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Luther vandross songs 1970s12/13/2022 In 1974, Vandross’s friend, session guitarist Carlos Alomar, invited him to watch the recording of Bowie’s Young Americans album on which Alomar was playing. In 1975, his song A Brand New Day was featured in the original Broadway production of The Wiz, the breakthrough big-budget musical featuring an all-black cast reimagining The Wizard Of Oz. His first big break came in 1969 when he was asked to sing the alphabet on the very first episode of Sesame Street. He sang in high school choir, but he studied electrical engineering for a year at Western Michigan University, only to leave to try for a musical career. His father, an upholsterer, died when Vandross was eight-years-old, and he was raised by his mother, a nurse. The youngest of four children, he was born into a musical family on Manhattan’s Lower East Side and raised in the Bronx. Vandross’s exquisitely crafted, emotionally intimate tenor vocals sold more than 30 million albums. He was an entertainer who was able to be the bridge between the gospel-rooted, soul vocal style of the 1970s and the more pop-oriented R&B vocalists still popular today. He was well liked and respected in the recording industry. He was mentored by the great Roberta Flack, who saw in Vandross the makings of a truly great artist. Vandross started his career as a much in demand, first-rate backup session singer, adding luster and depth to the songs of Ringo Starr, Cat Stevens, Sister Sledge, Gary Glitter, Diana Ross, Roberta Flack, Carly Simon, Chaka Khan, Todd Rundgren, Donna Summer, Bette Midler, Chic, and Barbra Streisand. Vandross won eight Grammy Awards during his career, including for Song of the Year in 2004 for the touching Dance With My Father. He was the premier male R&B singer of his era. Slick, overproduced, modern R&B is not my favorite musical genre, but there is no denying the luscious, lustrous instrument that was the voice of Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. ”When I was larger, people said I was fat.
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