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Post by BROWNJB1 on Jul 2, 2005 14:02:18 GMT -5
Sorry to report that singer Luther Vandross passed away yesterday at age 54. The cause of death wasn't stated, but Luther suffered a massive stroke in April 2003, and never fully recovered. He did however, made an appear through videotape at the 2004 Grammys after he won a grammy, and thanked everybody for their love and support, and he also sang a brief part of his hit "Power Of Love--Love Power", when he sang, "I BELIEVE, IN THE POWER OF LOVE". Shortly thereafter, he made an appearance on the Oprah Winfrey show, where Oprah paid Luther a visit at the rehabilitation center where he was staying at. He didn't look very well, but he was in good spirits. For the past year, we rarely heard any updates about his condition, but the other day, I heard his song, "Give Me The Reason" on the radio and I was wondering if his condition had improved in the last year. Then yesterday, came word that Luther had died. I couldn't believe it. I was hoping that he would recover from his stroke. Although Luther had decent success on the pop charts, he was a giant star on the R&B charts. He once said that, "I don't make songs for people to make love to, I make songs for people to fall in love to". His biggest demon was his weight, over the years he lost a lot of weight, he gain it back, and did it several times, to a point where it seriously damaged his health, plus he also suffered from diabetes and hypertension, which led to his stroke in 2003, and may have ultimately led to his death. Rest In Peace Luther Vandross
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Post by Scott Lakefield on Jul 4, 2005 10:37:24 GMT -5
Sad news indeed. Luther was one of the truly great male voices in American pop music.
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Post by Matt Cameron on Jul 4, 2005 10:58:40 GMT -5
Like a lot of people of our generation, my best friend's wedding song was "Here and Now". Rest in peace, Luther.  |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2005 15:34:41 GMT -5
my moms good friend used it at hers also waaaay back when.
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Post by BROWNJB1 on Jul 6, 2005 18:45:08 GMT -5
I was at Borders bookstore earlier today, and there is a new book on Luther Vandross that is out. How fitting that this new book comes out only days after his death.
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Post by BROWNJB1 on Jul 17, 2005 21:26:12 GMT -5
Casey did a stirring tribute to Luther Vandross on American Top 10 & American Top 20 this week. It was awesome.
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Post by Michael1973 on Jul 18, 2005 11:37:27 GMT -5
I heard that. I only wish he'd played a Luther song on AT20. It's cases like that when the whole "program directors won't like it" mentality really gets on my nerves. There's no reason fans of HotAC would have objected to hearing something like "Power Of Love/Love Power" after a touching tribute to Luther.
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Post by Hervard on Jul 19, 2005 10:21:45 GMT -5
I heard that. I only wish he'd played a Luther song on AT20. It's cases like that when the whole "program directors won't like it" mentality really gets on my nerves. There's no reason fans of HotAC would have objected to hearing something like "Power Of Love/Love Power" after a touching tribute to Luther. I agree, that "program directors won't like it" attitude has gotten out of hand. "Power Of Love/Love Power" would be a great choice for Hot AC, since it's an upbeat song and was Luther's biggest hit (or one of them anyway), so the Hot AC listeners who grew up on Pop music would remember it and wouldn't mind hearing it. They'd say something like, "Hey, I remember this song! Good to hear it again. Maybe this show is playing several songs that I haven't heard for ages. I gotta start listening more often!" So Premiere may have passed up a great opportunity by refusing to play a Luther Vandross song. Their loss! |
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Post by Shadoe Fan on Jul 19, 2005 20:06:57 GMT -5
I was very saddened by this too. After a great tribute to Luther, they play "The Flame"? Especially since Casey (while quoting) said parts of the lyric to "Power of Love/Love Power". A very poor decision by someone on the staff, IMHO.
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Post by Radioman on Jul 20, 2005 1:03:50 GMT -5
I have not heard any Luther Vandross song on any HAC station lately. I do listen to quite a wide variety of them.
I guess this artist ( or do I have to say his music ) is currently not playable on a HAC outlet.
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Post by BrettVW on Jul 20, 2005 10:25:29 GMT -5
While I generally don't like the whole "play interview clips" style with Casey, I may have been OK with him playing a short clip of Luther's acceptance speech that Casey mentioned. That would have sounded good.
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Post by Shadoe Fan on Jul 20, 2005 19:53:59 GMT -5
I can see then why they don't play Luther's hits as extras, but for pete's sake it's a tribute to a performer who recently passed away. Couldn't they make an exception for that?
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Post by Scott Lakefield on Jul 21, 2005 11:46:42 GMT -5
There's a few things at work here...
1. Playlists are cyclical. While Luther Vandross may be "out" at HAC stations now, he was acceptable a year or two ago when "Dance With My Father" was played on HAC as a LDD. A year from now, they might have "gotten away" with playing the Luther extra in conjunction with the story.
2. In this day and age, I think producers and networks for syndicated shows are oversensitized to keeping the affiliates happy as more and more stations work in favor of the "live and local" (well, at least the local part) shows as opposed to syndicated shows.
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