PLOT: The life and times of Luther Vandross, the legendary Rn’B singer who always struggled to break out from the niche box the industry put him in.
REVIEW: Of all the singers in the world, Luther Vandross might be the one responsible for the most trips to the bedroom. As Jamie Foxx tells it in his interview for Luther: Never Too Much, whenever he wanted to get with a girl, he played her his music – and it worked about 100% of the time. It’s sadly ironic then, as revealed by Dawn Porter’s excellent documentary, that the singer himself was a lonely man who never found romantic love in his own life.
You see, as the documentary sensitively reveals, Vandross was almost certainly gay, but he stayed in the closet for several reasons, such as his need to protect his image. Still, also for personal reasons, the doc has the tact not to get into. Most of his friends acknowledged that he was gay, but they refused to speak for him, respecting the fact that in his own life, this was something he considered very private and chose not to discuss with anyone – even those closest to him.
As such, Vandross would likely be pleased that Dawn Porter’s film primarily focuses on his music and legacy over his personal life. His rise is interesting, as he was a successful vocal arranger, background singer, and singer of commercial jingles before he ever made it big. The money he made singing jingles paid for the production of his first album. Despite the faith of people like Roberta Flack and notably David Bowie, with whom he collaborated on “Young Americans,” companies were reluctant to sign Vandross. But why?
His talent was undeniable, but Vandross also struggled mightily with his weight his entire career, fluctuating between being rail thin and obese. Labels maybe didn’t think he suited the romantic image of his songs, but the charts said otherwise. Vandross ruled the R n’B charts throughout most of the eighties, but his record labels pigeonholed him. Despite the success of songs like “Never Too Much,” “Power of Love/Love Power,” and others, he never hit number one on the Billboard charts, as his songs weren’t pushed to mainstream pop radio like some of his contemporaries.
This aspect bothered him his whole career, as did the fact that he couldn’t sit for an interview without someone asking him about weight gain or loss. Yet, despite these setbacks, he kept plowing along, and one thing that quickly becomes apparent in the doc is that he probably ranked among the most-liked men in the business. He worked with the same backup singers and musicians throughout his career, and many of them wind up in tears, speaking about how much they cared about him.
The whole film builds up towards the tragic but ultimately triumphant final act in his career, when his song “Dance With My Father” won a Grammy and went platinum, only for him to be unable to enjoy the award due to a major stroke. However, the doc is far from depressing, as Vandross, despite his sad ending and setbacks (including a trial for vehicular manslaughter), had a great career and seemingly never made a single enemy. How many artists can you say that about?
Like another music doc, I saw here at Sundance, DEVO, Luther: Never Too Much works for both the man’s devoted fans and more casual viewers – such as myself. I found it a terrifically entertaining and ultimately empowering look at the life of an artist who was even more brilliant than I ever realized.
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