LUTHER VANDROSS
JANICE'S BLUES ALLEY PRESENTS
LUTHER VANDROSS
 LUTHER VANDROSS OFFICIAL SITE |
| RollingStone.com: Luther Vandross |
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| LUTHER VANDROSS OFFICIAL SITE |
| RollingStone.com: Luther Vandross |
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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, for the most part he did not cross over to widespread pop appeal, a situation that finally began to change at the end of the '80s. Vandross had an elastic tenor that made him a natural for backup singing and commercial work in the early '70s, when he became a top session vocalist. 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 charts and sold two 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' pop success was spotty until 1989, when Epic released The Best of Luther Vandross...The Best of Love, a greatest-hits album containing the new track "Here and Now," which became Vandross' first Top Ten pop hit. That proved his breakthrough, and Vandross' 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."
Vandross returned to the pop Top Ten in 1992 with "The Best Things in Life Are Free" from the movie Mo' Money, a duet with Janet Jackson. His next album, Never Let Me Go (1993), marked a slight falloff in sales, but Songs (1994), an all-covers album, restored his commercial standing, featuring a gold-selling pop Top Ten remake of "Endless Love," a duet with Mariah Carey. This Is Christmas (1996) and Your Secret Love (1997) were million-sellers. One Night With You: The Best of Love, Vol. 2 (1997) compiled Vandross' hits from 1991 to 1996. He returned in 1998 with I Know. Smooth Love followed two years later and a self-titled release on J Records appeared in spring 2001.
In late 2002, Vandross phoned J Records president and CEO Clive Davis. The singer was excited that he had written his "career song" and wanted everyone around him to know it. The song was "Dance With My Father", a bittersweet tribute to Vandross' late father that would become the centerpiece of the singer's next, most personal album. Vandross' excitement about the project was obvious in early 2003 interviews, but on April 16 the singer suffered a life-threatening stroke, leaving him in a coma for the next two months. The Dance With My Father album debuted at number one when it hit the shelves in June that year. The smash hit, title cut went on to win the Grammy for "Song of the Year", an award Vandross accepted via videotape. During his acceptance, Vandross promised his fans that he would be back by quoting one of his own hits, "Power of Love/Love Power". His positive attitude made it all the more devastating when it was announced on July 1st, 2005 that Vandross had lost his fight for life at the age of 54.
All Music Guide, William Ruhlmann
| LINKS | TITLE | YEAR |
 | Dance With My Father | 2003 |
| Luther Vandross | 2001 |
| Greatest Hits | 1999 |
| Always & Forever-Classics | 1998 |
| I Know | 1998 |
| Vol. 2-One Night With You: Best of Love | 1997 |
| Your Secret Love | 1996 |
| This Is Christmas | 1995 |
| Songs | 1994 |
| Never Let Me Go | 1993 |
| Power Of Love | 1991 |
| Any Love | 1988 |
| Give Me The Reason | 1986 |
| The Night I Fell In Love | 1985 |
| Busy Body | 1983 |
| Forever, For Always, For Love | 1982 |
| Never Too Much | 1981 |
| This Close to You | 1977 |
| Luther | 1977 |
Dance With My Father 2003 | |||
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01. If I Didn't Know Better 02. Think About You 03. If It Ain't One Thing 04. Buy Me a Rose 05. The Closer I Get to You 06. Lovely Day 07. Dance With My Father |
08. She Saw You 09. Apologize 10. Hit It Again 11. Right in the Middle 12. Once Were Lovers 13. Lovely Day, Pt. 2 14. They Said You Needed Me | ||
Luther Vandross 2001 | |||
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01. Take You Out 02. Grown Things 03. Bring Your Heart to Mine 04. Can Heaven Wait 05. Say It Now 06. Hearts Get Broken All the Time 07. I'd Rather |
08. How Do I Tell Her 09. Any Day Now 10. If I Was the One 11. Let's Make Tonight the Night 12. Like I'm Invisible 13. Are You There (With Another Guy) 14. Love Forgot | ||
Greatest Hits 1999 | |||
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01. Never Too Much 02. Don't Want To Be A Fool 03. Here And Now 04. Love The One You're With 05. Any Love 06. Superstar/Until You Come Back To Me 07. A House Is Not A Home |
08. Give Me The Reason 09. There's Nothing Better Than Love 10. Creepin' 11. So Amazing 12. Stop To Love 13. Power Of Love/Love Power 14. How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye | ||
Always & Forever 1998 | |||
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01. A House Is Not A Home 02. Since I Lost My Baby 03. Superstar/Until You Come Back To Me 04. Creepin' 05. Anyone Who Had A Heart 06. I (Who Have Nothing) |
07. If This World Were Mine 08. Going Out Of My Head 09. Going In Circles 10. Knocks Me Off My Feet 11. Love Won't Let Me Wait 12. Always And Forever | ||
I Know 1998 | |||
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01. Keeping My Faith In You 02. Isn't There Someone 03. Religion 04. Get It Right 05. I Know 06. I'm Only Human 07. Nights In Harlem |
08. Dream Lover 09. When I Need You 10. Are You Using Me? 11. Are You Mad At Me? 12. Now That I Have You 13. Nights In Harlem | ||
Vol. 2-One Night With You: Best of Love 1997 | |||
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01. One Night With You (Everyday Of Your Life) 02. When You Call On Me/Baby That's When I Come Runnin' 03. It's All About You 04. I Won't Let You Do That To Me 05. Power Of Love/Love Power 06. Don't Want To Be A Fool 07. The Best Things In Life Are Free (Classic Club Edit) 08. Little Miracles (Happen Every Day) |
09. Endless Love 10. Always And Forever 11. Love The One You're With 12. Your Secret Love 13. I Can Make It Better 14. Love Don't Love You Anymore (TM's Urban Mix) 15. My Favorite Things | ||
Your Secret Love 1996 | |||
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01. Your Secret Love 02. Love Don't Love You Anymore 03. It's Hard For Me To Say 04. Crazy Love 05. I Can Make It Better 06. Too Proud To Beg |
07. I Can Wait No Longer (Let's Do This) 08. Nobody To Love 09. Whether Or Not The World Gets Better 10. This Time I'm Right 11. Knocks Me Off My Feet 12. Goin' Out Of My Head | ||
This Is Christmas 1995 | |||
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01. With A Christmas Heart 02. This Is Christmas 03. The Mistletoe Jam 04. Every Year, Every Christmas 05. My Favorite Things |
06. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas 07. I Listen To The Bells 08. Please Come Home For Christmas 09. A Kiss For Christmas 10. O' Come All Ye Faithful | ||
Songs 1994 | |||
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01. Love The One You're With 02. Killing Me Softly With His Song 03. Endless Love 04. Evergreen (Love Theme From 'a Star Is Born') 05. Reflections 06. Hello 07. Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now |
08. Always and Forever 09. Going In Circles 10. Since You've Been Gone (Sweet Sweet Baby) 11. All The Woman I Need 12. What The World Needs Now Is Love 13. The Impossible Dream (The Quest) | ||
Never Let Me Go 1993 | |||
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01. Little Miracles (Happen Every Day) 02. Heaven Knows 03. Love Me Again 04. Can't Be Doin' That Now 05. Too Far Down |
06. Love Is On The Way (Real Love) 07. Hustle 08. Emotion Eyes 09. Lady, Lady 10. How Deep Is Your Love, Love Don't Love Nobody | ||
Power Of Love 1991 | |||
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01. She Doesn't Mind 02. Power of Love / Love Power 03. I'm Gonna Start Today 04. The Rush 05. I Want The Night To Stay |
06. Don't Want to Be a Fool 07. I Can Tell You That 08. Sometimes It's Only Love 09. Emotional Love 10. I (Who Have Nothing) - duet with Martha Wash | ||
Any Love 1988 | |||
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01. I Wonder (Album Version) 02. She Won't Talk To Me (Album Version) 03. I Know You Want To (Album Version) 04. Come Back (Album Version) 05. Any Love |
06. Love Won't Let Me Wait 07. Are You Gonna Love Me 08. For You to Love 09. The Second Time Around (Album Version) | ||
Give Me The Reason 1986 | |||
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01. Stop to Love 02. See Me 03. I Gave It Up (When I Fell in Love) 04. So Amazing 05. Give Me the Reason |
06. There's Nothing Better Than Love 07. I Really Didn't Mean It 08. Because It's Really Love 09. Anyone Who Had a Heart | ||
The Night I Fell In Love 1985 | |||
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01 'Til My Baby Comes Home 02 The Night I Fell in Love 03 If Only for One Night 04 Creepin' |
05 It's over Now 06 Wait for Love 07 My Sensitivity (Gets in the Way) 08 Other Side of the World | ||
Busy Body 1983 | |||
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01. I Wanted Your Love 02. Busy Body 03. I'll Let You Slide 04. Make Me a Believer |
05. For the Sweetness of Your Love 06. How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye w/Dionne Warwick 07. Superstar / Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do) | ||
Forever, For Always, For Love 1982 | |||
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01. Bad Boy / Having a Party 02. You're the Sweetest One 03. Since I Lost My Baby 04. Forever, for Always, for Love |
05. Better Love 06. Promise Me 07. She Loves Me Back 08. Once You Know How | ||
Never Too Much 1981 | |||
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01. Never Too Much 02. Sugar and Spice (I Found Me a Girl) 03. Don't You Know That? 04. I've Been Working |
05. She's a Super Lady 06. You Stopped Loving Me 07. A House Is Not a Home | ||
This Close to You 1977 | |||
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01. This Is for Real 02. A Lover's Change 03. Don't Take the Time 04. Jealousy in Me 05. I'm Not Satisfied |
06. This Close to You 07. Don't Want to Be a Fool 08. Come Back to My Love 09. Follow My Love | ||
Luther 1976 | |||
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01. Funky Music (Is a Part of Me) 02. 2nd Time Around 03. I'll Get Along Fine 04. Everybody Rejoice |
05. Emotion Eyes 06. This Strange Feeling 07. It's Good for the Soul, Pt. 1-2 | ||
