Luther Vandross

Luther Ronzoni Vandross (April 20, 1951 - July 1, 2005) was an American Soul and R&B singer. A formidable artiste whose career spanned four decades- 70's (as backing singer to David Bowie's Young Americans) and Chic, as well as his own explosion on the decades music with "Superstar, A House is not a Home". In the 80's a vocalist on early Change singles (Searching) continuing a solo career that perhaps never realized its true potential. In the 80's Luther became an R&B icon with such releases as "Never too Much", "Power of Love", "If only for One Night", "Here and Now", plus many others. In the 90's he was probably more famous for duets with Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey, among others. It was an ongoing battle with his weight that may have ultimately proved his undoing. Luther suffered a stroke in 2003, from which he never really recovered, and he passed away on 1st of July 2005. 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. Luther Vandross is an icon still today in the world of R&B and American Soul music.