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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Entertainment
Andrew Lawrence

Luther Vandross: the tragic R&B crooner who struggled for acceptance

black and white photo of a man in a polka-dot suit singing into microphone
Luther Vandross performing at Wembley in 1987. Photograph: David Corio/Redferns

Luther Vandross is R&B music’s tragic hero – a soulful soloist who was most popular while singing backup for rockers, a strict disciplinarian who could control everything except his weight, a hopeless romantic who died alone, miserable and far too young.

It’s a sad story revisited in Luther: Never Too Much, a new documentary currently in limited theatrical release that is expected to begin streaming early next year. Directed by the biographical film-maker Dawn Porter, produced by Jamie Foxx and arranged by Robert Glasper, the 160-minute film is a stark reminder of the aversions and prejudices that stalled Vandross’s breakthrough and ultimately broke him.

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