NEW YORK (AP):
GRAMMY AWARD winner Luther Vandross, whose deep, lush voice on such hits as Here and Now and Any Love sold more than 25 million albums while providing the romantic backdrop for millions of couples worldwide, died yesterday. He was 54.
Vandross died at John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Edison, New Jersey, said hospital spokesman Rob Cavanaugh. He did not release the cause of death.
Since suffering a stroke in his Manhattan home on April 16, 2003, the R&B crooner stopped making public appearances - but amazingly managed to continue his recording career. In 2004, he captured four Grammys as a sentimental favourite, including best song for the bittersweet Dance With My Father.
Vandross, who was still in a wheelchair at the time, delivered a videotaped thank you.
"Remember, when I say goodbye it's never for long," said a weak-looking Vandross. "Because" he broke into his familiar hit "I believe in the power of love."
Vandross also battled weight problems for years while suffering from diabetes and hypertension.
He was arguably the most celebrated R&B balladeer of his generation. He made women swoon with his silky yet forceful tenor, which he often revved up like a motor engine before reaching his beautiful crescendos.
Vandross was a four-time Grammy winner in the best male R&B performance category, taking home the trophy in 1990 for the single Here and Now, in 1991 for his album Power of Love, in 1996 for the track Your Secret Love and a last time for Dance With My Father.
The album, with its single of the same name, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts while Vandross remained hospitalised from his stroke. It was the first time a Vandross album had topped the charts in its first week of release.
In 2005, he was nominated for a Soul Train Music Award for a duet with Beyonce on The Closer I Get To You.
Vandross' sound was so unusual, few tried to copy it; even fewer could. "I'm proud of that it's one of the things that I'm most proud of," he told The Associated Press in a 2001 interview. "I was never compared to anyone in terms of sound."
