The soul balladeer's strong commitment to the art of music continued on its Grammy-winning course, even after an acute stroke in left him severely incapacitated and unable to continue public appearances. Luther Ronzoni Vandross was born in New York in , the baby of four children. His father, also named Luther, was an upholsterer who died of diabetes when the singer was just 8. Despite this sadness, his mother, a practical nurse, made sure that music was prevalent in the Vandross household, particularly gospel, soul and doo-wop. Luther was influenced by his older sister Patricia, who became a member of a doo-wop group called The Crests , and scored with "16 Candles", a hit. In high school, Luther formed his own musical group and first started to write and compose. He also sang in the film's choir selections. After performing with a short-lived singing group called "Luther", which was formed to include the talented musicians Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards , who later formed the group, Chic , Luther returned to the background and took part in various projects for Quincy Jones and others.
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We and our partners use cookies to personalize your experience, to show you ads based on your interests, and for measurement and analytics purposes. By using our website and our services, you agree to our use of cookies as described in our Cookie Policy. Not only did he score a series of multi-million-selling albums containing chart-topping hit singles and perform sold-out tours of the U. He also performed these functions for other artists, providing them with hits as well. Possessed of a smooth, versatile tenor voice, he charmed millions with his romantic music. Smith housing projects in lower Manhattan. Both of his parents, Luther Vandross, Sr. Vandross, Sr. After the death of his father in when he was eight years old, he was raised by his mother, who moved the family to the Bronx. After graduating from high school that year, Vandross attended Western Michigan University, but dropped out after a year and returned home.
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More Images. Please enable Javascript to take full advantage of our site features. Edit Artist. His first big break came in , when he performed as a backing singer on David Bowie 's Young Americans album, and received a co-writer credit after his song "Funky Music" was adapted by Bowie to become "Fascination". Reed, and Christine Wiltshire, also called Luther. In , Luther released his debut solo album Never Too Much. Between and , five albums were released, all selling over a million copies each. Over the years, he was awarded five platinum and one double platinum disc, as well as winning 8 Grammy awards. He died July 1, at the age of 54, two years after suffering a major stroke.
