Image Credit: Don Hunstein Sony Music Ent
The first time I heard the vocals on the radio belonging to a round-faced, sweet smiling, youthful man, bellowing in song; “…a thousand kisses from you is never too much…”, I knew I was listening to the start of what would be a superstar career, such was the range, power and dexterity of the voice.
Arguably one of the best R&B, soul, pop-culture vocalist of the 20th Century, Luther Vandross dominated the music scene of the 80s up to the early 2000s with knee-bending ballads. Album after album of his went platinum.
Luther had a strong backing vocalist and jingle-singing career before the 1981 super-hit, Never Too Much and it’s through this ‘talking heads’ documentary that we get a potted history about this part of his career and other parts of his life.
Some of those talking heads are high profile and include Clive Davis, Jamie Foxx, Mariah Carey and Dionne Warwick.
A student of Motown, Luther in his early days studied hard, the likes of Diana Ross and the Supremes, Aretha Franklin and the style and grace of Dionne Warwick via the television, which influenced his performances.
He got one of his first breaks on television singing on the influential children’s programme Sesame Street. His career was further supported by David Bowie and some of his backing singing time was with Bette Midler. Even for die-hard fans, the film is packed full of information that wasn’t known before.
It’s well-known that Luther’s huge fan-base was female and of course he knew this and catered his music accordingly. He was known to send women into ecstasy and his music was often credited with softening the pathways to women’s hearts by men in-the-know (as demonstrated by Jamie Foxx in the documentary). But it wasn’t so much that women were in love, or indeed lust with Luther, it was that he provided a backdrop for their romantic dreams. If they could get their man to think like, maybe sing like Luther, or even take seriously the lyrics of the songs, then all their dreams could come true.
Whilst the Dawn Porter-directed film spends most of its time on Luther’s art, there is a light touch on his personal life and the huge speculation on his love life – but unfortunately not much. Not that the film should do so for salacious reasons, but it could have been an opportunity to look at society’s acceptance (or not) of what we now understand as the LGBTQIA+ communities, for example – especially in the entertainment industries at the height of Luther’s career. It was a hella different landscape back then!
If you’re seeking some nostalgia and a sing-along to big ballads that warm the cockles of your heart, you won’t go wrong with watching the film.
Luther: Never Too Much, a heartwarming tribute to an unfathomable singing talent can be seen on Sky Arts, Friday 14th February 2025.
Great News! The debut album by Luther Vandross, Never Too Much is being inducted to the Grammy’s Hall of Fame in a ceremony to take place on Friday May 16th 2025. Read more about the event via the button below.
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