Giant Pictures shared the trailer for Luther: Never Too Much today. Marvin Gaye referred to Vandross as our “greatest balladeer” when someone tried to give Gaye that accolade. Dawn Porter directed the film and conducted interviews with Dionne Warwick, Jamie Foxx, Mariah Carey, Roberta Flack, Richard Marx, and Fonzi Thornton. Decades of archived footage of Vandross is in the film that debuted at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Vandross started his career as a teenager singing with the dance music group Shades of Jade. In the 1970s, he sang backup for Roberta Flack, Chaka Khan, Bette Midler, Diana Ross, Barbara Streisand, and David Bowie.  His voice was also heard in several jingles for Kentucky Fried Chicken, NBC, Juicy Fruit, Burger King, and Mountain Dew.

In the ’80s, he was a featured vocalist with the group Change, and they had a hit with “The Glow of Love.” He went solo, and in 1981, Never Too Much was released, and the title track went to number one. His first four albums went platinum, and he lit up the R&B scene with several classic songs like “Don’t You Know That,” “Bad Boy/Having A Party,” “Since I Lost My Baby,” “Give Me The Reason,” “Wait For Love,” his duet with Cheryl Lynn, “If This World Were Mine,” and many more. Whitney Houston once compared Vandross’s voice to “silver because it cannot break.” The singer died in 2005 at the age of 54 after experiencing complications from a stroke. In the 19 years since his passing, music fans, critics, and artists have agreed that his voice is the standard for the male R&B singer. Luther: Never Too Much will have preview showings at AMC theaters on October 30th and open nationwide on November 1st. 

Luther Vandross and Marcus Miller wrote “Get It Right” for Aretha Franklin’s 1983 album of the same name. It was the second time Vandross produced an album for Franklin with him first taking the honor with her 1982 release Jump To It. “Get It Right” was a sassy dancefloor hit with an inspirational message of resilience. Miller’s bass, the backup singers, the trap drums and Franklin’s vocals made an indestructible groove that could make anyone dance and feel motivated to do their best in anything. Vandross was fulfilling a dream again after the success of Jump To It which earned Gold status.  Franklin was in the second decade of her career and proved her versatility and that she still had something musically vital to say in the ’80s. The album did not have high sales or climb the charts but “Get It Right” was a number-one R&B hit and has gone down as one of Franklin’s underrated dance classics. 

Songwriting legend Burt Bacharach died of natural causes on February 8th at age 94. Bacharach was responsible for some of the most memorable pop songs of the 20th century many co-written with Hal David. Dionne Warwick became a star in the ’60s singing “Don’t Make Me Over,” Anyone Who Had A Heart,” “Walk On By,” “I Say A Little Prayer” and “Do You Know The Way To San Jose” all written by Bacharach and David. Their work continued with endless hits recorded by Dusty Springfield, Herb Alpert, Tom Jones, Christopher Cross, Rod Stewart, Neil Diamond, Patti LaBelle and so many others. “The Look Of Love,” “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head” “Promises Promises” “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again” and “Only Love Can Keep Break A Heart” would all be recorded by several artists through the decades. Aretha Franklin recorded “I Say A Little Prayer” in the ’60s and Luther Vandross would be one of the artists to bring his legacy to the ’80s with his recording of “A House Is Not A Home.” 

Warwick’s career was revived in the ’80s when she recorded “That’s What Friends Are For” written by Bacharach and his partner Carole Bayer Sager. Bacharach started recording as a solo artist in 1965 and was most successful in that realm with his song “Trains and Boats and Planes” becoming a top hit in the UK that year. In the late ’90s, he co-wrote the Grammy-winning album Painted From Memory with Elvis Costello. His 2005 solo album At This Time, had guest appearances from Elvis Costello, Rufus Wainwright and Dr. Dre. Ron Isley collaborated with Bacharach on the Here I Am album of his compositions in Isley’s style. In 2013, Bacharach’s autobiography, Anyone Who Had A Heart was released. The songwriter was active through his later years performing at Glastonbury in 2015, scoring the film A Boy Called Po and working with pop artist Daniel Tashian. He was honored with induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. There are plans to release another Elvis Costello collaboration album in March 2023. The Songs of Bacharach and Costello are from the musical Taken From Life. 

Luther Vandross wrote “The Night I Fell In Love” with Marcus Miller for his fourth album also titled The Night I Fell In Love. Vandross’s silvery tenor personified romance and was supported in that expression with Lisa Fischer, Cissy Houston, Alfa Anderson, Phillip Ballou, Darlene Love, Paulette McWilliams, Brenda White King and Yvonne Lewis singing the sultry chorus. No one ever forgets his description of stars shining brighter than any other night as the most enchanting sign of love emerging between two people. Vandross’ ability to create magical feelings around the promise of love with his inviting tone encapsulated the whole album. The Night I Fell In Love connected with the fans and climbed the R&B charts and had other industry honors with two American Music Awards and one Grammy nomination. 

The subsequent tour was memorable with several fan anecdotes about the vocal interaction between Vandross and Fischer.  Thirty-seven years after the 1985 release of TNIFIL some people still believe it is Vandross’s best album but most agree on its overall musical significance. Vandross remains a current topic and influence in music 17 years after his passing. On April 20, 2021, Google made him the doodle of the day on what would have been his 70th birthday.