[6] Vandross began his career as a backing vocalist in the 1970s, contributing to albums by Roberta Flack, Donny Hathaway, Todd Rundgren, Evelyn "Champagne" King, Judy Collins, Chaka Khan, Bette Midler, Diana Ross, David Bowie, Ben E. King, Stevie Wonder, and Donna Summer.

Vandross collaborated on several notable duets, including "The Closer I Get to You" with Beyoncé, "Endless Love" with Mariah Carey, and "The Best Things in Life Are Free" with Janet Jackson of which the latter two were hit songs in his career.

In 2024, Kendrick Lamar and SZA released the chart-topping single "Luther", paying homage to Vandross and sampling his rendition of "If This World Were Mine", a duet with Cheryl Lynn.

Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr.[8] was born on April 20, 1951, at Bellevue Hospital, in the Kips Bay neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City.

[11][17] Vandross graduated from William Howard Taft High School in the Bronx in 1969,[16] and attended Western Michigan University for one and a half semesters before dropping out to continue pursuing a career in music.

[22] Vandross added backing vocals to Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway in 1972,[23] and worked on Delores Hall's Hall-Mark album (1973).

[citation needed] After his song "Funky Music (Is a Part of Me)" was re-written as "Fascination" with David Bowie for the latter's Young Americans (1975) album, Vandross went on to tour with him as a backing vocalist in September 1974.

[11][18][25] Vandross also sang backing vocals for artists, including Roberta Flack,[11] Chaka Khan, Ben E. King, Bette Midler, Diana Ross, Carly Simon, Barbra Streisand, David Bowie, Cat Stevens, Gary Glitter, Ringo Starr, Sister Sledge, and Donna Summer,[26][27] and for the bands Mandrill, Chic[25] and Todd Rundgren's Utopia.

The quintet consisted of former Shades of Jade members Anthony Hinton and Diane Sumler, as well as Theresa V. Reed, and Christine Wiltshire, signed to Cotillion Records.

Although the singles "It's Good for the Soul", "Funky Music (Is a Part of Me)",[25] and "The Second Time Around" were relatively successful, their two albums, the self-titled Luther (1976) and This Close to You (1977), which Vandross produced, did not sell enough to make the charts.

[30] Vandross also wrote and sang commercial jingles from 1977 until the early 1980s, for companies including NBC, Mountain Dew, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Burger King, and Juicy Fruit.

[31] In 1978, Vandross sang lead vocals for Gregg Diamond's disco band, Bionic Boogie, on the song titled "Hot Butterfly".

[32] Vandross also sang with the band Soirée and was the lead vocalist on the track "You Are the Sunshine of My Life"; he also contributed background vocals to the album along with Jocelyn Brown and Sharon Redd, each of whom also saw solo success.

[citation needed] Vandross made his career breakthrough as a featured singer with the vaunted pop-dance act Change, a studio concept created by French-Italian businessman Jacques Fred Petrus.

Vandross was originally intended to perform on their second and highly successful album Miracles in 1981, but declined the offer as Petrus didn't pay enough money.

[11][36] In 1983, the opportunity to work with his main musical influence, Dionne Warwick, came about with Vandross producing, writing songs, and singing on How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye, her fourth album for Arista Records.

He contacted his old friends – Cheryl Lynn, Alfa Anderson (of Chic), Phoebe Snow and Irene Cara – to appear on the record.

Vandross also sang the ad-libs and background vocals, along with Syreeta Wright and Philip Bailey, in Stevie Wonder's 1985 hit "Part-Time Lover".

In 1990, Vandross wrote, produced and sang background for Whitney Houston in a song titled "Who Do You Love" which appeared on her album I'm Your Baby Tonight.

[44] Vandross hit the top ten again in 1994, teaming with Mariah Carey on a cover version of Lionel Richie and Diana Ross's duet "Endless Love".

He made two public appearances at Diana Ross's Return to Love Tour: at its opening in Philadelphia at First Union Spectrum and its final stop at Madison Square Garden on July 6, 2000.

[citation needed] "Shine" and a track titled "Got You Home" were previously unreleased songs on The Ultimate Luther Vandross (2006), a greatest hits album on Epic Records/J Records/Legacy Recordings that was released August 22, 2006.

[56][57] In October 2015, Sony Music released a re-configured edition of its The Essential Luther Vandross compilation containing three unreleased songs: "Love It, Love It" (which made its premiere a year prior on the UK compilation The Greatest Hits), a live recording of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" with Paul Simon and Jennifer Holliday, and a cover of Astrud Gilberto's "Look to the Rainbow".

[63] In addition, Vandross was well aware that officially coming out as gay while he was actively making music would have been detrimental to the trajectory of his career, given the majority of his target audience were women seeking some mode of emotional engagement from his words.

On January 12, 1986, they were riding in Vandross's convertible on Laurel Canyon Boulevard, in the north section of Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles.

[18] Vandross died on July 1, 2005, at the JFK Medical Center in Edison, New Jersey, at the age of 54 due to complications of a stroke.

[79] Vandross has been cited as an inspiration by a number of other artists, including 112, Boyz II Men, D'Angelo, Hootie & the Blowfish, Jaheim, John Legend, Mint Condition, Ne-Yo, Ruben Studdard, and Usher.

[80][81] Stokley Williams, the lead singer of Mint Condition, has said that he has "studied Luther for such a long time because he was the epitome of perfect tone."

On July 27, 2004, GRP Records released a smooth jazz various artists tribute album, Forever, for Always, for Luther, including ten popular songs written by Vandross.

The album is a collection of some of his songs performed by various artists, including Patti LaBelle, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Mary J. Blige, Usher, Fantasia, Beyoncé, Donna Summer, Alicia Keys, Elton John, Celine Dion, Wyclef Jean, Babyface, John Legend, Angie Stone, Jamie Foxx, and Teddy Pendergrass.