Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. ( / ˈ v æ n d r oʊ s / VAN -drohss ; April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American R&B and soul singer, songwriter, and record producer. During his career, he earned eleven RIAA-certified platinum albums and sold more than 25 million records worldwide. Rolling Stone named him one of the 200 greatest singers of all time in 2023, and Billboard listed him among the greatest R&B artists. NPR included him in its list of 50 Great Voices. He won eight Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year in 2004 for "Dance with My Father." He was inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame, the Grammy Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Vandross began his music career in the late 1960s by performing at the Apollo Theater in New York City with a local musical group. The group later appeared on the television show Sesame Street in the early 1970s. He became a highly requested background singer, contributing to albums by artists such as Roberta Flack, Donny Hathaway, Todd Rundgren, Evelyn "Champagne" King, Judy Collins, Chaka Khan, Bette Midler, Diana Ross, David Bowie, Ben E. King, Stevie Wonder, Laura Branigan, Donna Summer, and Roxy Music. In 1980, he was the lead vocalist for the post-disco group Change on their Gold-certified album The Glow of Love, released by Warner/RFC Records.

After leaving the group, Vandross signed with Epic Records as a solo artist and released his debut album, Never Too Much, in 1981. In 1982, he was credited as the primary producer for Aretha Franklin’s album Jump to It, which reached the top of the Billboard R&B Albums chart. His popular 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 covers of songs originally performed by other artists, such as "A House Is Not a Home," "Since I Lost My Baby," "Superstar," "I (Who Have Nothing)," and "Always and Forever."

Vandross performed 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. The latter two songs were major hits in his career. A tribute album titled 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," which honored Vandross and sampled his version of "If This World Were Mine," a duet with Cheryl Lynn. That same year, a documentary titled Luther: Never Too Much was released, highlighting his life, career, and legacy. In 2026, Vandross was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Early life

Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr., who was of African American heritage, was born on April 20, 1951, at Bellevue Hospital in the Kips Bay neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. His birth happened at the same time as General Douglas MacArthur’s ticker-tape parade in the same city. He was the fourth and youngest child (his older siblings were Patricia, Ann, and Anthony) and the younger son of Mary Ida Vandross and Luther Vandross Sr. His father was an upholsterer and singer, and his mother was a nurse. Vandross was raised on Manhattan’s Lower East Side in the Alfred E. Smith Houses public housing development. At the age of three, having his own phonograph, Vandross taught himself to play the piano by ear.

His father died of diabetes when Vandross was eight years old. In 2003, Vandross wrote the song "Dance with My Father" and dedicated it to him; the title was based on his childhood memories and his mother’s recollections of the family singing and dancing in the house. His family moved to the Bronx when he was nine. His older sisters, Patricia "Pat" and Ann, began taking Vandross to the Apollo Theater and to a theater in Brooklyn to see Dionne Warwick and Aretha Franklin perform. Patricia sang with the vocal group The Crests and was featured on the songs "My Juanita" and "Sweetest One."

Vandross graduated from William Howard Taft High School in the Bronx in 1969, and attended Western Michigan University for one-and-a-half semesters before dropping out to continue pursuing a career in music.

Career

While in high school, Vandross created the first fan club for Patti LaBelle and was its president. He formed a group of four students and won a summer talent show. Because the group members attended different schools, they ended their partnership. Vandross then started a new group called Shades of Jade, which performed at the Apollo Theater. During his early years in the music industry, he performed multiple times at the Apollo Theater’s famous amateur night.

Vandross joined a workshop group called Listen My Brother, which was based at the Apollo Theater. The group released one song called "Only Love Can Make a Better World." They performed in front of tens of thousands of people at the Harlem Cultural Festival in August 1969. Soon after, the group appeared in the pilot episode and other episodes of the first season of Sesame Street in 1969–1970.

After graduating from high school in 1969, Vandross moved to Michigan to attend college. However, he left college, returned to New York, and tried to begin a career in music.

Starting in 1972, Vandross worked as a session vocalist, adding background vocals to songs by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway. He also worked on Delores Hall’s album Hall-Mark (1973), singing a song he wrote called "Who's Gonna Make It Easier for Me" and contributing another song, "In This Lonely Hour." In 1974, he worked with British musician David Bowie on his album Young Americans. Vandross added background vocals, especially on the title track, and allowed Bowie to use his song "Funky Music (Is a Part of Me)," which they later rewrote as "Fascination." Vandross joined Bowie’s tour as a background vocalist in September 1974. He also contributed a song called "Everybody Rejoice" to the Broadway musical The Wiz (1975). During this time, Vandross sang background vocals for many artists, including Roberta Flack, Chaka Khan, Ben E. King, Bette Midler, Diana Ross, Carly Simon, Barbra Streisand, David Bowie, Cat Stevens, Gary Glitter, Ringo Starr, Sister Sledge, and Donna Summer. He also worked with bands like Mandrill, Chic, Roxy Music, and Todd Rundgren’s Utopia.

In 1975, Vandross formed his own band called Luther. The band included former members of Shades of Jade, Anthony Hinton and Diane Sumler, as well as Theresa V. Reed and Christine Wiltshire. The band signed with Cotillion Records and released their first album, Luther, in 1976. The album included two R&B songs that reached the top 40: "It's Good for the Soul" and "Funky Music (Is a Part of Me)." A year later, the band released their second and final album, This Close to You (1977), which included the R&B hit "The Second Time Around." In 1977, the band performed at Radio City Music Hall with Marvin Gaye. Neither album sold enough copies to appear on music charts. After Cotillion Records ended the band’s contract, Vandross bought the rights to the albums to stop them from being re-released. Both albums were later re-released in 2024. From 1977 until the early 1980s, Vandross wrote and sang jingles for companies like NBC, Mountain Dew, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Burger King, and Juicy Fruit. In 1976, his song "Everybody Rejoice" was used in a Kodak commercial.

Vandross was known for his work with the disco group Chic, where he added background vocals to many of their songs, including "Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)," "Everybody Dance," and "Le Freak." In 1978, he sang lead vocals on a song called "Hot Butterfly" for Gregg Diamond’s band, Bionic Boogie, and sang a duet with Patti Austin on "I'm Gonna Miss You in the Morning" for Quincy Jones’s album Sounds…and Stuff Like That!!. Later, Chaka Khan covered "Hot Butterfly" on her 1980 album Naughty, and Vandross added background vocals. Around the same time, Vandross met Whitney Houston, who was brought to the studio by her mother and Vandross’s fellow session singer, Cissy Houston. The two singers became close friends. In 1980, Vandross had a major career breakthrough as the lead singer for the pop-dance group Change, created by businessman Jacques Fred Petrus. He sang lead vocals on the group’s hits "The Glow of Love" and "Searching" from their debut album The Glow of Love. Vandross later said "The Glow of Love" was "the most beautiful song I've ever sung in my life." He was originally supposed to perform on the group’s second album Miracles in 1981 but declined because Petrus did not pay enough money. This decision led to Vandross signing a contract with Epic Records in 1981. He also added background vocals to "Miracles" and performed with the new Petrus-created band, the B. B. & Q. Band.

After working with Change, Vandross signed a solo contract with Epic Records. In 1981, he released his debut album, Never Too Much, which reached the top of the Billboard R&B Albums chart. The title track, which he wrote and produced, was an immediate success, reaching the top of the Hot Soul Singles chart and number four on the National Disco Action Top 80 chart. The song also crossed over to the Billboard Hot 100, peaking in the top 40. His next single, "Don't You Know That?," reached number 10 on the Billboard soul charts. The album marked the start of a long musical partnership with bassist Marcus Miller, who played on many tracks and later produced or co-produced Vandross’s songs. The album was arranged by Vandross’s high school classmate, Nat Adderley Jr., and their collaboration continued throughout Vandross’s career. The album also included Vandross’s version of Dionne Warwick’s song "A House Is Not a Home," which he rearranged completely. Though it did not chart, the song became one of his most well-known and was a highlight of his live performances. Never Too Much was certified double-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and earned Vandross his first Grammy Award nomination for Best New Artist in 1982. In 1982, Vandross began producing music for other artists, including Cheryl Lynn’s Instant Love and Aretha Franklin’s Jump to It. On Instant Love, Vandross and Lynn released a version of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s song "If This World Were Mine," which reached number four on the Black Singles chart. His work on Jump to It helped the title track reach the top of the R&B chart, and the album became Franklin’s first gold-certified album in six years.

Personal life

Luther Vandross never married and did not have any children. His mother lived longer than all four of her children. Luther, along with his three older siblings and his father, all died before his mother. They passed away due to health problems caused by diabetes and asthma.

In 2006, Bruce Vilanch, a friend and coworker of Vandross, told a magazine called Out that Vandross once said, "No one knows I'm in the life." This means Vandross did not openly share details about his personal life. Vilanch said Vandross had his longest romantic relationship with a man while living in Los Angeles during the late 1980s and early 1990s. In December 2017, twelve years after Vandross died, his friend Patti LaBelle confirmed that he was homosexual. She said his sexuality was known by many people in the music industry, though he avoided discussing it publicly. LaBelle also noted that Vandross had many female fans and did not want to cause controversy.

In December 1985, Vandross sued a British magazine for saying his 85-pound weight loss was due to AIDS. At the time, he weighed 325 pounds when he began a diet in May of that year.

After signing a musician named Jimmy Salvemini and finishing his first album called Roll It, Vandross, Salvemini, and Salvemini’s brother and manager, Larry, decided to celebrate. On January 12, 1986, they were traveling in Vandross’s car on Laurel Canyon Boulevard in the Hollywood Hills area of Los Angeles. Vandross was driving at 50 miles per hour in a 35-mile-per-hour zone when he crossed the center line of the two-lane road, turned sideways, and crashed into a car moving in the opposite direction. The car then swerved and hit another vehicle head-on. Vandross and Salvemini were taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Larry Salvemini, who was in the front passenger seat, died in the crash. Vandross suffered three broken ribs, a broken hip, bruises, and facial cuts. Jimmy Salvemini, who was in the back seat, had cuts, bruises, and other injuries. Vandross was charged with causing a death while driving and had his driver’s license suspended for one year. There was no proof that Vandross was under the influence of alcohol or drugs. He admitted to reckless driving but did not plead guilty to the more serious charge. At first, the Salvemini family supported Vandross, but later they filed a lawsuit for wrongful death. The case was resolved without going to court, with Vandross paying the Salvemini family about $630,000.

Health problems and death

Vandross had diabetes and high blood pressure. On April 16, 2003, he suffered a serious stroke at his home in New York City and remained in a coma for almost two months. The stroke caused difficulty speaking and singing and required him to use a wheelchair. Later, he regained the ability to walk, speak, and sing.

At the 2004 Grammy Awards, Vandross appeared in a video that was recorded in advance to accept his Song of the Year Award for "Dance With My Father." In the video, he said, "When I say good-bye, it's never for long, because I believe in the power of love" (Vandross sang the last six words). His mother, Mary, accepted the award in person on his behalf. His final public appearance was on May 6, 2004, on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Vandross died on July 1, 2005, at JFK Medical Center in Edison, New Jersey, at the age of 54 due to a heart attack.

Vandross’s funeral took place at Riverside Church in New York City on July 8, 2005. Speakers and singers at the service included Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle, Stevie Wonder, Dionne Warwick, and Cissy Houston. Vandross was buried at George Washington Memorial Park in Paramus, New Jersey.

Artistry

Vandross had a tenor voice and was often called "The Velvet Voice." He was also known as "The Best Voice of a Generation." Many critics called him "The Pavarotti of Pop."

Achievements

From 1981 to 1996, every studio album by Vandross released in the United States was certified platinum or higher. Including a 1989 compilation album, Vandross had twelve albums in a row that sold millions of copies, a record for a male R&B artist at that time. Except for his 1998 album I Know, all of Vandross’ studio albums were given platinum or higher certification. Of these thirteen albums, five were certified multiplatinum.

Vandross was also one of the most successful artists on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Between 1981 and 1996, he had at least one song in the top 40 each year on the chart. From 1981 to 2006, Vandross had 47 songs on the chart, including two songs released after his death. Of these, 37 reached the top 40, 27 reached the top ten, 18 reached the top five, and seven songs reached number one between 1981 and 1992. Between 1988 and 1993, Vandross had eleven songs in a row that reached the top ten on the chart.

On the Billboard Hot 100, Vandross had a more moderate but still notable success. From 1981 to 2003, he had 25 songs on the chart, including 12 songs in the top 40 and six songs in the top ten.

Legacy

Luther Vandross has been recognized as an influence by many artists, including 112, Boyz II Men, D'Angelo, Hootie & the Blowfish, Jaheim, John Legend, Mint Condition, Ne-Yo, Ruben Studdard, and Usher. Stokley Williams, the lead singer of Mint Condition, stated that he studied Luther Vandross for a long time because he believed Vandross had the perfect singing tone. John Legend said that many artists who create slow jams today were inspired by the slow jams Luther Vandross made.

Emmett Price, a professor of music studies at Northeastern University in Boston, explained that Vandross had a wide vocal range and created many smooth songs without repeating rhythms or styles. He also said that Vandross was a bridge between the singing styles of Sam Cooke and Otis Redding, making their music relevant to modern audiences.

In 2008, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Vandross No. 54 on its list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. In 2023, the magazine ranked him No. 31 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time. Mariah Carey said in interviews that singing with Vandross on their duet "Endless Love" was very intimidating. In 2010, NPR included Vandross in its list of the 50 Greatest Voices in recorded history, calling him the standard for R&B singing styles.

In 2014, Vandross received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2021, he was inducted into the National Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame. His debut album, Never Too Much, was added to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2025. In February 2026, Vandross received his first nomination for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 19 years after he first became eligible. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April 2026, just days before his 75th birthday would have been celebrated.

In 1999, Whitney Houston performed Vandross's song "So Amazing" as a tribute to him during the Soul Train Awards. Johnny Gill, El DeBarge, and Kenny Lattimore provided background vocals. In 2004, GRP Records released a smooth jazz tribute album called Forever, for Always, for Luther, featuring ten songs written by Vandross. The album included vocal arrangements by Vandross and was produced by Rex Rideout and Bud Harner. Rideout had worked with Vandross on his final three albums. The album was mixed by Ray Bardani, who had recorded and mixed most of Vandross's music.

In 2005, the album So Amazing: An All-Star Tribute to Luther Vandross was released. It featured artists such as Patti LaBelle, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Mary J. Blige, Usher, Fantasia, Beyoncé, Donna Summer, Alicia Keys, Elton John, Celine Dion, Wyclef Jean, Babyface, John Legend, Angie Stone, Jamie Foxx, and Teddy Pendergrass. Aretha Franklin won a Grammy for her version of "A House Is Not a Home," and Stevie Wonder and Beyoncé won a Grammy for their cover of "So Amazing."

In 2006, saxophonist Dave Koz released a follow-up smooth jazz tribute album called Forever, for Always, for Luther Volume II, produced by Rex Rideout and Bud Harner. Koz performed on all the tracks, which featured smooth jazz artists who had worked with Vandross. In 2021, Google honored Vandross's 70th birthday with a Google Doodle that played his song "Never Too Much."

The 2024 documentary Luther: Never Too Much tells the story of Vandross's life, career, and legacy.

Discography

• Never Too Much (1981)
• Forever, for Always, for Love (1982)
• Busy Body (1983)
• The Night I Fell in Love (1985)
• Give Me the Reason (1986)
• Any Love (1988)
• Power of Love (1991)
• Never Let Me Go (1993)
• Songs (1994)
• This Is Christmas (1995)
• Your Secret Love (1996)
• I Know (1998)
• Luther Vandross (2001)
• Dance with My Father (2003)

Tours

• Luther Tour (1981)
• Forever, for Always, for Love Tour (1982–1983)
• Busy Body Tour (1984)
• The Night I Fell in Love Tour (1985–1986)
• Give Me the Reason Tour (1987)
• The Heat (with Anita Baker) (1988)
• Any Love World Tour (1989)
• Best of Love Tour (1990)
• The Power of Love Tour (1991)
• Never Let Me Go World Tour (1993–1995)
• Your Secret Love World Tour (1997)
• Luther & Vanessa Live! (with Vanessa Williams) (1997)
• Take You Out Tour (2001–2002)
• BK Got Music Summer Soul Tour (with Gerald Levert, Angie Stone and Michelle Williams) (2002)