Luther Vandross

Designated the heartbeat of RB during the 1980s and 1990s Luther Vandross led a productive singing and song writing life At age 30 he finally recorded his first solo album with the No 1 RB and Top 20 pop chart maker Never Too Much He continued steadily with such albums as Forever for Always for Love in 1982 and Give Me the Reasons 1986 but it wasnt until 1989 that he had his first Top 10 single with Here and Now No 6 which finally placed him securely on the love song pedestal Such other No 1 RB singles would include Stop to Love Theres Nothing Better than Love and Any Love The 1990s seemed careerwise stronger than ever again with a Top 40 hit duetting with Mariah Carey in 1994 on My Endless Love and the release of his No 1 RB signature version of Always and Forever 1994 On camera film and TV acting appearances include a cameo in Robert Townsends motion picture The Meteor Man 1993 and episodes of Beverly HIlls 90210 as himself and Touched by an Angel A documentary Luther Vandross Always and Forever 1994 is also available Throughout his career Luther continued to write and produce for other artists including Whitney Houston Dionne Warwick Teddy Pendergrass Cheryl Lynn and Aretha Franklin Following his massive April 2003 stroke he made a phantom return to the spotlight with the release of his 2003 CD Dance With My Father which was recorded prior to his illness At the awards show the absent Luther was rewarded with four Grammys including song of the year The success also gave him his first No 1 album on the pop chart and four NAACP Image Awards The beloved 54yearold musician died at JFK Medical Centre in Edison New Jersey of his lingering complications and was survived by his Evangelist mother Mary Ida Vandross who was instrumental in promoting her sons last work to Grammy glory following his severe debilitation