![]() ![]() ![]() Later Grammy winners like 1991’s “Power of Love/Love Power” and 2003’s “Dance With My Father” remain as technically accomplished as they are emotionally moving, on both counts standing as testaments to his enduring legacy. In the decades that followed, Vandross continued to find ways to push the art forward instead of relying on the tried and true. He was, however, equally well known for his distinctive interpretations of classic pop and R&B songs, reflecting his knowledge and appreciation of the popular. ![]() Along with the irresistibly joyful title track of Vandross’ 1981 solo debut, Never Too Much, “A House Is Not a Home” also helped launch him after many years of working behind the scenes as a session vocalist and arranger for acts like David Bowie and Bette Midler and as the singer of “Searching” and “The Glow of Love,” two classy hits for the Italian/American disco group Change. Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, and Celine Dion have all acknowledged the impact that their sometime duet partner had on them. In the process, he transcends the ‘60s divas who inspired him-Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin-to create a model for those who followed. That’s just what he did on his astonishing 1981 cover of “A House Is Not a Home,” transforming the Burt Bacharach/Hal David classic into an acutely personal demonstration of his control, dexterity, and expressiveness. A suave yet warmhearted New Yorker who became one of R&B’s beloved balladeers from his solo breakthrough in the early ‘80s to his untimely death in 2005, Vandross was also a vocalist whose understanding of singing as an art form was so profound, he changed notions of what it could be. He passed away on July 2, 2005, at the age of 54.Luther Vandross was more than just a great singer. Even so, Vandross could always be counted on as the perfect complement to a night spent with a "friend" or the first few nights spent sleeping alone. Arrives by Tue, Nov 30 Buy Luther Vandross - Greatest Hits - CD at . Complete song listing of Luther Vandross on. When things came crashing in and bleak reality reared its ugly head in the mid-1990s, florid R&B gave way to less sentimental music. Blessed with a voice that was warm and soulful, Vandross' songs dripped with romance, promised love on the horizon, or turned a teary eye towards duos fading into solitude. Luther Vandross was the primary voice who provided the soundtrack for romantic rendezvous in the Reagan era, and by the mid-1980s, merely mentioning his name conjured up images of happy couples sipping Merlot in dimly lit rooms and chuckling at inside jokes - and, alternately, jilted lovers consoling themselves. All those good feelings and denial of social woes meant that romance was back in style, and while the glasses clinked and millionaires' bankrolls flourished, so too did music to love by. ![]() The 1980s were a period of unchecked greed and decadence, when the world donned rose-colored glasses that filtered out the homeless and made the hole in the ozone layer seem patched. ![]()
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