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Born April 20th, 1951 (died July 1st, 2005) Key Tracks "Never Too Much," "Superstar," "A House Is Not a Home" Influenced Alicia Keys, John Legend

No singer made the Top 40 sound so intimate — often painfully so — as Luther Vandross. "Singing allows me to express all the mysteries hidden inside," he once said. Vandross grew up worshiping at the altar of Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick and Diana Ross, then labored throughout the Seventies singing everything from Burger King commercials to sessions with David Bowie (on Young Americans), before emerging as the dominant R&B vocalist of his era. His warm, rich singing on hits like "Never Too Much" defined soul during the years between disco and hip-hop, influencing a generation of vocalists — including Mariah Carey, who was petrified to duet with Vandross on a cover of "Endless Love" in 1994. "It was intimidating to stand next to him," she says. "Luther was incomparable — his voice was velvety, smooth, airy, with an unmistakable tone."

1. Never Too Much
2. Superstar
3. A House Is Not a Home
4. Dance With My Father
5. Here and Now
6. Endless Love
7. If Only for One Night
8. Power of Love/Love Power
9. Til My Baby Comes Home
10. Stop to Love

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