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Luther Vandross info & bio

Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer. Over his career, he achieved eleven consecutive RIAA-certified platinum albums and sold over 40 million records worldwide. Known as the "Velvet Voice", Vandross was recognized by Rolling Stone as one of the 200 greatest singers of all time (2023) and was named one of the greatest R&B artists by Billboard. NPR also included him among its 50 Great Voices. He won eight Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year in 2004 for "Dance with My Father". He has been inducted into both the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame and the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Vandross began his career as a backing vocalist in the 1970s, contributing to albums by 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 the 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. The following year, he was credited as the primary producer on Aretha Franklin's album Jump to it, which topped the Billboard R&B Albums chart. 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". He also recorded several covers of songs originally performed by other artists, including "Since I Lost My Baby", "Superstar", "I (Who Have Nothing)", and "Always and Forever".

Vandross collaborated on several notable duets, including "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. In 2024, Kendrick Lamar and SZA released the chart-topping single "Luther", paying homage to Vandross and sampling his rendition of "If This World Were Mine", a duet with Cheryl Lynn. That same year, he was the subject of the documentary Luther: Never Too Much, which chronicles his life, career, and legacy.