| | |  | Keyword Search: Luther Vandross | Home » Luther: The Life and Longing of Luther Vandross | | | | | | | Description: | | On April 16, 2003, Luther Vandross suffered a near-fatal stroke, and the world held its breath. Inside sources said he might never sing again. He was too weak to receive visitors, but cards and good wishes came from Aretha Franklin, David Bowie, Anita Baker, Halle Berry, Patti LaBelle, Jesse Jackson, Burt Bacharach, Bette Midler, Star Jones, Gladys Knight, and Dionne Warwick, among others. With a will to live matched only by the enormous strength and power of his heart, soul, and singing talent, Luther survived and is regaining his voice. This biography is a loving tribute to the man who has entertained millions. Luther remains one of the music industry's most private celebrities. In Luther, the first biography of the hugely popular and beloved singer, Craig Seymour investigates and illuminates Luther's life, from his early obsession with soulful girl groups to the day he was discovered by glam rocker David Bowie to his devastating stroke and inspiring recovery. Seymour explores Luther's elusive sexuality, the taboo question that has plagued him for his entire career. He talks about Luther's yo-yo dieting, and the pain his weight has caused him and those around him. He tells the whole story behind the widely publicized feuds between Luther and R&B icons Aretha Franklin and Anita Baker as well as the group En Vogue. And he frankly and honestly explores the tragedies of Luther's life: the 1986 car crash that killed his best friend and nearly destroyed his career, and the 2003 stroke that almost ended his life. An authentic R&B legend, Luther Vandross is one of the most popular and talented vocalists in the world. His life has been full of pain and love, tragedy and redemption. And now, for the first time ever, Luther gives you a backstage pass into his life and longing. | | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Craig Seymour | | Paperback:
| 368 pages | | Publisher:
| Harper Paperbacks | | Publication Date:
| July 01, 2005 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 0060779233 | | Package Length:
| 8.2 inches | | Package Width:
| 5.3 inches | | Package Height:
| 1.1 inches | | Package Weight:
| 0.75 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 36 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
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 It taught me a lot of things that I didn't know. $5 well spentFeb 15, 2010
1. The tone of this book was very respectful. We all know that LV was gay, and the author seemed to let us know this clearly-- without really coming right out and saying it.
2. This book was informative. Probably one of the best things that I learned from this was the Luther Vandross really *could* write songs and did write quite a few. It's just that most of his most successful singles were songs that had already been made before. The author also gave us enough examples to let us know that LV was a generally disagreeable person but without going into overkill and making him a monster.
Wow! Who knew that LV was that fat (=340#)? Or that he had malignant high blood pressure from a very young age (4 pain pills BEFORE going to sleep?). It seems that if he had taken better care of himself, he might have been with us.
[...] It's interesting that there are lots of public feuds, but here was some documentation of how that dislike was built up.
The direct speech that the author included (and may have been deliberate) was enough to show us also a very intelligent person.
3. The prose was very light and easy to read and it the pages blew by. There was nothing bloated about the prose as biographical books can often be (that just drag on).
4. The book was very thoroughly researched and had a nice bibliography for people who are interested to locate primary resources.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
A Strong & Well-Researched Biography Of One Of The Greatest & Smoothly Soulful Male Vocalists Of The Last 50 Yrs.!!Jul 22, 2009
I first read this book when it first came out, not too
long after Luther's tragic passing.
Luther was a true talent and he had to overcome so
many obstacles: his weight fluctuations, anxietal-depressive
eating, the fact that he wasn't a conventionally handsome man
by entertainment industry standards, as well as his own personal
inner turmoil. But he did it with the sheer power, beauty,
and penetrative quality of his god-gifted voice that cut
through everything that lay in it's path!
Luther Vandross's voice stands alongside all the soulful
greats of the past: Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, Marvin Gaye, etc.,
and his musical legacy will never be forgotten.
He grew up in NYC, in the projects, in a house filled with love.
He absolutely lived for good music and good food!--
Both being very comforting to his shy and introverted nature!
He lived for Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross & The Supremes,
Patti Labelle & The Bluebelles, as well as all of the
other musical greats of the 60's and 70's!
Music was his life's design from an early age, and he made
it happen through the sheer force of his will & talent!
I think this author gives a good inner and outer portrait
of Luther..his good points, his bad points, his fears &
anxieties, etc. I have always felt that he struggled with
his sexuality as far as being able to be open about it and
comfortable with it outside of his trusted inner circle.
His fears were well founded, given the homophobia and stigma
about homosexuality within the black community.
His music was, after all, the music of love and many
a woman swooned over his voice as well as many
heterosexual couples who fell in love, got married, played
the break up/makeup game, and made babies all with his music
as the soothing backdrop.
Also, add to this, the generation that Luther was apart of,
who thought that one's sexuality was something that was
shameful and should be kept under wraps.
I can understand that Luther, after so many years of
struggling to make it, didn't want to jeapordize his
career in anyway! As far as I'm concerned, I would've
loved Luther and bought his albums no matter what!
He was simply, the truth!
So I don't begrudge his decision to neither deny nor
confirm his sexuality out in the open. (Who Cares!)
I loved all the great stories of Luther on the road with
David Bowie, Bette Midler, Roberta Flack and others as he
rose up from nothing to become one of NYC's best
session/back-up/jingle vocalists and learned much about
the behind the scenes inner workings of the music industry,
which would serve him all too well later on in his career
when he would score platinum and double platinum
over and over again! (-:
If he lived for Diana, Patti, Gladys and Dionne...
he absolutely burned incense and made offerings at the alter
of one Ms. ARETHA FRANKLIN!!
He called himself an "ARETHACOLOGIST", and swooned over
her every nuance and vocal flourish!--Dreaming of the day
when he would get to work with her and all of his other idols...
and boy, did he make it happen!
This book starts at the point of his debiliating stroke,
which, followed by a sudden heart attack, silenced his
great voice forever on July 1, 2005.
Then it travels back throughout his amazing journey filled
with love, laughter, pain, struggle, divatude, and all
the good things that make up a good biography!
Kudos again to the author, and I would tell anybody to buy this book!
Rest In Peace Luther Vandross!! (April 20th, 1951 - July 1st, 2005)
goodFeb 04, 2009
The book was ok, it told alot about his life that I never knew. The one subject that everyone wants to know about is his sexual partner, who was he intimate with a man or woman? That's the big question about Luther that everyone wants to know. So i was disappointed that the book didn't get into that. What's the big secret.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Luther's Biography a great bookSep 04, 2006
I enjoyed Luther Vandross' biography by Craig Seymour immensly. I think that because Luther was so private, Craig drew out the essence of the man as much as possible. I learned so much about Mr. Vandross from the biography that I felt like we could have been personal friends. The author makes the man come off of the pages and into your life. You can feel Luther's pain, his joy, his mysterious loves, as well as the heart beat of his music from the book. I have read the book at least five times within the past year.
The other reason the book is so good is because this is the only complete biography of Luther Vandross that I know of. Thank you Craig Seymour in being persistant in persuing Luther to write the book. Thank you for bringing us "Luther."
Mr. Seymour is their a sequel?
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
 very good but not excellentJun 29, 2006
A book about Luther has been long overdue, but to be honest a lot of people would be reading it purely to find out who he did and did not sleep with. That is one reason why I like this book, it makes it clear that Luther was super private, and although we may all have ideas about his love life we can never conclusively say.
The book tells a lot about his work as a backing vocalist as well as his triumphs and failures. I would have liked a little about his friendships for example with Oprah, Patti LaBelle etc. I would have liked to know more about Luther away from music and how he lived, but I guess that is why private life is called just that.
Overall this book does give you a picture of Luther, but I just don't think it is as glossy and HQ as Luther truly deserves. Credit where credit is due however, the author does do a good job with the story, it was never going to be an easy book to right. I think fans would appreciate it a lot, but if you are expecting juicy tabloid fodder then find some other book to read.
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