Luther Vandross - Biography -

One of the greatest voices of all time, Luther Vandross’ profound musical legacy will be felt for generations to come. With a smooth yet soulful delivery, the internationally admired singer/ songwriter/ producer has sold in excess of 30 million records worldwide, winning eight Grammy Awards, numerous Soul Train, BET, NAACP Image and American Music Awards. His 1981 debut, Never Too Much, reached the top of the R&B charts and sold more than one million copies. Through the 1980's, he recorded a string of platinum albums, including Forever, For Always, For Love, Busy Body and The Night I Fell in Love. His last album, Dance With My Father received 4 Grammy Awards (including Song of the Year for the title song "Dance With My Father") and has generated worldwide sales exceeding 3 million copies. "When history books are written, I'd like it to be said that I am one of the premiere singers of our time," said Vandross in an interview with BET.

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."