Only the best of the best in the world of music will be feature in this page. X-cellent Artist will only recognised those artist that has the ability to capture the ears of the world.
LUTHER VANDROSS
The pre-eminent love man of '80s soul music, Luther Vandross is still wowing the ladies (and gentlemen) in the '90s with his silky songs of seduction. A talented songwriter and producer as well as an amazing singer, Vandross is one of those rare cats who can "do it all"; despite this, Vandross always manages to come across on record as sweet, sincere and willing to do 'most anything to make you happy.
Born April 20, 1951 in New York City, Vandross was already an in-demand session vocalist by the time he was in his early 20s. Through his session connections he would up singing on David Bowie's Young Americans, as well as going on tour with him. It wasn't until 1981, though, that Vandross became a star in his own right; Never Too Much, his debut, spawned a No. 1 R&B hit (the title track), and Vandross was on his way. While recording such early-'80s slow-jam classics as Forever, For Always, For Love, Busy Body and The Night I Fell In Love, he also found time to produce records by Aretha Franklin and Dionne Warwick. Duets with popular divas of the day were included on almost every Vandross album, and three of them--"How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye," with Warwick; "The Best Things In Life Are Free," with Janet Jackson; and "Endless Love" with Mariah Carey--became huge hits in their own right.
There are two schools of thought on Luther Vandross. One is that he makes the same album over and over; the other is that he's gradually refining his art as he goes along. For the former, The Best Of Luther Vandross comes highly recommended; it's certainly the best introduction to the man's magic. For the latter, there's no need to worry; barely a year goes by without another Vandross record showing up in the stores. I Know was released in the Fall of 1998. It was followed by Smooth Love in 2000, and a critically acclaimed self-titled debut for Clive Davis's J Records in 2001.
Sadly, just three months prior to the release of his 15th album, Dance With My Father, Vandross suffered a stroke. On the eve of the album's release, he remained unconscious and in critical condition in a New York hospital.
