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...

Sylvester part 2

Sylvester's fame increased following the release of his solo album. He became a friend of Harvey Milk and appeared in The Rose, starring Bette Midler. He was on the verge of mainstream success...

... Which came with his next album, 1978's Step II. With this album, Sylvester fully embraced the then prevalent Disco sound, although he was initially unsure that it was a suitable genre for him to work in. During production of the album, Sylvester invited the musician Patrick Cowley to join his studio band, being impressed by Cowley's innovative techniques using synthesizers. The album landed Cowley a job as a back-up musician on Sylvester's subsequent world-wide tours, and the two started a close friendship and collaboration.

The album, contained two big hit singles: firstly, there was Dance (Disco Heat). It became Sylvester first US Hot 100 hit peaking at #19. It also made #4 in the R&B chart, #1 in the US Dance chart and #29 in the UK. A great song.

Then there was You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real). The song was written by James Wirrick and Sylvester, produced by Harvey Fuqua and Sylvester, and mixed by Patrick Cowley. It made #8 in the UK, #36 in the US Hot 100 and #1 in the US Dance chart. More than these numbers suggest, the song would become one of the biggest Disco hits ever, a classic moment of the era. Here's the single version:

... and here's the extended mix:

Also in 1978, he entered into a relationship with a young white model named John Maley; Sylvester later devoted the song "Can't Forget the Love" from his Too Hot to Sleep album to his young lover. Maley ended the relationship to move to Los Angeles, later recollecting that Sylvester "was a lovely man, and I owe him a lot."

His next album, Stars, came out in 1979. It contained a version of the classic Leiber-Stoller song I (Who Have Nothing). It was to be his last US Hot 100 hit, peaking at #40. It was, however, one of many US Dance chart hits, this one peaking at #4.

Body Strong was also a dance hit:

... so was Stars:

Can't Stop Dancing was an non-album release, making #2 in the US Dance chart.

You Are My Friend, the Patti Labelle hit, was recorded for the live album Living Proof and made #30 in the US R&B chart.

From 1980's Sell My Soul, here's I Need You, a #6 in the US Dance chart.

From 1981's Too Hot to Sleep, here's a different, more sensitive and soulful side of Sylvester: the song dedicated to his lover John Maley, Can't Forget the Love.

Also in 1981, Sylvester entered into a relationship with a slim brunette from named Michael Rayner, but unlike his predecessors, he did not move into Sylvester's house; their partnership ended when Rayner admitted that he had not fallen completely in love with Sylvester. Sylvester's next major relationship was with Tom Daniels, a hairdresser whom he met in 1982, but their romance ended after six months when Daniels discovered that Sylvester had been having sex with other men while on tour. The singer's final partner, the architect Rick Cranmer, was a six-foot two blonde, and the duo moved into a house together in the hills. Cranmer died of AIDS-related complications in 1987, the year before Sylvester succumbed to the virus.

Meanwhile, Sylvester was still making  music. In 1981 he collaborated with Herbie Hancock and the end result was Magic Number:

Both the Two Tons O' Fun and Sylvester came to suspect that Fantasy Records had failed to pay them all of the money that they were owed from the sale of their records. Sylvester left Fantasy and in November 1982 he filed a lawsuit against them; it ultimately proved successful in establishing that the company had been withholding money from him totaling $218,112.50. Nevertheless, Fuqua proved unable to pay anything more than $20,000, meaning that Sylvester never saw the majority of the money that was legally owed to him. Sylvester grew to despise Fuqua, and forbade his friends from ever mentioning his name.

Closely associated with the now unpopular disco and having had no hit singles in the preceding few years, after leaving Fantasy Sylvester was not a particular draw for major record labels. Recognizing this state of affairs, in 1982 Sylvester commented that "there's nothing worse than a fallen star" who still has "illusions" of their continuing fame. Rather than chasing major chart success, Sylvester wanted to focus on retaining creative control over his music. Hiring his former tour manager and longstanding friend Tim McKenna as his new manager, Sylvester decided to produce his next album with Megatone Records, a small San Francisco company that had been founded in 1981 by Patrick Cowley and Marty Blecman and which catered largely to the gay club scene. The result was All I Need (1982), on which James Wirrick had written most of the songs, which were dance-orientated and influenced by the New Wave. Sylvester insisted that he include several ballads on the album. Do Ya Wanna Funk was the first hit of the album, peaking at #4 in the US Dance chart and also becoming a minor hit in Europe.

Don't Stop peaked at #3 in the US Dance chart:

All I Need was also a #3 Dance hit:

His next album, 1983's Call Me, included a remake of Band Of Gold:

... As well as the song Too Late:

His album M-1015 (1985), included Take Me to Heaven:

... And Sex:

Sylvester's final album, Mutual Attraction (1986), was produced by Megatone but licensed and released by Warner Bros. It was a bigger hit than the previous two and included a cover of Stevie Wonder's Living for the City, a #2 Dance hit.

Also in this album, Someone like You was to be his last #1 Dance hit. It also made the R&B chart at #19.

Mutual Attraction, the title track, was to be his last Dance Top 10 hit (at #10).

In 1985, Sylvester's boyfriend, Rick Cranmer, became aware that he had become infected with HIV; with no known medical cure, his health deteriorated rapidly and he died in September 1987. Sylvester was devastated, and although recognizing that he too was probably infected, he refused to have his blood tested, only noticing the virus' first symptoms when he developed a persistent cough. Beginning work on an album that would remain unfinished, he moved into a new apartment on Collingwood Street in the Castro, and tried his best to continue performing in the Bay Area, even though he became too sick to undertake a full tour. Eventually diagnosed with AIDS, he was hospitalized for sinus surgery in late 1987, and upon returning to his apartment he began to be cared for by his mother and his former backing singer Jeanie Tracy, before being hospitalized again in May 1988, this time with pneumonocystis pneumonia. Returning to his flat, he gave away many of his treasured possessions and wrote his will.

Having lost a lot of weight and unable to walk easily, he attended the Castro's 1988 Gay Freedom Parade in a wheelchair, being pushed along in front of the People with AIDS banner; along Market Street, assembled crowds shouted out his name as he passed. The subsequent 1988 Castro Street Fair was named "A Tribute to Sylvester," and although he was too ill to attend, crowds chanted his name to such an extent that he was able to hear them from his bedroom. He continued to give interviews to the media, being open about the fact that he was dying of AIDS, and sought in particular to highlight the impact that the disease was having in the African-American community. In an interview with the NME, he stated, "I don't believe that AIDS is the wrath of God. People have a tendency to blame everything on God."

For Thanksgiving 1988, his family spent the holiday with him, although he had developed neuropathy and was increasingly bed-ridden and reliant on morphine; he died in his bed on December 16, 1988 at the age of 41. Sylvester had planned his own funeral, insisting that he be dressed in a red kimono and placed in an open-top coffin for the mourners to see, with his friend Yvette Flunder doing his corpse's makeup. He wanted Tracy to sing at his funeral, accompanied by choirs and many flowers. The whole affair took place in his church, the Love Center, with a sermon being provided by Reverend Walter Hawkins. The event was packed, with standing room only, and the coffin was subsequently taken and buried at his family's plot in Inglewood Park Cemetary. Sylvester bequeathed all future royalties from his work to San Francisco-based HIV/AIDS charities.