With the Sundance Film Festival premiere of the new documentary, “Luther: Never Too Much,” the world is once again discussing the influence and impact of the singer. He kept his personal life private, but his emotions were always on display in his music. As the film revisits his life and career, we’re taking a look back at his classic hits and exploring some of our favorites.
It doesn’t matter what kind of event it is, wedding, birthday, family reunion, cookout, homegoing. When those first few beats of “Never Too Much” drops, the dance floor is instantly packed with people loudly proclaiming, “This is my jam!”
You have never in your life been to a Black wedding where classic wasn’t played. It is the quintessential Black love song.
With all due respect to Karen Carpenter, the minute Luther started singing, this became his song.
Only the legend could take this cold breakup track and make it a jam you can’t help dancing to. “Give me the reason to want you back” is empowering, but it also has a groove you can’t resist.
What’s beautiful about Luther’s many love songs is their simplicity. The way they describe love is joyful and pure. “So amazing to be loved. I’d follow you to the moon and the stars above” is all you really need.
Luther was such a brilliant vocalist, his prowess as songwriter/producer isn’t always appreciated as much as it should be. On “I Can Make It Better” he takes the familiar “leave your man” concept and crafts it into a compelling story. It’s a running theme in all his music.
There’s a sadness in Vandross’ love songs that lay his heart bare. Yes, he’s singing to all of us, but he’s also sharing his own pain and loneliness through his art.
With so many songs about love, any other artist’s catalog would feel repetitive. However, everytime Luther sang about love, he examined a different aspect of the emotion. And it works brilliantly every single time.
There’s a classic R&B groove that’s found in all Vandross’ tracks that you can’t teach. It’s the kind of musical intuition that some artists just inherently have.
One of the singer’s final hits is a devastating exploration of loss, closure and father/child relationships. If you don’t cry listening to this, you’re a robot.
You already know that putting Luther and Ms. Dionne together led to pure perfection.
The blend of sadness and hopefulness might make this Vandross’ most personal song. Though he knows he’ll find love soon, you still feel the loneliness of his wait. It’s simultaneously beautiful and heartbreaking.
Luther made plenty of covers, we could do a whole separate list of them. He has the very rare ability to make every single one feel like a brand new song, while also honoring the original. Aspiring vocalists should study “Going in Circles” to learn how to build a song to a proper climax.
Sometimes you hear a duet that’s so brilliantly sung and harmonized, you get lost in the music. That’s how we feel when we listen to Vandross and Lynn deliver this vocal masterclass.
Luther was such a master vocalist, he could bend and twist a melody into a musical sculpture like the artist he was. This is never more evident than when he performed this unforgettable break up song live.
