Luther Vandross

The American singer suffered from diabetes as well as hypertension. On July 1, 2005, he breathed his last at the age of 54.

After this death, a major portion of his estate was given as a gift to Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Luther Vandross was born as Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. on April 20, 1951 in New York City, New York, USA. His mother, Mary Ida Van Dross, was a nurse and his father, Luther Van Dross Sr., was a singer and upholsterer.

At the age of three, Vandross started playing the piano by himself. His parents encouraged his musical talents.

When he was eight years old, his father died of diabetes after which his family moved to the Bronx. There, Vandross’ sisters Ann and Patricia started taking him to theatres.

Vandross attended William Howard Taft High School and graduated from there in 1969. Later he attended the Western Michigan University and dropped out of it after a year to pursue his music career.

Luther Vandross started performing during his high school years. He sang many times at the Apollo Theater. During that time, he was also involved in the singles ‘Listen My Brother’ and ‘Only Love Can Make a Better World.’

In 1972, he added backing vocals to ‘Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway,’ the debut album by singers Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway. He also worked for Delores Hall on her album ‘Hall-Mark’ and sang with her on the track "Who's Gonna Make It Easier for Me". He contributed to another single titled "In This Lonely Hour" as well.

In the late 1970s, the American singer was a member of the singing quintet Luther along with Diane Sumler, Anthony Hinton, Christine Wiltshire and Theresa V. Reed. The group released the singles "Funky Music”, "The Second Time Around" and "It's Good for the Soul" which were relatively successful. However, their albums ‘Luther’ and ‘This Close to You’ didn't sell enough.

From 1977 to early 1980, Vandross sang and wrote commercial jingles for companies including Mountain Dew, Juicy Fruit, Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken and NBC. In 1978, he sang for Greg Diamond's band, Bionic Boogie. The same year, he appeared on Quincy Jones's album ‘Sounds...and Stuff Like That’.

In the late 1970s, he sang with a band named Soirée and served as the lead singer for the song titled "You Are the Sunshine of My Life". Vandross also made his appearance in the group Charme's album, ‘Let It In.’ After this, he finally made his career breakthrough as a featured vocalist with the pop-dance act Change and gave many hits such as "The Glow of Love" and "Searching”.

The single ‘Dance with My Father’ was the song that immortalized Luther Vandross. The lyrics were based on his childhood experiences and fondly recall memories of Vandross’ father who used to dance with his wife and young children. The song was a super-hit and also earned him two Grammy Awards.