American singer, songwriter and record producer Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr was born on 20th April 1951 and passed away on 1st July 2005. He never married and did not have any children.
Luther began to self-learn the piano at just 3 years old and when he was about 9 years old, his sisters started taking him to the theatre to see performances by singers like Aretha Franklin and Dionne Warwick. In later years, he graduated from high school and then entered university, but left to pursue a career in singing.
From the late 60s until almost the end of the 70s, Luther was a member of some groups. He also composed several songs and acted both as backing and lead vocalist for numerous established artists and groups like Diana Ross, Chaka Khan, Bette Midler, David Bowie, Barbra Streisand, Ben E King, Charme and Mascara, amongst others.
At the beginning of the 80s, Vandross became lead singer of the post-disco group Change, and this helped him progress in his career and become popular. The band had three major hits: ‘Searching’, ‘A Lover’s Holiday’ and ‘A Glow of Love’, which all topped the US dance charts for 9 weeks.
Luther’s debut solo album was released in 1981 and he went on to issue 5 more albums as well as embarked on numerous tours during that decade. He also continued writing songs for other artists and movie soundtracks. Some of his most successful US hits include ‘Never Too Much’, ‘Stop to Love’, ‘There’s Nothing better than Love’ and ‘Here and Now’.
Until 2003, Vandross released 8 more albums, the latest one dedicated to his late father. He received a total of 22 awards, including 8 Grammy, 5 Soul Train Music and 9 American Music.
Often referred to as ‘The Velvet Voice’, ‘The Best Voice of a Generation’ and ‘The Pavarotti of Pop’ due to his tenor vocal range, Luther inspired many artists such as Boyz II Men, John Legend, 112 and Jaheim, to name a few.
Vandross died of a heart attack on 1st July 2005 at the age of 54.