Who is luther vandross father

As a senior at William Howard Taft High School, Vandross became obsessed with the girl groups of the Motown label, as well as the gospel-based soul sounds being produced by the likes of Aretha Franklin and Cissy Houston. He was part of a crowd that liked to hang out in the school hallways and sing doo-wop. As he immersed himself more deeply in music, his interest in school waned.

His grades plummeted, and he became increasingly certain that his future was in the music industry. He quit after two miserable semesters, more determined than ever to pursue his dream of becoming a professional singer.

Although he received substantial royalties for the composition, the money was not enough to support him completely, and Vandross continued to work at a variety of "day jobs" while he continued in his pursuit of fame. In , Vandross received his first real professional break. A childhood friend, guitarist Carlos Alomar, had landed a job backing British singer David Bowie, and he invited Vandross to accompany him to a recording session during the making of Bowie's album Young Americans.

During the session, Bowie overheard Vandross mentioning some background vocal arrangement suggestions to Alomar. Bowie loved the ideas, and he immediately hired Vandross to sing and arrange backup vocals for the album. He also recorded a Vandross-penned song, "Fascination. Through Bowie, Vandross made many important connections in the music industry, laying the groundwork for his own budding career. One of the musicians to whom Bowie introduced Vandross was Bette Midler.

Impressed with his voice and ideas, she hired Vandross to sing backup vocals on her next two albums. Vandross soon became much sought after for singing and arranging work, and was finally able to concentrate on music full-time. He also became one of Madison Avenue's favorite voices for commercial jingles. During the late s, Vandross's anonymous voice was used to sell everything from fried chicken to long-distance telephone service, not to mention as a recruiting tool for the U.

Through this combination of commercial and backup work, Vandross was earning a more-than-comfortable living from music by the end of the s. Artistically, however, those jobs did not satisfy him, and he continued to try to break out as a solo act. He formed or joined several groups, with such names as Luther, Bionic Boogie, and Change, but none proved commercially viable.

He produced his own records and often addressed controversial themes. Marc Anthony is a singer, songwriter and actor of Puerto Rican descent who has made his mark through his Latin and salsa-inspired music. Martin Luther was a German monk who forever changed Christianity when he nailed his '95 Theses' to a church door in , sparking the Protestant Reformation.

Luther Vandross was a singer and songwriter whose smooth style and voice lent themselves to romantic ballads. Olivia Rodrigo —. Megan Thee Stallion —. Bowen Yang —. A minimalist stylist whose eloquent, velvety renditions were accentuated by spot-on phrasing and effortless vocal control, his image quickly led to such unwelcome sobriquets as "master of bedroom music" and the restrictive label of being a "ladies only" act.

He was also besieged by a wealth of other personal and health problems. A binge eater, his weight fluctuated through his career with his 6' 3" frame handling a diversity of to pounds at various stages, aggravated by constant career pressures and a roller coaster personal and romantic life. The never-married crooner was besieged by persistent reports that he was gay he never denied or acknowledged the reports , rumors that threatened his ladies' man career.

Moreover, Luther suffered from a mild form of diabetes, the disease that took the life of his father. In , he was the driver in automobile crash that killed one passenger a close friend with a charge of vehicular manslaughter finally reduced to reckless driving speeding. The s seemed, career-wise, stronger than ever again with a Top 40 hit dueting with Mariah Carey on "Endless Love" and the release of his No.

On camera, film and television acting appearances include a cameo in Robert Townsend 's film The Meteor Man and episodes of "Beverly Hills: " as himself and "Touched by An Angel".

A documentary, Luther Vandross: Always and Forever , is also available. Following his massive April stroke, he made a phantom return to the spotlight with the release of his CD "Dance With My Father" , which was recorded before his illness.

At the awards show, the absent Luther was rewarded with four Grammy Awards, including song of the year. The success also gave him his first No. The beloved year-old musician died of a heart attack on July 1, at the JFK Medical Center in Edision, New Jersey, and was survived by his Evangelist mother, Mary Ida Vandross, who was instrumental in promoting her son's last work to Grammy glory following his severe debilitation.

Sign In. Edit Luther Vandross. Showing all 33 items. Bowie put him on the recording of the song. When he was born, the doctor asked his mother what the child's first and middle names were.

She had already picked Luther for a first name but had not thought of a middle name; there happened to be a box of Ronzoni spaghetti on the table next to her bed, so she told the doctor that his middle name was Ronzoni, and that is the name on his birth certificate. Vandross also went on tour with Bowie, who also requested that he open for him.

Though it was daunting for Vandross, it gave him the exposure that would help him throughout his career. Working with Bowie brought Vandross to the attention of other singers and songwriters. But Vandross longed for his own solo career.

He formed a disco group named Luther, and released two albums for Cotillion Records. Neither record did well, and Vandross was soon singing backup again. What made the search for a record deal difficult was Vandross' insistence on having total creative control, something unheard of in the s and the s. He sunk his money into a home studio and put together his first album, Never Too Much. He was able to sign a deal with Epic Records and released his album in With each new release, Vandross's popularity grew.

His songs of romance and his vocal arrangements captivated audiences from around the world. According to the Los Angeles Times he said in an interview, "I consider my music to be universal.

My music is based solely on feelings, not analysis. The song, "Here and Now," received a Grammy Award, and became a wedding anthem.