Luther Vandross is remembered for his amazing voice, and while he never really cracked the Australian charts on his own, he was a huge artist in the USA.
Explore his life and work via a feature length documentary airing on NITV on Sunday night. Luther- Never Too Much was first released in 2024 and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
It was in the area of duets that Vandross found success in Australia. In 1992 The Best Things in Life are Free, his collaboration with Janet Jackson held the number 2 spot for five consecutive weeks. It was the sixth biggest song in Australia for the whole year. It was kept from the top spot on the charts by Billy Ray Cyrus.
Two years later he teamed up with Mariah Carey for a cover of Endless Love, which had originally been a hit for Diana Ross and Lionel Ritchie.
In the USA the picture was different with Vandross scoring many big hits, and he had a huge female fan base.
It was only after his death that friends publicly confirmed that Vandross was gay. While his sexuality had been an open secret in the entertainment industry, he never publicly spoke about being same-sex attracted. In 1985 a British tabloid had suggested that Vandross had AIDS, and he sued them for defamation, noting that is sudden weight loss was due to an intensive diet.
Throughout his career Vandross struggled with his weight, and later in life lived with diabetes and hypertension.
The documentary follows the story of Vandross, from growing up in Harlem to first finding success in as a member of vocal group Listen My Brother, and they got their big break as vocalists on a new TV show- Sesame Street.
As the 1970s began Vandross was working as a much sought after backing singer, and also began writing songs for artists. He worked with David Bowie on his 1975 album Young Americans and subsequently toured with Bowie, and later Bette Midler.
One of his compositions was transformed into David Bowie’s Fascination and he later wrote the song Everyone Rejoice / A Brand New Day for the Broadway musical The Wiz.
As a backing singer he was in high demand and can be heard on acclaimed records by Donny Hathaway, Roberta Flack, Chaka Khan, Ben E. King, Diana Ross, Carly Simon, Barbra Streisand, Donna Summer, Sister Sledge, Chic and Cat Stevens.
Producer Nile Rogers shares that Vandross sings on all of Chic’s classic 1970s albums and cavalcade of disco hits.
His first record deal was for a vocal band that featured his name, the group Luther released two albums which were moderately successful, but Vandross was still a singer for hire singing everything from obscure disco records to many, many advertising jingles.
He finally found his own space in the spotlight in the 1980s releasing a string of high selling RnB albums. His first hit under his own name was Never Too Much. Around the same time he produced albums for Aretha Franklin and Dione Warwick. Jazz musician Marcus Miller was a regular collaborator. Later he would craft songs for Diana Ross and Whitney Houston.
The documentary is filled with archival footage, and a narrative created through interviews of those who worked with the musician, and interviews with Vandross.
In 2003 he worked with Richard Marx and created his fourteenth and final album Dance With My Father, which referenced Vandross losing his parent at just eight years of age. Vandross would not record again, as soon after his health declined significantly. The title song won the Grammy for Song of the Year, but Vandross was too ill to collect the award.
Dive into the life and work of Luther Vandross on NITV at 8:30pm, and catch it on SBS OnDemand.
