Luther Vandross

Luther Vandross (born Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr.) (April 20, 1951 ? July 1, 2005) was an African-American R&B singer. During his career, Vandross sold 25 million albums and won eight Grammy awards including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four times. He won four Grammy awards in 2004 including the Grammy Award for Song of the Year for the track "Dance With My Father", co-written with Richard Marx.

Influences and followers

Vandross was inspired by the soul divas of the 1960s: Dionne Warwick, Patti Labelle & the Bluebells, Diana Ross & the Supremes and Aretha Franklin, for whom he eventually produced a few albums.

Related Topics:
1960s - Dionne Warwick - Patti Labelle - Diana Ross - The Supremes - Aretha Franklin

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Vandross did many covers of older songs, such as "Since I Lost My Baby" (originally recorded by The Temptations), "Superstar (Until You Come Back To Me)" (originally recorded by The Carpenters and most recently covered by Ruben Studdard), "Love Won't Let Me Wait" (originally recorded by Major Harris), "Always and Forever" (originally recorded by Heatwave), "Knocks Me Off My Feet" (originally recorded by Stevie Wonder), and "Lovely Day" (originally recorded by Bill Withers), and "A House is Not A Home", a Burt Bacharach standard. His hit "Love Power" included snippets of the soul classic "The Power of Love".

Related Topics:
Covers of older songs - Since I Lost My Baby - The Temptations - The Carpenters - Ruben Studdard - Major Harris - Heatwave - Stevie Wonder - Bill Withers

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Vandross inspired his J Records labelmate, Ruben Studdard, the American Idol of 2003. Besides Studdard, Vandross also inspired countless other artists, both male and female, such as Boyz II Men, Usher, Beyoncé, Alicia Keys and Brandy. It was with Beyoncé that he recorded yet another cover of a well-known song, "The Closer I Get To You", originally recorded by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway. Another American Idol contestant, Scott Savol of the 2005 season, had an affinity for Vandross' music, and he sang three of Vandross' famous songs during that season of the show (including "Superstar" in the show's Cleveland auditions).

Related Topics:
Ruben Studdard - American Idol - Boyz II Men - Usher - Beyoncé - Alicia Keys - Brandy - Donny Hathaway - Scott Savol - Cleveland

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