His voice is flexible enough to splinter a single “no” into six or eight parts and transform “love” into a colorful spray of falsetto. He’s such an adept singer he can insert wildly long ad-libs - “goodnight” becomes “goodnight, good morning, good afternoon, hello, bye-bye baby, yeah yeah yeah” - and still find his way back to the beat. On stage in 1986, it’s remarkable the way Vandross is able to change the structure of a familiar song. He’s supported by rim-shot drums and thick bass he also pivots into liquid funk during the eruptive outro, a vocal showcase that later served as the basis for “Slow Jamz,” a major hip-hop hit in 2003 for Kanye West, Twista and Jamie Foxx. In contrast, Vandross’ imperious pleading never disappears beneath the orchestra. In this case, that’s a detriment sometimes it sounds like Warwick is fighting to be heard above the strings and brass. Warwick’s rendition was weighed down by the pop-opera scoring that often graced Bacharach and David songs in the Sixties. He was also smart to change the arrangement. His version is seven minutes long - probably not an option for Warwick in 1964 - and it crawls. Vandross opened it up and stretched it out. Warwick’s version feels rushed, but this is a song that needs space to maximize its drama. One of his innovations was to change the song’s pacing. Vandross, a vocal fan of Warwick who collaborated with her during the Eighties, first released his cover of “A House Is Not a Home” in 1981. Vandross was not intimidated - by the end of his performance, the crowd was roaring, and Warwick was wiping away a tear. Most notably, the crowd contained Dionne Warwick, the Entertainer of the Year honoree, who had released the Burt Bacharach–Hal David composition “A House Is Not a Home” as a single 24 years before. Janet Jackson was there, already a superstar thanks to her recently released Control, as was Anita Baker, a high-flying vocalist whose new Rapture album was well on its way to 5 million copies sold. The stroke also left Vandross with noticeable difficulty speaking and singing, as well as confinement to a wheelchair.Luther Vandross was facing a formidable crowd when he took the stage to perform “A House Is Not a Home” at the 1986 NAACP Image Awards. The stroke left him in a coma for nearly two months, during which time he also had to fight both meningitis and pneumonia (which required a tracheotomy).
He had just finished the final vocals for the album Dance With My Father, when on Aphe suffered a severe stroke at his home in New York City. Vandross suffered from diabetes and hypertension, both of which may have been brought on by family genetics as well as lifestyle and nutrition. But no matter what size he was or what he may have been going through, Luther sang and spoke about using love to heal. Luther dealt with his loneliness by eating, and his weight fluctuated between 190-340 pounds during his adult life. The long nights and roads started to get to him. But Luther’s success did not come without a price. Then the famed singer went out on his own. From there, the invitation to join him in the studio and on tour came and the rest is history.”Īfter a few years with Bowie, Luther took a leap of faith and ventured out on his own with a group called Change. After that addition, Bowie changed the name of that song, then the album was finished. “Bowie went back in the studio to add this song. Do you mind?'”ġ1 Foods that Unclog Your Arteries-FAST!
Bowie overheard it and said, ‘I want to record that. Put that down.’ So I put it down and next thing you know one thing led to another, and I was doing the vocal arrangements for the whole album. He was sitting right behind me at the board, and he said, ‘That’s a great idea. I didn’t know that Bowie had overheard all this. “I stated making little vocal arrangements and showing them to Robin. As a matter of fact, Robin is one of the girls with whom I used to sing in the hallway in high school with.” (photo courtesy of 2004 Grammy Awards tribute) He and his wife, Robin, had gotten married a couple of years before and he is also a singer. My friend Carlos, whom I had grown up with, got a job playing guitar for David Bowie,” explains Vandross. Once again, it was his love of music that impressed Bowie. Many don’t know but Luther got his big break from the late rock legend, David Bowie.
Played at weddings, family gatherings or just cleaning up at home, Luther’s songs are consider the ultimate love songs even after his death in 2005. What can be said about the velvety voice of singer, songwriter Luther Vandross? Songs like “Never Too Much”, “Glow of Love”, “A House Is Not A Home”, “If This World Were Mine” and “Dance With My Father” are considered by many as timeless tunes that still live on to this day.
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