About Luther Vandross
Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr popularly known as Luther Vandross was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He was famous for being a lead singer of the group "Change". He left the group and then signed to Epic Records as a solo artist. He was an in-demand background vocalist for several different artists including Todd Rundgren, Judy Collins, Chaka Khan, Bette Midler, Diana Ross, David Bowie, Ben E. King, and Donna Summer. The group "Change" released its gold-certified debut album, "The Glow of Love", in 1980 on Warner/RFC Records.
Source: @pinknews.co.uk/
Joining Epic Records, Luther released his debut solo album, "Never Too Much", in 1981. His hit songs include "Never Too Much", "Here and Now", "Any Love", "Power of Love/Love Power", "I Can Make It Better" and "For You to Love". During his career, he sold over 35 million records worldwide and received eight Grammy Awards including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four different times.
Early Life and Family
Born at Bellevue Hospital, in the Kips Bay neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, the USA, Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr.'s nationality was American as he was the citizenship of American. However, he came from a mixed ethnical background of African-American. Thus, his race was black. His date of birth was 20th April 1951. Taurus was his Zodiac sign and his religion was Christian. Lastly, he celebrated his 54th birthday. On 20th April 2021, Google celebrated his 70th birthday with a Google Doodle with an animated clip that plays Vandross's song Never Too Much.
Luther's parents are mother, Mary Ida Vandross (nurse), and father, Luther Vandross Sr. (singer). When he was eight years old, his father died of diabetes after which his family moved to the Bronx. His mother, Mary Ida Vandross, died in 2008. About his siblings, he has four named Ann D. Sanders, Charles Anthony Vandross, Patricia Van Dross, Patricia Vandross.
Talking about his educational background, Luther attended William Howard Taft High School from where he graduated. Then, he attended Western Michigan University and later dropped out to focus his career in the music field.
Luther Vandross Personal Life
Luther Vandross was unmarried during his lifetime and he was believed to be single during the time of his death. He had no children. His sexual orientation was a subject of media speculation. Jason King, writing in Vandross's obituary in The Village Voice, said: "Though he never came out as gay or bisexual, you had to be wearing blinders." According to Gene Davis, a television producer who worked with Vandross, "Everybody in the business knew that Luther was gay". According to Vilanch, Vandross experienced his longest romantic relationship with a man while living in Los Angeles during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Source: @instagram.com/luthervandross
Luther Vandross Net Worth
As of 2021, the net worth of Luther was estimated to have $40 million as per sources. His major source of wealth was from his singing career. He had made a huge fortune from his career back to his death. However, he had not mentioned anything about his career earnings to the media.
Luther Vandross Body Measurements - Height and Weight
Handsome man in his era, Luther Vandross stood tall at the height of 6 ft 3 in. His hair color was dark brown and his eye color was also dark brown.
Luther Vandross Cause of Death
On July 1, 2005, Luther Vandross dies at 54. His funeral was held at Riverside Church in New York City on July 8, 2005. His death cause was a heart attack. He died at the JFK Medical Center in Edison, New Jersey.
Discography
- Luther (1976)
- This Close to You (1977)
- Never Too Much (1981)
- Forever, for Always, for Love (1982)
- Busy Body (1983)
- The Night I Fell in Love (1985)
- Give Me the Reason (1986)
- Any Love (1988)
- Power of Love (1991)
- Never Let Me Go (1993)
- Songs (1994)
- This Is Christmas (1995)
- Your Secret Love (1996)
- I Know (1998)
- Luther Vandross (2001)
- Dance with My Father (2003)
Luther Vandross Tours
- Luther Tour (1981)
- Forever For Always For Love Tour (1982–1983)
- Busy Body Tour (1984)
- The Night I Fell in Love Tour (1985–1986)
- Give Me the Reason Tour (1987)
- Any Love World Tour (1988–1989)
- Best of Love Tour (1990)
- The Power of Love Tour (1991)
- Never Let Me Go World Tour (1993–1994)
- Your Secret Love World Tour (1997)
- Take You Out Tour (2001–2002)
- BK Got Soul Tour (2002)
Awards and Achievements
- Eight Grammy Awards, out of which four Grammys were for the songs "Dance with My Father" and "The Closer I Get to You" under different categories in 2004
- Four Soul Train Music Awards under the category 'Best R&B/Soul Album – Male' for the songs "Give Me the Reason", "Here and Now", "Power of Love" and "Dance with My Father"
- Honored with American Music Awards nine times in his career
- Awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
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