stone, Jamie Foxx and Aretha Franklin, whom won a Grammy for her rendition of "A House Is Not A Home".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luther_Vandross
Buy Me A Rose :: Luther Vandross
He works hard to give her all he thinks she wants
But it tears her apart ?'cause nothing's for her heart
He pulls in late to wake her up with a kiss goodnight
If he could only read her mind, she'd say
[CHORUS]
Buy me a rose, call me from work
Open a door for me, what would it hurt
Show me you love me by the look in your eyes
These are the little things I need the most in my life
Now the days have grown to years of feelin' all alone
As she sits and wonders if all she's doin' is wrong
?'Cause lately she'd try anything just to turn his head
Would it make a difference if she said, if she said
[CHORUS]
[BRIDGE]
And the more that he lives the less that he tries
To show her the love that he holds inside
And the more that she gives the more that he sees
This is the story of you
and me
So I bought you a rose on the way home from work
To open the door to a heart that I hurt
And I hope you notice this look in my eyes
?'Cause I'm gonna make things right for the rest of your life
And I'm gonna hold you tonight, tonight
Do all those little things for the rest of your life
(and others)
