Vandross, Luther

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LUTHER VANDROSS

Born: New York, New York, 20 April 1951

Genre: R&B

Best-selling album since 1990: Power of Love (1991)

Hit songs since 1990: "Power of Love/Love Power," "Endless Love," "Your Secret Love"

Since the early 1980s Luther Vandross has established himself as one of the most successful, durable performers in rhythm and blues. Known for his supple tenor voice, Vandross favors romantic love ballads with clear, easily recognizable melodies, while his lyrics explore themes of devotion, longing, and heartbreak. In this respect, his music shares more in common with rhythm and blues songs of the 1960s and 1970s than with the more sexually explicit sounds of younger performers such as D'Angelo and Sisqó. Nonetheless, Vandross has maintained his popularity with mainstream audiences by keeping in touch with changing trends while at the same time holding on to his core musical values. Vandross has also gained respect for his work with other artists, writing and producing songs for singers such as Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston.

Early Years

Raised on New York's Lower East Side, Vandross grew up listening to early 1960s pop music, as well as gospel songs. He received his first break in early 1975, when his composition "Everybody Rejoice" was featured in the Broadway musical, The Wiz, based on the popular film The Wizard of Oz (1939). That same year, he contributed vocals to rock singer David Bowie's Young Americans album, co-writing "Fascination" with Bowie. By the end of the decade, he had performed extensively as a jingle and background singer and recorded the album Luther (1976) with his own band.

In 1981 he was given a recording contract with Epic Records and released his first solo album, Never Too Much. For the remainder of the decade he racked up a sizable number of rhythm and blues hits, including "Never Too Much," "It's Over Now," and "Any Love." His albums, which he produced, wrote, and arranged himself, became showcases for his creativity and rich musical imagination. The hit "Wait for Love" perfectly illustrates the Vandross
approach. Working against a lush, rhythmic arrangement, with a powerful female chorus providing dramatic tension, Vandross slowly builds intensity through subtle changes in the volume and timing of his vocals. By the end, he is improvising freely, playing with the words in a manner that draws out the song's emotion.

On the strength of his singles and albums, Vandross developed a loyal, largely female, fan base. However, he had yet to achieve full-fledged pop stardom by the late 1980s. Perhaps his music was too rhythm-and-blues-oriented, although a factor more likely to have prevented his crossing over to a pop audience was the laid-back, conservative image he projected both in music and in his personal life. In an era dominated by performers such as Michael Jackson, Prince, and Madonna, all of whom made audacious statements in their fashion and music, Vandross seemed slightly old-fashioned. Neither glamorous nor trend setting, he was instead characterized by consistency.

Pop Success

In 1989, Vandross's years of commitment finally paid off when "Here and Now," another romantic ballad, stormed into the Pop Top 10. "Here and Now" has a slicker, more polished sound than his previous hits, making it more accessible for mainstream radio audiences. The song won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance in 1990 and transformed Vandross into a pop star. The next year, he hit his commercial and artistic peak with Power of Love, an album many critics regard as his finest. In his notes to a reissue of the album in 2001, Billboard magazine writer Matthew S. Robinson called it "one of [Vandross's] most fulfilling meditations on the search for love." The album's first single, "Power of Love/Love Power," became Vandross's biggest pop hit and carried him to a new level of popularity. With its bouncy rhythm, upbeat lyrics, and infectious melody, the song proved extremely influential, pointing to the hip-hop style of the 1990s while staying rooted in the smooth vocalizing of the past. A soaring vocal choir gives the song an inspirational quality that hearkens back to Vandross's childhood love of gospel music. The rest of the album is a cohesive blend of seductive up-tempo tunes and atmospheric ballads, all sung with emotion and tenderness. Both the album and the "Love Power/Power of Love" single won Grammy Awards in 1991. In 1992 Vandross scored another big hit with "The Best Things in Life Are Free," a duet with Janet Jackson from the film Mo' Money (1992).

In 1994 Vandross released a version of the 1981 Diana Ross/Lionel Richie hit "Endless Love" with fellow superstar Mariah Carey. The new "Endless Love" was so successful that it led to an album, Songs (1994), in which Vandross interprets material initially made famous by other performers. The album was a commercial hit, although some longtime fans complained that Vandross was aiming too heavily for the mainstream pop market. Nonetheless Vandross remained at the top of his game, earning his fourth Grammy in 1996 for the hit "Your Secret Love." The success of the song, taken from his album of the same name, proved that at age forty-five Vandross had no intention of slowing down. Always good-natured and diplomatic, he succeeded in keeping his personal life out of the press, although he openly discussed his battles with diabetes, food, and weight gain.

New Directions

After Your Secret Love, Vandross ended his long association with Epic Records, a relationship sometimes marked by conflict. In 1992, for example, he had filed suit against Epic's parent company, Sony Entertainment, citing a portion of the California Labor Code that stipulates a seven-year limit for personal service contracts. Speaking to the Amsterdam News in 1998, Vandross hinted that he had been frustrated by Epic's inability to give him a number one pop hit, a goal which he claimed "was never aimed for and prioritized as important" at the label. That year he moved to Virgin Records and released I Know, a solid album that was accepted warmly by both critics and fans. Due to inadequate publicity, however, it failed to garner any substantial hits.

In 2001 Vandross signed with J-Records, a new label headed by music industry veteran Clive Davis, and he released a self-titled album that brought him fully back into the contemporary spotlight. The album differs from most previous Vandross efforts in that it employs the skills of outside producers and songwriters, among them proven hit-makers Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Warryn Campbell, and Shep Crawford. Vandross's image was updated as well: Having lost 125 pounds prior to the album's release, he now sported a sleek new wardrobe of designer clothes. In many ways, however, Luther Vandross stays true to the qualities that made the singer a star. Although he did not write it, the album's hit ballad, "I'd Rather," closely resembles his compositions from the 1980s and 1990s. The melody is lilting and catchy, while the lyrics embody values of romantic dedication: "I'd rather have bad times with you, than good times with someone else / I'd rather be beside you in a storm, than safe and warm by myself." On the heels of the album's release Vandross resumed his rigorous live touring schedule, performing extensively in the United States and Europe during 2001 and 2002. In April 2003 Vandross suffered a debilitating stroke in his New York apartment. Although he had yet to regain full consciousness, his record company released a new album, Dance with My Father, in June.

While other singers came and went during the 1980s and 1990s, Vandross remained near the top. His longevity is the combined result of tremendous talent, a solid commitment to creating great music, and an understanding that good love songs will always be in style.

SELECTIVE DISCOGRAPHY:

Never Too Much (Epic, 1981); The Night I Fell in Love (Epic, 1985); Give Me the Reason (Epic, 1986); Any Love (Epic, 1988); The Best of Love (Epic, 1989); Power of Love (Epic, 1991); Never Let Me Go (Epic, 1993); Songs (Epic, 1994); This Is Christmas (Epic, 1995); Your Secret Love (Epic, 1996); I Know (Virgin, 1998); Luther Vandross (J-Records, 2001).