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

A new documentary looks back on the career of a singer whose undeniable talent wasn’t always enough for a limited and image-obsessed industry

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.

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

Topics

Related

Life of Janey Godley, comedian who defied her tragedies by cracking jokes

Liz Cheney, Republican who backed Harris, says US must ‘accept results of elections’

Joy and pain, struggle and achievement – who best tells the story of Black lives?

As Archbishop, He Struggled to Unite the Anglican Church. His Tenure Ended in an Abuse Scandal.

Clifton R. Wharton Jr., Who Broke Racial Barriers, Is Dead at 98

I’m a ‘trad wife’ in a happy marriage. How can I get my friends to accept me for who I am? | Leading questions

‘It romanticised my night!’ The R&B slow jam events making Black British clubbers swoon

‘Young women from the ghetto were taken advantage of’: the power and pain of R&B’s ‘new jill swing’ era

Ravens sticking with Justin Tucker, who's no longer most accurate kicker in NFL history amid struggles

More from The Guardian

Russia-Ukraine war live: Doubts cast over Kyiv claim that Russia launched intercontinental ballistic missile

John Prescott, British former deputy prime minister, dies aged 86

Mazyouna, whose face was ‘ripped off’ by Israeli missile, allowed to leave Gaza

Maurizio Cattelan’s duct-taped banana artwork fetches US$5.2m at New York auction

Cop29 climate finance deal hits fresh setback as deadline looms