First Two Luther Vandross Albums To Be Rereleased After Decades

Before he started his immensely successful career as Luther Vandross in 1981 with “Never Too Much”, the one-of-a-kind singer released two albums with his group simply called Luther, a vocal quintet which also included Christine Wiltshire, Diane G. Sumler, Anthony Hinton, and Theresa V. Reed. In 1976, the first LP came out featuring Nat Adderley Jr., with whom he worked on all subsequent albums, bassist Wilbur Bascombe, and many more. Among the tracks on this still highly entertaining album are the album opener “Funky Music (Is A Part Of Me)” and “Everybody Rejoice” from “The Wiz”. Even though the singles were relatively successful, the album didn’t chart. The album was re-released in South Africa in 1981 and now, after more than four decades, it will come back on Legacy Recordings (Sony Music) on vinyl, CD, and digital in April.

Luther’s second album, in 1977, is called “This Close To You” and has Nile Rodgers playing guitar on all tracks. It features great arrangements by Paul Riser and some little soul wonders like “Don’t Wanna Be A Fool”, wonderful ballads like “Come Back To Love” and sophisticated midtempo swayers like “Follow My Love”. Four years later, he started his solo career. And the rest, as they say, you know it! The rerelease of “This Close To You” will be upon us in June. Earlier this year, at the Sundance Film Festival, the documentary “Luther: Never Too Much” had its premiere. It’s gonna be a Luther year!