Luther Vandross

The last two artists that we have focused on had been out and proud. Now, unfortunately, it's time to get back in the closet.

Luther Vandross (1951-2005) was born in New York City. At the age of 3 he learned to play the piano by ear. When he was 8, his father, an upholsterer and a singer, died from diabetes. After that, his mother, a nurse, his older siblings (one brother and two sisters) and he moved from Manhattan's Lower East Side to the Bronx. His sisters would often take him to the theatre to see Dionne Warwick and Aretha Franklin. Sister Patricia sang with the vocal group The Crests (16 Candles, Sweetest One).

Vandross was battling with weight problems all his life. "I have lost and gained hundreds of pounds in my lifetime" he once said. Consequently, he suffered from diabetes and hypertension. In 2003 he suffered a severe stroke, which left him in a coma for almost two months. He never actually fully recovered from it and two years later he died. During his career he sold over 35 million records worldwide and received 8 Grammy Awards.

Luther Vandross was a closeted man. Even though he wasn't dishonest about it (there were never any fake girlfriends or sham marriages, also when asked by the presss whether he was gay, he would always reply with some sort of variation of "it's none of your business"), he never got to say it either. Perhaps if he had lived longer...

In an article in Out Magazine, soon after his death, friends of his discussed his sexuality. One friend, writer Bruce Vilanch, told the magazine that he was aware of the star’s sexuality from the beginning of his career, he said: “”He was way ‘in’ (the closet). He said to me, ‘No one knows I’m in the life.'” He added, “He had very few sexual contacts.” Mr Vilanch said he knew of at least one gay romance between the singer and another man.

Another associate, gay journalist Michael Musto claimed the platinum album maker was desperate to find a boyfriend before he passed away, he said: “A famously open gay singer/songwriter (told me) Luther was dying to have a boyfriend. It was an inside show business open secret.”

Fans of the Grammy award winner have expressed disapproval at efforts to out Vandross less than a year after his death, but Michael Roberson, director of gay group People of Colour in Crisis, praised the magazine article, he said: “Clearly, a lot of black gay performers feel they can’t come out, yet it would be important, particularly to black gay young people, to see black gay role models.”

Now, let's talk about his career: he started out by being a sought after backup singer. In 1972, he added backing vocals to the self-titled album by Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway. In 1973 he sang in Delores Hall's album Hall-Mark. Here they are singing Who's Gonna Make It Easier for Me:

He also wrote Everybody Rejoice from the 1975 Broadway musical The Wiz. Here's the version from the film version. Among others, you can hear Diana Ross and Michael Jackson:

Also in 1975, he co-wrote and sang backup on David Bowie's Fascination:

Vandross also sang backing vocals for artists including Chaka Khan, Ben E. King, Bette Midler, Diana Ross, Carly Simon, Barbra Streisand, Donna Summer and many others.

Before his solo breakthrough, Vandross was part of a singing quintet in the late 1970s named Luther, signed to Cotillion Records. Although the singles It's Good for the Soul, Funky Music (Is a Part of Me) and The Second Time Around were relatively successful, their two albums, which Vandross produced, didn't sell enough to make the charts. Vandross bought back the rights to those albums after Cotillion dropped the group, preventing them from being re-released. Here's It's Good for the Soul:

In 1978, he appeared on Quincy Jones' Sounds...and Stuff Like That!! singing I'm Gonna Miss You in the Morning with Patti Austin:

His breakthrough came when in 1980 he was invited to sing in an Italian-American post-Disco group called Change. Their first single A Lover's Holiday was a US Top 40 hit (at #40), as well as a #4 in the R&B chart. It spent 9 weeks at #1 in the Dance chart. It was also a hit in the UK (#14) and the Netherlands (#15):

Also part of the single was the song Searching. Here, Luther is on lead vocals:

In 1981 he finally had his first solo hit. His album Never Too Much peaked at #1 in the R&B chart and #19 in the Billboard 200, becoming double-platinum in the process. The single of the same name also made #1 in the R&B chart and #33 in the Hot 100. It also made #13 in the UK and #18 in Ireland.

In 1982 he duetted with Cheryl Lynn in If This World Were Mine (#4 R&B):

In 1983 he released How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye, a duet with Dionne Warwick (#7 R&B, #27 Hot 100):

In 1984 there was the medley of two great songs, Superstar/Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do):

In 1985, Til My Baby Comes Home made #29 in the Hot 100 and #4 R&B:

1986 was a good year for Vandross with 3 hits, the biggest of which was Stop To Love (#1 R&B, #15 Hot 100):

From 1987, here's not his biggest hit of the year, but my favorite one of the year. Here is So Amazing:

In 1988 Any Love was his 4th #1 R&B hit:

Here And Now (1989) was his biggest hit in the 80s. It was certified gold and made #6 in the Hot 100 and #1 R&B:

Power of Love/Love Power (1991) was also very big: #4 in the Hot 100 and #1 R&B.

In 1992 he collaborated with Janet Jackson, BBD and Ralph Tresvant in The Best Things in Life Are Free (#1 R&B, #10 Hot 100, #2 UK, #8 Germany & Canada, #6 Ireland & New Zealand):

2 years later he duetted with Mariah Carey in a remake of Endless Love. (#7 R&B, #2 Hot 100, #3 UK, #14 Germany #6  Canada, #4 Ireland & #1 New Zealand):

In 2001 Take You Out brought him back in the US Top 40 (#26). It was also a #7 R&B hit:

I will close with my favorite Luther Vandross song: since I too lost my father at a young age (I was in my teens, he was in his mid-40s) and I still miss him even today, Dance With My Father resonates with me to the point of tears. It was also to be Luther's last big hit, a gold record in the US and a silver record in the UK:

I'd like to think that had Luther lived more, he would have found the boyfriend that he so desired and he would have found the courage to come out. Unfortunately, his life was cut short, so we'll never know...