Studio Album · No. 1
Never Too Much Songwriting Credits by Luther Vandross
Produced by Luther Vandross · Engineered by Michael H. Brauer (recording, mixing), Carl Beatty (engineer), Greg Calbi (mastering), Lincoln Clapp (assistant), Andy Hoffman (assistant), Nicky Kalliongis (assistant), Gregg Mann (assistant), Don Wershba (assistant)
Epic
R&BSoulPost-DiscoBoogie
Artist
86%
Authorship
Holds writing credit on 6 of 7 tracks
Authorship Breakdown 6 / 7 documented
Who wrote the songs?
Scored across the 7 tracks with documented writers, by whether Luther Vandross carries a lyricist or composer credit.
6 trackswritten by Luther Vandross
1 trackoutside writers
Luther Vandross's roles on this album
Share of the 7 tracks where a band member is credited, by role.
Lyricist86%
Composer86%
Producer100%
Performer100%
By the Numbers
7
Tracks
2
Lyricists
1
Producers
1
No.1 Single
1981
Released
Awards & Recognition 2
Grammy Award for Best New Artist (1982, Nominated)
Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male (1982, Nominated)
Data Insight
Vandross wrote six of the seven songs alone, which is unusual for a 1981 debut on a major label and explains why Epic let him produce himself. The one exception is the closer, "A House Is Not a Home", written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for the 1964 film of the same name and first cut by Brook Benton and Dionne Warwick. Vandross stretched it to seven minutes and made it a signature performance, but he holds no writing share in it. Arrangement credit is where the album is genuinely shared: Nat Adderley Jr. co-arranged the rhythm tracks throughout, Gary King took an arrangement credit on "I've Been Working", Paul Riser wrote the strings and horns on the up-tempo side, and Leon Pendarvis handled the same job on "You Stopped Loving Me" and the closer. Read the writing credits alone and the album looks like one man's work; read the arrangement credits and it looks like a small studio company.
Never Too Much is Luther Vandross's debut solo album, cut at Media Sound in New York City between April and July 1981 and released by Epic that August. Vandross produced it himself and wrote six of the seven songs, closing with a seven-minute reading of the Bacharach and David ballad "A House Is Not a Home". Larkin Arnold served as executive producer, Michael H. Brauer recorded and mixed, and the rhythm section was built around Marcus Miller on bass, Buddy Williams on drums and Nat Adderley Jr. on keyboards.
Track Listing & Credits 7 tracks
Written by the artist
Written by outside writers
| # | Title | Lyricist(s) | Composer(s) | Producer(s) | Performers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Never Too Much
#33
|
Luther Vandross | Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. | Luther Vandross | Luther Vandross (Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Vocal Arrangement, Rhythm Arrangement)Nat Adderley Jr. (Keyboards, Rhythm Arrangement)Georg Wadenius (Guitar)Marcus Miller (Bass)Buddy Williams (Drums)Errol "Crusher" Bennett (Percussion)Bashiri Johnson (Congas)Paul Riser (String Arrangement, Horn Arrangement)Cissy Houston (Backing Vocals)Tawatha Agee (Backing Vocals)Yvonne Lewis (Backing Vocals)Michelle Cobbs (Backing Vocals)Sybil Thomas (Backing Vocals)Brenda White King (Backing Vocals) |
| 2 |
Sugar and Spice (I Found Me a Girl)
|
Luther Vandross | Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. | Luther Vandross | Luther Vandross (Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Vocal Arrangement, Rhythm Arrangement)Nat Adderley Jr. (Keyboards, Rhythm Arrangement)Ed Walsh (Synthesizer)Georg Wadenius (Guitar)Marcus Miller (Bass)Buddy Williams (Drums)Bashiri Johnson (Congas, Percussion)Paul Riser (String Arrangement, Horn Arrangement)Cissy Houston (Backing Vocals)Tawatha Agee (Backing Vocals)Yvonne Lewis (Backing Vocals)Michelle Cobbs (Backing Vocals)Sybil Thomas (Backing Vocals)Brenda White King (Backing Vocals) |
| 3 |
Don't You Know That?
#10
|
Luther Vandross | Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. | Luther Vandross | Luther Vandross (Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Vocal Arrangement, Rhythm Arrangement)Nat Adderley Jr. (Keyboards, Rhythm Arrangement)Georg Wadenius (Guitar)Steve Love (Guitar)Marcus Miller (Bass)Buddy Williams (Drums)Billy King (Congas)Paul Riser (String Arrangement)Tawatha Agee (Backing Vocals)Phillip Ballou (Backing Vocals) |
| 4 |
I've Been Working
|
Luther Vandross | Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. | Luther Vandross | Luther Vandross (Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Vocal Arrangement, Arrangement)Nat Adderley Jr. (Keyboards, Arrangement, Backing Vocals)Gary King (Arrangement)Ed Walsh (Synthesizer)Steve Love (Guitar)Marcus Miller (Bass)Buddy Williams (Drums)Errol "Crusher" Bennett (Congas, Percussion)Fonzi Thornton (Backing Vocals)Norma Jean Wright (Backing Vocals)Phillip Ballou (Backing Vocals)Tawatha Agee (Backing Vocals) |
| 5 |
She's a Super Lady
|
Luther Vandross | Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. | Luther Vandross | Luther Vandross (Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Vocal Arrangement, Rhythm Arrangement)Nat Adderley Jr. (Keyboards, Rhythm Arrangement, Backing Vocals)Steve Love (Guitar)Marcus Miller (Bass)Buddy Williams (Drums)Billy King (Congas)Errol "Crusher" Bennett (Percussion)Bashiri Johnson (Percussion)Paul Riser (String Arrangement, Horn Arrangement)Fonzi Thornton (Backing Vocals)Norma Jean Wright (Backing Vocals)Phillip Ballou (Backing Vocals)Tawatha Agee (Backing Vocals) |
| 6 |
You Stopped Loving Me
|
Luther Vandross | Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. | Luther Vandross | Luther Vandross (Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Vocal Arrangement, Rhythm Arrangement)Nat Adderley Jr. (Keyboards, Rhythm Arrangement)Steve Love (Guitar)Marcus Miller (Bass)Buddy Williams (Drums)Billy King (Congas)Leon Pendarvis (String Arrangement)Phillip Ballou (Backing Vocals)Tawatha Agee (Backing Vocals) |
| 7 |
A House Is Not a Home
|
Hal David | Burt Freeman BacharachHarold Lane David | Luther Vandross | Luther Vandross (Lead Vocals, Vocal Arrangement, Song Arrangement, Rhythm Arrangement)Nat Adderley Jr. (Keyboards)Georg Wadenius (Guitar)Marcus Miller (Bass)Anthony Jackson (Bass)Buddy Williams (Drums)Errol "Crusher" Bennett (Percussion)Leon Pendarvis (String Arrangement, Horn Arrangement) |
Songwriter & Credit Spotlight 27 contributors
LV
Luther Vandross
Writer · Producer · Vocals
LR
Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr.
Writer
BF
Burt Freeman Bacharach
Writer
HD
Hal David
Writer
HL
Harold Lane David
Writer
AJ
Anthony Jackson
Bass
BJ
Bashiri Johnson
Congas
BK
Billy King
Congas
BW
Brenda White King
Vocals
BW
Buddy Williams
Drums
CH
Cissy Houston
Vocals
EW
Ed Walsh
Synthesizer
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Frequently Asked Questions Never Too Much
Who wrote the songs on Never Too Much?
Luther Vandross wrote six of the seven songs by himself: "Never Too Much", "Sugar and Spice (I Found Me a Girl)", "Don't You Know That?", "I've Been Working", "She's a Super Lady" and "You Stopped Loving Me". The closing track, "A House Is Not a Home", was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David in 1964 and is a cover, so Vandross has no writing credit on it.
Who produced Never Too Much?
Luther Vandross produced the entire album himself, one of the terms of his Epic contract. Larkin Arnold was executive producer. Michael H. Brauer recorded and mixed the record at Media Sound in New York City, Carl Beatty engineered, and Greg Calbi mastered it at Sterling Sound.
Is A House Is Not a Home a Luther Vandross song?
No. Burt Bacharach wrote the music and Hal David the lyrics for the 1964 film A House Is Not a Home, and Brook Benton and Dionne Warwick both recorded it that year. Vandross's version on this album runs 7:07, roughly twice the length of Warwick's, and became one of his best known performances, but the copyright belongs to Bacharach and David.
How did Never Too Much perform on the charts?
The album reached number 19 on the Billboard 200 and number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart in 1981, and it charted again in the UK at number 41 in 1987. The title track went to number one on Billboard's Hot Soul Singles chart and number 33 on the Hot 100. Second single "Don't You Know That?" reached number 10 R&B in January 1982.
Who played on Never Too Much?
Marcus Miller played bass on six of the seven tracks, with Anthony Jackson on bass for "A House Is Not a Home". Buddy Williams drummed throughout, Nat Adderley Jr. played keyboards, and Georg Wadenius and Steve Love split guitar duties. Backing vocalists included Cissy Houston, Tawatha Agee, Fonzi Thornton, Phillip Ballou, Norma Jean Wright, Yvonne Lewis, Michelle Cobbs, Sybil Thomas and Brenda White King.
Did Never Too Much win any Grammy Awards?
It won none. The album earned Vandross two Grammy Award nominations in 1982, for Best New Artist and Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male. His first Grammy win came later, in 1991, for "Here and Now".
How long is Never Too Much?
The album runs 36 minutes and 50 seconds across seven tracks, four on side one and three on side two. "A House Is Not a Home" is the longest at 7:07, and the title track the shortest at 3:50.
Sources
Wikipedia: Never Too Much (album)
Wikipedia: Never Too Much (song)
Wikipedia: Don't You Know That?
Wikipedia: A House Is Not a Home (song)
Wikipedia: Burt Bacharach
Wikipedia: Hal David
Discogs: Luther Vandross - Never Too Much (Epic FE 37451, 1981)
MusicBrainz: Never Too Much (release group)
Cover Art Archive: Never Too Much
Britannica: Luther Vandross
Cover Art Archive: Never Too Much by Luther Vandross