Luther Vandross is dead. Damn.
For those of us who found our first love in the 80s, Luther (no last name required) provided much of the soundtrack of our teenage years. He also had a strong dance/R&B side that made a Luther album good at a party - something to dance to, and something to romance to.
"If Only For One Night" may have been the anthem of my fumbling teenage romantic angst, while "Wait for Love" made it onto many high school mix tapes.
"Here and Now" and "Always and Forever" became cheesy wedding ballads, but the voice was unmistakable, and his duet with Mariah Carey on the remake of "Endless Love" even topped the Lionel Richie/Diana Ross original.
Luther was a pop icon in the 80s and early 90s, even working his way into Eddie Murphy's stand-up act as a "big Kentucky Fried Chicken-eating motherf*%#er". But his career waned as he battled health problems in the latter part of the 90s. Known for his girth (thus the Ediie Murphy reference), his weight fluctuated wildly as diabetes and hypertension ravaged him.
He made a big comeback with two huge singles, "Can I Take You Out Tonight" and "Dance With My Father", even as he fought through a debilitating car accident and a stroke. He never seemed to really recover from the stroke, complications of which claimed his life yesterday.
Some musicians seem phony, or plastic, or shallow. There was something about Luther that seemed genuine, that really touched people. You will be missed, you big KFC-eating mother...
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