Grammy-winning soul singer and songwriter Luther Vandross, who suffered a serious stroke two years ago as he was about to relaunch his career, died last night in a New Jersey hospital, officials said. He was 54.
“Luther Vandross had a peaceful passing under the watchful eye of friends, family and the medical support team,” said Rob Cavanaugh, a spokesman at JFK Medical Center in Edison, New Jersey.
Details on the exact cause of death were not immediately available, although Mr Cavanaugh said the singer never fully recovered from his stroke. Vandross also had long battled diabetes and fluctuations in his weight.
Vandross was considered the premier soul balladeer of his generation, with a silky voice that seduced millions of fans and won over collaborators such as David Bowie and Aretha Franklin.
"There are vocalists, and then there's Luther," Motown singer-songwriter Smokey Robinson told Rolling Stonemagazine in 1990. "Luther's in a class by himself."
Vandross' final album, Dance With My Father, released shortly after his April 2003 stroke, debuted at No. 1 on the US pop album charts. It yielded four Grammys, including song of the year for the title track, which Vandross described as "my Piano Man, my signature song." But Vandross' Grammy success was a bittersweet affair because of the stroke.
"It should've been the biggest party ever," Dance with my Fatherco-writer Richard Marx told Newsweeklast year. "It was not cause to celebrate."
His larger-than-life persona translated into a hugely successful, multifaceted career. He sold more than 20 million albums worldwide and influenced romantic crooners such as Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds.
Unlike other male singers, Vandross eschewed a macho posture, but did not come across as too wimpish, either. He was unafraid to express his insecurities, and his legions of female fans adored him for his honesty. But he also was sensitive about being perceived as someone who sang only about love.
"I don't want to be this great prophet of love," the lifelong bachelor told Britain's Qmagazine in 1991.