Luther Vandross — Never Too Much
Never Too Much · 1981
Label: Epic · Genre: Soul / Quiet Storm · Country: USA · From: New York, North America
Before Never Too Much, Luther Vandross was the most in-demand session singer in New York — he sang backup for David Bowie on Young Americans, voiced the jingle for the Change Your Life campaign, and appeared on dozens of records without his name on the cover. Epic Records gave him creative control of his debut, and he used it absolutely. The title track hit number one on the R&B chart for two weeks. Vandross wrote, produced, and sang every note of the record himself, extending a minor Dionne Warwick song, A House Is Not a Home, into a seven-minute tour de force that redefined what a ballad could be. The album sold two million copies and earned Grammy nominations for Best New Artist and Best R&B Vocal Performance.
Did you know: Vandross sang backup on David Bowie’s Young Americans (1975) at just 23 years old. Bowie chose him after hearing him demo songs in New York. The two remained friends, and Vandross credited Bowie with teaching him how a pop record could be both commercial and artistically uncompromising.
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