44 Facts About Luther Vandross

In 2004, Luther Vandross won a total of four Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Award for Song of the Year for a song recorded not long before his death, "Dance with My Father".

Luther Vandross was the fourth child and second son of Mary Ida Vandross and Luther Vandross, Sr.

Luther Vandross's father was an upholsterer and singer, and his mother was a nurse.

At the age of three, having his own phonograph, Luther Vandross taught himself to play the piano by ear.

Luther Vandross's father died of diabetes when Luther was eight years old.

In 2003, Luther Vandross wrote the song "Dance with My Father" and dedicated it to him; the title was based on his childhood memories and his mother's recollections of the family singing and dancing in the house.

Luther Vandross's family moved to the Bronx when he was nine.

Luther Vandross graduated from William Howard Taft High School in the Bronx in 1969, and attended Western Michigan University for one and a half semesters before dropping out to continue pursuing a career in music.

Luther Vandross performed in a group, Shades of Jade, that once played at the Apollo Theater.

Luther Vandross sang with her on the song "Who's Gonna Make It Easier for Me", which he wrote, and he contributed another song, "In This Lonely Hour".

Luther Vandross bought back the rights to those albums after Cotillion dropped the group, preventing them from being re-released.

Luther Vandross wrote and sang commercial jingles from 1977 until the early 1980s, for companies including NBC, Mountain Dew, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Burger King, and Juicy Fruit.

Luther Vandross continued his successful career as a popular session singer during the late 1970s.

In 1978, Luther Vandross sang lead vocals for Gregg Diamond's disco band, Bionic Boogie, on the song titled "Hot Butterfly".

Luther Vandross sang with the band Soiree and was the lead vocalist on the track "You Are the Sunshine of My Life"; he contributed background vocals to the album along with Jocelyn Brown and Sharon Redd, each of whom saw solo success.

Luther Vandross appeared on the group Charme's 1979 album Let It In.

Luther Vandross made his career breakthrough as a featured singer with the vaunted pop-dance act Change, a studio concept created by French-Italian businessman Jacques Fred Petrus.

Luther Vandross was originally intended to perform on their second and highly successful album Miracles in 1981, but declined the offer as Petrus didn't pay enough money.

Luther Vandross produced the follow-up album, 1983's Get It Right.

In 1983, the opportunity to work with his main musical influence, Dionne Warwick, came about with Luther Vandross producing, writing songs, and singing on How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye, her fourth album for Arista Records.

Luther Vandross recorded a version of this song on his Your Secret Love album in 1996.

In 1985, Luther Vandross first spotted the talent of Jimmy Salvemini, who was 15 at the time, on Star Search.

Luther Vandross thought Salvemini had the perfect voice for some of his songs and contacted him.

Luther Vandross sang the ad-libs and background vocals, along with Syreeta Wright and Philip Bailey, in Stevie Wonder's 1985 hit "Part-Time Lover".

In 1990, Luther Vandross wrote, produced and sang background for Whitney Houston in a song entitled "Who Do You Love" which appeared on her album I'm Your Baby Tonight.

Luther Vandross played a hit man who plotted to stop Townsend's title character.

Luther Vandross hit the top ten again in 1994, teaming with Mariah Carey on a cover version of Lionel Richie and Diana Ross's duet "Endless Love".

Luther Vandross appears on "The Lady Is a Tramp" released on Frank Sinatra's Duets album.

Luther Vandross made two public appearances at Diana Ross's Return to Love Tour: at its opening in Philadelphia at First Union Spectrum and its final stop at Madison Square Garden on July 6,2000.

In September 2001, Luther Vandross performed a rendition of Michael Jackson's hit song "Man in the Mirror" at Jackson's 30th Anniversary special, alongside Usher and 98 Degrees.

In 2003, Luther Vandross released the album Dance with My Father.

Luther Vandross, who had been to only one basketball game in his life, was the new singer, and the video had none of the special effects, like glowing basketballs and star trails, that videos from previous years had.

Luther Vandross's mother outlived all of her four children, and his three older siblings all predeceased him due to diabetes and asthma.

LaBelle shared that "[Luther Vandross] had a lot of lady fans" and "he just didn't want to upset the world".

In December 1985, Luther Vandross filed a libel suit against a British magazine after it attributed his 85-pound weight loss to AIDS.

Luther Vandross suffered three broken ribs, a broken hip, several bruises and facial cuts.

Luther Vandross faced vehicular manslaughter charges as a result of Larry's death, and his driving license was suspended for a year.

Luther Vandross died on July 1,2005, at the JFK Medical Center in Edison, New Jersey, at the age of 54 due to a heart attack.

Luther Vandross's funeral was held at Riverside Church in New York City on July 8,2005.

Luther Vandross was entombed at the George Washington Memorial Park in Paramus, New Jersey.

Luther Vandross was regarded as the "Pavarotti of Pop" by many critics.

In 2008, Luther Vandross was ranked No 54 on Rolling Stone magazine's List of 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.

Mariah Carey stated in several interviews that standing next to Luther Vandross while recording their duet "Endless Love" was intimidating.

The album featured vocal arrangements by Luther Vandross and was produced by Rex Rideout and Bud Harner.