Five years ago today, the remains of R&B and soul singer-songwriter and producer, Luther Vandross, were laid to rest in George Washington Memorial Park in Paramus, New Jersey.
It's hard to believe that it's been five years. Luther epitomized "soul crooning" for me.
Thankfully, I had the opportunity to see him live a couple of times in the early 90's.
During his career, he sold over 25 million albums and won eight Grammy awards.
Luther suffered with diabetes and hypertension, both of which ran in his family. In 2003, he suffered a stroke in his Manhattan home. He had just finished the final vocals for his upcoming release, "Dance With My Father", which he collaborated on with longtime friend and fellow recording artist Richard Marx.
This turned out to be his biggest selling studio release yet.
He appeared briefly on videotape at the 2004 Grammys to accept his Song of the Year award, where he said, "Whenever I say goodbye it's never for long because I believe in the power of love".
He died of a heart attack the following July.
This song is one of my favorites of his. Burt Bacharach originally wrote the song for Dionne Warwick in 1964.
Earlier this year, the Broadway revival of "Promises, Promises" opened in the Broadway Theatre.
Originally not a part of the production, "A House Is Not A Home" was added for Kristin Chenoweth to sing.
Man! That gave me chills.
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