Age, Biography, and Wiki
Luther Vandross was born on April 20, 1951, in Manhattan, New York. He grew up to become one of the most sought-after vocalists in the music industry, known for his work with artists like David Bowie and Diana Ross. Vandross was also the lead singer of the group Change before embarking on a solo career, releasing several hit albums and singles. He passed away on July 1, 2005, at the age of 54.
| Occupation | Blues Singer |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 20 April 1951 |
| Age | 74 Years |
| Birth Place | New York City, U.S. |
| Horoscope | Aries |
| Country | U.S |
| Date of death | 1 July, 2005 |
| Died Place | N/A |
Height, Weight & Measurements
There is limited public information available about Luther Vandross's exact height and weight. However, he was known for his distinct voice and stage presence.
In December 1985, Vandross filed a libel suit against a British magazine after it attributed his 85-pound weight loss to AIDS. He weighed 325 lb when he started a diet in May of that year.
Larry Salvemini, who was in the passenger seat, was killed in the collision. Vandross suffered three broken ribs, a broken hip, several bruises and facial cuts. Jimmy Salvemini, who was in the back of the car, had cuts, bruises and contusions. Vandross faced vehicular manslaughter charges as a result of Larry's death, and his driving license was suspended for a year. There was no evidence that Vandross was under the influence of alcohol or other drugs; he pleaded no contest to reckless driving. At first, the Salvemini family was supportive of Vandross, but later filed a wrongful death suit against him. The case was settled out of court with a payment to the Salvemini family of about $630,000.
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Dating & Relationship Status
Luther Vandross never married and maintained a private personal life. There were speculations about his sexual orientation, but he never publicly addressed these rumors.
Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer. Over his career, he achieved eleven consecutive RIAA-certified platinum albums and sold over 40 million records worldwide. Known as the "Velvet Voice," Vandross was recognized by Rolling Stone as one of the 200 greatest singers of all time (2023) and was named one of the greatest R&B artists by Billboard. NPR also included him among its 50 Great Voices. He won eight Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year in 2004 for "Dance with My Father". He has been inducted into both the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame and the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. His birth occurred concurrently with General Douglas MacArthur's ticker-tape parade throughout the same city. He was the fourth and youngest child (Anthony, Patricia, Ann) as well as the second son of Mary Ida Vandross and Luther Vandross Sr. His father was an upholsterer and singer, and his mother was a nurse. Vandross was raised in Manhattan's Lower East Side in the Alfred E. Smith Houses public housing development. At the age of three, having his own phonograph, Vandross taught himself to play the piano by ear.
His father died of diabetes when Vandross was eight years old. In 2003, Vandross wrote the song "Dance with My Father" and dedicated it to him; the title was based on his childhood memories and his mother's recollections of the family singing and dancing in the house. His family moved to the Bronx when he was nine. His sisters, Patricia "Pat" and Ann, began taking Vandross to the Apollo Theater and to a theater in Brooklyn to see Dionne Warwick and Aretha Franklin perform. Patricia sang with the vocal group The Crests and was featured on the songs "My Juanita" and "Sweetest One".
In 2003, Vandross released the album Dance with My Father. It sold 442,000 copies in the first week and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart. The title track of the same name, which was dedicated to Vandross's childhood memories of dancing with his father, won Vandross and his co-writer, Richard Marx, the 2004 Grammy Award for Song of the Year. The song also won Vandross his fourth and final award in the Best Male R&B Vocal Performance category. The album was his only career No. 1 on the Billboard album chart. The video for the title track features various celebrities alongside their fathers and other family members. The second single released from the album, "Think About You", was the number one Urban Adult Contemporary Song of 2004 according to Radio & Records.
Vandross never married and had no children. His mother outlived all of her four children, and his three elder siblings along with his father all predeceased him due to diabetes and asthma.
In 2006, Bruce Vilanch, a friend and colleague of Vandross, told Out magazine, "He said to me, 'No one knows I'm in the life.' ... He had very few sexual contacts". According to Vilanch, Vandross experienced his longest romantic relationship with a man while living in Los Angeles during the late 1980s and early 1990s. In December 2017, 12 years after his death, Vandross' friend Patti LaBelle confirmed that he was gay. LaBelle further stated that "[Vandross] had a lot of lady fans" and "he just didn't want to upset the world".
At the 2004 Grammy Awards, Vandross appeared in a pre-taped video segment to accept his Song of the Year Award for "Dance With My Father", saying, "When I say good-bye, it's never for long, because I believe in the power of love (Vandross sang the last six words). His mother, Mary, accepted the award in person on his behalf. His last public appearance was on May 6, 2004, on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Vandross died on July 1, 2005, at the JFK Medical Center in Edison, New Jersey, at the age of 54 from a heart attack.
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Net Worth and Salary
At the time of his death in 2005, Luther Vandross's net worth was estimated to be around $40 million, primarily derived from his successful music career, real estate investments, and other business ventures. His earnings from album sales were substantial, with albums like "Dance with My Father" and "Never Too Much" achieving high certifications and sales figures.
Vandross was originally intended to perform on their second and highly successful album Miracles in 1981, but declined the offer as Petrus didn't pay enough money. Vandross's decision led to a recording contract with Epic Records that same year, but he also provided background vocals on "Miracles" and on the new Petrus-created act, the B. B. & Q. Band in 1981. During that year, Vandross jump-started his second attempt at a solo career with his debut album, Never Too Much. In addition to the hit title track it contained a version of the Bacharach & David song "A House Is Not a Home".
Business and Investments
- Real Estate: Vandross owned several properties, including a 23,000-square-foot estate in Connecticut, which he sold for $10.75 million in 1999.
- Investments: His business ventures and investments contributed to his net worth, although specific details are not well-documented.
Vandross collaborated on several notable duets, including "The Closer I Get to You" with Beyoncé, "Endless Love" with Mariah Carey, and "The Best Things in Life Are Free" with Janet Jackson of which the latter two were hit songs in his career. The tribute album So Amazing: An All-Star Tribute to Luther Vandross was released shortly after his death. In 2024, Kendrick Lamar and SZA released the chart-topping single "Luther", paying homage to Vandross and sampling his rendition of "If This World Were Mine", a duet with Cheryl Lynn. That same year, he was the subject of the documentary Luther: Never Too Much, which chronicles his life, career, and legacy.
Vandross graduated from William Howard Taft High School in the Bronx in 1969, and attended Western Michigan University for one and a half semesters before dropping out to continue pursuing a career in music.
While in high school, Vandross founded the first Patti LaBelle fan club, of which he was president. He also performed in a group, Shades of Jade, that once played at the Apollo Theater. During his early years in show business, he appeared several times at the Apollo's famous amateur night. While he was a member of a theater workshop, Listen My Brother, he was involved in the singles "Only Love Can Make a Better World" and "Listen My Brother". The group performed in front of tens of thousands at the Harlem Cultural Festival in late August 1969. Directly afterward, he appeared with the group in the pilot episode and other episodes of the first season of Sesame Street during 1969–1970.
Vandross also wrote and sang commercial jingles from 1977 until the early 1980s, for companies including NBC, Mountain Dew, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Burger King, and Juicy Fruit. He continued his successful career as a popular session singer during the late 1970s. His aforementioned song "Everybody Rejoice", sometimes called "A Brand New Day", was used in a Kodak commercial during the mid-1970s.
Vandross made his career breakthrough as a featured singer with the vaunted pop-dance act Change, a studio concept created by French-Italian businessman Jacques Fred Petrus. Their 1980 hits, "The Glow of Love" (by Romani, Malavasi and Garfield) and "Searching" (by Malavasi), featured Vandross as the lead singer. In a 2001 interview with Vibe, Vandross said "The Glow of Love" was "the most beautiful song I've ever sung in my life." Both songs were from Change's debut album, The Glow of Love.
The song "Never Too Much", written by Vandross, reached number-one on the R&B charts. This period also marked the beginning of a songwriting collaboration with bassist Marcus Miller, who played on many of the tracks and would also produce or co-produce a number of tracks for Vandross. The Never Too Much album was arranged by Vandross's high school classmate, Nat Adderley Jr., a collaboration that would last throughout Vandross's career.
On October 16, 2007, Epic Records/J Records/Legacy Recordings released a 4-disc boxed set titled Love, Luther. It features nearly all of Vandross's R&B and pop hits throughout his career, as well as unreleased live tracks, alternate versions, and outtakes from sessions that Vandross recorded. The set also includes "There's Only You", a version of which had originally appeared on the soundtrack to the 1987 film Made in Heaven. In October 2015, Sony Music released a re-configured edition of its The Essential Luther Vandross compilation containing three unreleased songs: "Love It, Love It" (which made its premiere a year prior on the UK compilation The Greatest Hits), a live recording of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" with Paul Simon and Jennifer Holliday, and a cover of Astrud Gilberto's "Look to the Rainbow".
Social Network
Although Luther Vandross passed away before the widespread use of social media platforms, his legacy continues to be celebrated through his music and online tributes.
Vandross began his music career in the late 1960s performing at the Apollo Theater in New York City as part of a local musical ensemble. The group later appeared on the television show Sesame Street in the early 1970s. He eventually established himself as a sought-after backing vocalist, contributing to albums by Roberta Flack, Donny Hathaway, Todd Rundgren, Evelyn "Champagne" King, Judy Collins, Chaka Khan, Bette Midler, Diana Ross, David Bowie, Ben E. King, Stevie Wonder, and Donna Summer. In 1980, he served as the lead vocalist for the post-disco group Change on their Gold-certified album The Glow of Love, released on Warner/RFC Records.
In 1978, Vandross sang lead vocals for Gregg Diamond's disco band, Bionic Boogie, on the song titled "Hot Butterfly". Also in 1978, he appeared on Quincy Jones's Sounds...and Stuff Like That!!, most notably on the song "I'm Gonna Miss You in the Morning" along with Patti Austin. Vandross also sang with the band Soirée and was the lead vocalist on the track "You Are the Sunshine of My Life"; he also contributed background vocals to the album along with Jocelyn Brown and Sharon Redd, each of whom also saw solo success. Additionally, he sang the lead vocals on the group Mascara's LP title song "See You in L.A." released in 1979. Vandross also appeared on the group Charme's 1979 album Let It In.
Vandross released a series of successful R&B albums during the 1980s and continued his session work with guest vocals on groups like Charme in 1982. Many of his earlier albums made a bigger impact on the R&B charts than on the pop charts. During the 1980s, two of Vandross's singles reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B charts: "Stop to Love", in 1986, and a duet with Gregory Hines, "There's Nothing Better Than Love". Vandross was at the helm as producer for Aretha Franklin's Gold-certified, award-winning comeback album Jump to It. He also produced its follow-up album, 1983's Get It Right.
In 2003, after the televised NCAA Men's Basketball championship, CBS Sports gave "One Shining Moment" a new look. Vandross, who had been to only one basketball game in his life, was the new singer, and the video had none of the special effects, like glowing basketballs and star trails, that videos from previous years had. This song version is in use today.
Education
There is limited information available about Luther Vandross's formal education. However, his early involvement in music and talent led him to pursue a career in the entertainment industry.
In summary, Luther Vandross's net worth at the time of his death was a testament to his successful music career and strategic business investments. His legacy remains strong, with his music continuing to inspire new generations of artists and fans alike.
