Biography of Luther Vandross

In R&B music, Luther Vandross ranked with Prince, Stevie Wonder, and Michael Jackson as one of the most successful singer/songwriters and producers of the '80s. Amazingly, unlike those peers, Vandross for the most part did not cross over to widespread pop appeal, a situation that finally began to change at the end of the '80s and the start of the '90s. Born in New York City, Vandross has an elastic tenor that made him a natural for backup singing and commercial work in the '70s, when he became a top session vocalist. In 1975, Vandross worked with David Bowie on the latter's Young Americans album, even co-writing (with Bowie and John Lennon) the number one hit "Fame." In the second half of the '70s, he recorded under a variety of guises, cutting two albums for Cotillion under the name "Luther," recording with the session groups Roundtree and Change, and singing on hits by Chic. In 1981, Vandross signed with Epic and released his debut album Never Too Much, which topped the R&B chart and sold a million copies. The title track was also an R&B number one hit single and reached the pop Top 40. Vandross went on to produce albums for Aretha Franklin and other female singers, while maintaining his own career through the '80s. His albums Forever, for Always, for Love (1982), Busy Body (1983), The Night I Fell in Love (1985), Give Me the Reason (1986), and Any Love (1988) were all million-sellers that spawned major R&B hits, but Vandross's pop success was spotty until 1989, when Epic released The Best of Luther Vandross...The Best of Love, a double-pocket greatest-hits album containing the new track "Here and Now," which became Vandross's first Top Ten pop hit. That proved his breakthrough, and Vandross's next album, Power of Love (1991), another million-seller, featured two pop hits, "Power of Love/Love Power" and "Don't Want to Be a Fool." Things basically went smooth for Luther Vandross on the commercial front in the early '90s, though not so smoothly behind the scenes. He toured with Anita Baker in 1990 and En Vogue in 1993, and on both tours there were disputes that eventually went public. Vandross issued Never Let Me Go in 1993, and while it did well, it wasn't quite the commercial powerhouse of his past releases. Vandross bounced back with 1994's all-covers Songs, which went double platinum, and 1996's Your Secret Love. ~ William Ruhlmann