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Luther Vandross

Luther Vandross

Photo courtesy Epic Records

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Luther Vandross: Forever, For Always, For Love (Epic)

Review by Sean O'Hagan, New Musical Express, 27 June 1987

ON THE soft focus cover shot, the transformation is complete: Luther the beige mannequin with compulsory wet look is a world away from the roly ...

Audio interviews

Luther Vandross (1989)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, March 1989

Luther Vandross talks about growing up in the Bronx and his early bands; his big break working on Bowie's Young Americans; meeting Marcus Miller; hanging out with Chic; and on producing, recording and singing... and his privacy and sense of self.

File format: mp3, file size: 70.8mb, interview length: 1h 13' 42", sound quality: ****

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David Bowie: Radio City Music Hall, New York NY

Live Review by Dave Marsh, Newsday, 31 October 1974

Bowie's soul doesn't glitter ...

Luther Are Good For The Soul

Profile and Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 13 July 1976

2008 introduction: "Luther are three girls and two guys whose debut single for Cotillion is attracting a lot of attention. They are not headliners yet, ...

Luther Vandross: The man most likely...

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 3 November 1981

With a wealth of musical experience behind him, via a string of hits with Change, background sessions for a host of Soul's top names and ...

Luther Vandross: Never Too Much (Epic EPC 85275)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 1 December 1981

ALTHOUGH 'NEVER Too Much' may be the first time that Luther Vandross has had his name high on the charts, it's far from the first ...

Aretha Franklin: Jump To It (Arista 204 742)

Review by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 24 August 1982

WELL, THE teaming of Aretha Franklin and Luther Vandross as her producer is magical and this is perhaps one of the really great Aretha albums ...

Luther Vandross, Cheryl Lynn: Greek Theater, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 28 October 1982

VANDROSS — A STAGGERING POTENTIAL ...

Luther Vandross, Into the Limelight

Profile and Interview by Richard Harrington, The Washington Post, 21 November 1982

  LUTHER VANDROSS is singin' on top of the world nowadays, master of a string of professions: singer, songwriter, arranger, producer. ...

Cheryl Lynn: Cheryl & Luther's Instant Love Affair...

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 30 November 1982

ONE OF the big success stories of the moment surrounds Cheryl Lynn, whose duet with Luther Vandross on 'If This World Were Mine' is currently ...

Luther Vandross

Interview by Geoffrey Himes, Musician, December 1982

LUTHER VANDROSS curled up in the stuffed arm chair with his Wizard-of-Oz red ruby shoes tucked under his massive bulk. When he described Dionne Warwick's ...

Vandross adds '60s Emotion to '80s Technology

Profile and Interview by Geoffrey Himes, Baltimore Sun, 17 December 1982

ANY REASONABLE list of this year's best soul albums has to include Cheryl Lynn's Instant Love (Columbia), Aretha Franklin's Jump To It (Arista), and Luther ...

Bland, Dull and Vandross

Profile and Interview by Lloyd Bradley, New Musical Express, 5 February 1983

LUTHER VANDROSS' world could be cut out from the pages of Jackie magazine. ...

Luther Vandross: Dominion Theatre, London

Live Review by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 26 February 1983

LUTHER KING! ...

Luther Vandross: Dominion Theatre, London

Live Review by Dave Rimmer, Smash Hits, 3 March 1983

BRITAIN MIGHT not yet have heard much of Luther Vandross, but over in the States he's a man much in demand. Primarily a vocalist, he ...

Dionne Warwick: How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye (Arista)

Review by James Hunter, The Village Voice, 3 January 1984

Dionne's Hot Date ...

Luther Vandross: Busy Body (Epic)

Review by Vivien Goldman, New Musical Express, 21 January 1984

MY DADDY warned me about fellers like Luther Vandross. He gave me, rest his soul, two sage sayings: "Never run after a bus or a ...

Marcus Miller Gets Around

Interview by J.D. Considine, Musician, May 1984

THE FUNKY THROUGH-LINE BEHIND LUTHER VANDROSS & ARETHA; THE JAZZY AGITATOR BEHIND MILES, GROVER & SANBORN ...

Marcus Miller: Bassline Return

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 14 August 1984

B&S EXCLUSIVE WITH MARCUS MILLER In this interview direct from the USA, the poll-winning bassman talks to John Abbey about his sparkling new album, the people ...

Luther Vandross: The Night I Fell In Love

Review by Barney Hoskyns, New Musical Express, 30 March 1985

[2004 note: It makes me wince to look back and see my jejune critical self dismissing ‘The Other Side of the World’ as "tediously soupy". ...

Luther Vandross: The Night I Fell In Love (Epic EPC 26387)

Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 6 April 1985

YOU EITHER think he's the saviour of soul or a lump of lard, Luther Vandross. And while his writing and singing skills have never been ...

Luther Vandross: Labours Of Love Made Easy

Interview by Paolo Hewitt, New Musical Express, 6 April 1985

LUTHER VANDROSS used to sing jingles for Kentucky Fried Chicken. Now he licks his voice round painful love lyrics. PAOLO HEWITT hears his confessions about ...

Luther Vandross: Give Me The Reason (Epic)

Review by Steve Bloom, Musician, January 1987

DESPITE FOUR consecutive platinum albums — and Give Me Reason is sure to be his fifth — Luther Vandross has not really come very far ...

Who Took the Heart out of Soul?

Comment by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 2 February 1987

As London prepares for more streamlined sophistication, Adam Sweeting wonders what happened to the sweat and suffering ...

Luther Vandross: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 6 February 1987

Deluxe on his side: Adam Sweeting on Luther Vandross's uptown sounds ...

Luther Vandross: The Language of Love

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, Melody Maker, 14 February 1987

So what does LUTHER VANDROSS, sex god to millions, do on a date? Does he even date at all? And what the hell happened when ...

Luther Vandross: Let's Start with Pacman

Interview by David Toop, The Face, March 1987

LUTHER VANDROSS SPRAWLS UNTIDILY ACROSS THE COUCH AND SHOOTS THAT LOOK. "MS PACMAN," HE CORRECTS. ...

Luther Vandross, Shirley Murdock: Inglewood Forum, Inglewood CA

Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 17 April 1987

VANDROSS JUST DOESN'T GO THAT EXTRA DISTANCE ...

Luther Vandross: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Mat Snow, Sounds, 11 July 1987

YOU CAN'T fake this kind of excitement. There can be no more exquisite thrill in live entertainment than a summery, scantily-clad soul crowd climaxing as ...

Luther Vandross

Profile by John McCready, Radio Times, August 1987

IT'S LIKE saying Miles Davis can play the trumpet, or Mike Tyson can knock most heavyweights into the middle of next week, but Luther Vandross ...

Luther Vandross: Any Love (Epic LP/Cassette/CD)

Review by Mark Sinker, New Musical Express, 8 October 1988

NO LOVE MACHINE ...

Prince/Michael Jackson/Luther Vandross: Live at the Capital Centre

Review by Geoffrey Himes, Columbia Flier , 20 October 1988

BOTH PRINCE and Michael Jackson came to the Capital Centre last week for a showdown between the two reigning giants of rock'n'soul. Appearing in the ...

Luther Vandross: The Heat Is On!

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 25 October 1988

Now considered THE pre-eminent soul singer of the '80s, Luther talks to David Nathan about living with success, his new material and The Heat tour ...

Luther Vandross, Anita Baker: Capital Center, Landover, MD

Live Review by David Nathan, Billboard, 29 October 1988

ON A TOUR appropriately billed The Heat, the inspired teaming of two of contemporary black music's hottest names can hardly miss. And judging from this ...

Luther Vandross, Anita Baker: Omni Coliseum, Atlanta GA

Live Review by Mark Cooper, The Guardian, 25 November 1988

Casanova in a shiny suit ...

Luther Vandross

Report and Interview by Mark Cooper, Time Out, 8 February 1989

LUTHER VANDROSS' popularity has firmly established him as the King of Soul. His songs of love and loneliness have sold millions, and now his only ...

Luther Vandross (1989) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages transcripts, March 1989

This is a transcript of Barney's audio interview with Luther. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...

Luther Vandross: The Soul Survivor

Profile and Interview by Mark Cooper, The Guardian, 24 March 1989

Mark Cooper on the awesome presence that is Luther Vandross ...

What A World For The Lonely Kind: Luther Vandross

Profile and Interview by Barney Hoskyns, The Times, 28 March 1989

LUTHER VANDROSS is the pre-eminent mainstream soul performer of the 1980s. As a singer, songwriter and producer he is – with the possible exception of ...

A night with the fat controller — Luther Vandross: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 1 April 1989

Adam Sweeting finds the rich fare of Luther Vandross a mixed blessing at Wembley Arena ...

Luther Vandross: Power of Love (Epic); Keith Washington: Make Time for Love (Qwest); Jon Lucien: Listen Love (Mercury)

Review by Geoffrey Himes, The Washington Post, 28 April 1991

YOU HEAR Luther Vandross's voice everywhere these days — and not merely on his own recordings. Listen to the recent albums by Freddie Jackson, Will ...

Luther Vandross: Battle Of The Bulge

Interview by Mark Cooper, Q, August 1991

ON THE HOSPITALITY TABLE OF Luther Vandross's suite at Hollywood's Four Seasons Hotel, four untouched plates of king prawns lie waiting next to a half-demolished ...

Jam & Lewis: Future Perspectives

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 16 June 1992

Jam & Lewis have been voted the best songwriters in the B&S poll of the second year in succession. However, in a chaotic year, the ...

Marcus Miller: Back to the Future

Interview by Jeff Lorez, Blues & Soul, 12 October 1993

CATCHING UP with Marcus Miller is no easy task. Forget about trying his home in New Jersey because he's hardly ever there. Chances are you'll ...

Luther Vandross: Songs (Epic, $15.98)

Review by Amy Linden, San Francisco Chronicle, 9 October 1994

Some Schmaltz From Vandross ...

Janet Jackson: Design of a Decade 1986-1996 (A&M)/Luther Vandross: Greatest Hits 1981-1995 (Epic)

Review by Richard Cook, MOJO, December 1995

Hit compilations from ‘80s-into-’90s soul megastars. ...

Luther Vandross: The Sadness Behind the Soul

Obituary by Jeff Lorez, Daily Telegraph, 7 July 2005

Although the mainstream world moved on from his polished, romantic approach, an army of fans stayed loyal to the sweet, melancholy songs of the late, ...

Luther Vandross

Obituary by Daryl Easlea, Record Collector, September 2005

THERE WAS SOMETHING special about Luther Vandross (who died 1st July). Free of the brashness of the other male soul performers of the 80s; here ...

Make Me Over: On Luther Vandross

Retrospective by Michael A. Gonzales, soulhead, 29 April 2014

THE GREAT SOUL SINGER, producer and interpreter of classic material Luther Vandross would've been sixty-three years old this month. ...

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