Question 1

Did Luther Vandross write his own songs?

Accepted Answer

Mostly, though the answer changes from album to album. He wrote every track on his 1981 debut Never Too Much except the closing Bacharach and David cover "A House Is Not a Home", and he produced the whole record himself. The Epic albums that followed kept that pattern, with Vandross writing or co-writing the bulk of each one beside Marcus Miller, Nat Adderley Jr. or Reed Vertelney, and one or two reworked standards per record. Then there are the exceptions. His 1994 album Songs is covers from end to end. On the 2001 self-titled J Records album the lead single "Take You Out" was written by Warryn Campbell, Harold Lilly and John Smith, with no Vandross credit anywhere on it.

Question 2

Did Luther Vandross produce his own albums?

Accepted Answer

He produced Never Too Much alone in 1981 and stayed at the desk through the Epic years. Even on Dance with My Father in 2003, his last studio album, he produced or co-produced twelve of the fourteen tracks. The outliers went to Shep Crawford and Nat Adderley Jr.

Question 3

Who wrote "Dance with My Father"?

Accepted Answer

Vandross and Richard Marx. The two shared the 2004 Grammy for Song of the Year for it, and Vandross took Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for the recording, his fourth win in that category.

Question 4

Who wrote "Never Too Much"?

Accepted Answer

Vandross wrote and produced it. The single topped the Hot Soul Singles chart for two weeks, reached number four on the National Disco Action Top 80, and crossed into the Hot 100 top 40. The album it opens was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2025.

Question 5

Who did Luther Vandross write with most often?

Accepted Answer

Marcus Miller, who played bass on the debut and stayed for two decades. The pair were nominated for Best R&B Song for "Any Love" in 1989 and "Little Miracles (Happen Every Day)" in 1994, and won the category in 1992 for "Power of Love/Love Power" with Teddy Vann. Nat Adderley Jr., a high school classmate, arranged from Never Too Much onward and shared the 1987 Best R&B Song nomination for "Give Me the Reason". Reed Vertelney co-wrote "Heaven Knows" and "Your Secret Love".

Question 6

Which Luther Vandross songs are covers?

Accepted Answer

Several of the ones people know best. "A House Is Not a Home" came from Dionne Warwick, "Since I Lost My Baby" from the Temptations, "Superstar" from Delaney and Bonnie, "If Only for One Night" from Brenda Russell, and "Always and Forever" from Heatwave. The 1994 album Songs is a covers project outright, and its "Endless Love" duet with Mariah Carey, a Lionel Richie and Diana Ross song, peaked at number two.

Question 7

Did Luther Vandross write songs for other artists?

Accepted Answer

He wrote "So Amazing" for Dionne Warwick's 1983 album How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye and only recorded it himself years later. He wrote and produced "It's Hard for Me to Say" for Diana Ross in 1987 and "Who Do You Love" for Whitney Houston in 1990. "Everybody Rejoice" from the Broadway musical The Wiz is also his.

Question 8

What did Luther Vandross write before he went solo?

Accepted Answer

"Funky Music (Is a Part of Me)", which David Bowie rewrote with him as "Fascination" for Young Americans, and which Vandross later cut with his own band Luther. Earlier still, he wrote "Who's Gonna Make It Easier for Me" for Delores Hall's 1973 album Hall-Mark and sang it as a duet with her.

Question 9

Why do the J Records albums sound different?

Accepted Answer

Clive Davis signed him in 2000 and surrounded him with contemporary producers. The 2001 self-titled album carries fifteen credited producers, among them Babyface, Warryn Campbell, Soulshock and The Underdogs, with Adderley and Miller brought back for a handful of tracks. Dance with My Father two years later shrank the room again and put Vandross back in charge of most of it.

Question 10

Did Luther Vandross produce records for other singers?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and the credits are real hits rather than favours. He produced Aretha Franklin's Jump to It in 1982 and Get It Right in 1983, both of which produced number one R&B title tracks. He also produced Cheryl Lynn's Instant Love, which carried their "If This World Were Mine" duet, and Dionne Warwick's How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye.