The Ultimate Luther Vandross

Spanning the length of his entire career 'The Ultimate Luther Vandross' brings together all of his major hits from both Epic and J Records for the first time!

Featuring all of Luther's best tunes from ballads "Dance With My Father", to the boundless dance floor joy of "Never Too Much", this stunning collection also features duets "The Closer I Get To You" with Beyonce and his biggest hit "Endless Love" with Mariah Carey. The album also includes previously unreleased songs "Shine" and "Got you Home", plus "Searching" (performed by Change).

Luther Vandross, born in New York City in 1951, was raised on a diet of Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick and Aretha Franklin. He apprenticed with David Bowie and Chic until he found a voice of his own. "The tear in my voice,” he once said, "is my reason for singing. Singing allows me to express all the mysteries hidden inside.”

And express he did. His first album, Never Too Much, exploded on the charts. Along with his gifted cohorts Marcus Miller and Nat Adderley, Jr., Luther wrote his own songs, produced his own records, arranged his own vocals. His genius for lush harmonies became the stuff of legends. He claimed not to write autobiographically, but many of the songs contained here - "Wait For Love,” "Your Secret Love,” "Dance With My Father” - belie that idea.

He sang his life. He sang his originals - "Power of Love / Love Power,” "Give Me The Reason” - just as he sang his timeless covers - "Endless Love” with Mariah, "The Closer I Get To You” with Beyonce - with uncompromising sincerity. His voice comforts and covers us with the reassurance love is all.
Luther's love of transformational music was manifest in his creative output, a body of work remarkable for its consistency. Artistically, Luther was seamless. Personally, he was delightful, a synthesis of whimsy and determination, a professional who took his work seriously while treating life, and all its twists and turns, with ironic humor. There is deep sadness in his singing, but also celebration and boundless joy.

Luther left far too early - in 2005 at age 56 - but returns every time we tune him in.