R&B legend Luther Vandross lent his silky smooth vocals to chart-topping songs throughout the 1980s and ‘90s for his enduring love songs.Luther Ronzoni Vandross was born in New York in 1951 to an upholsterer father (who passed away when Vandross was only eight years old) and a practical nurse mother who introduced Vandross and his three older siblings to gospel, soul and doo-wop. In addition to forming a band in high school, Vandross penned "Everybody Rejoice (Can You Feel a Brand New Day)," which appeared in the Broadway and film productions of The Whiz. After his big break, Vandross continued to work steadily throughout the 1970s by providing backup vocals for industry greats like Chaka Khan, Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, Carly Simon, Donna Summer and David Bowie.At age 30 Vandross finally released his first solo album, lead by Top 20 single "Never Too Much," and he subsequently released substantial soul albums throughout the ‘80s until he cracked the Top Ten with "Here and Now" in 1989. Luther Vandross was now earning the reputation as being a singer of sentimental love songs, and despite the acclaim and wealth it brought him there was also scandal; the "ladies man" was a perpetual bachelor, which sparked rumors of homosexuality. After suffering health issues due to a mild form of diabetes and being charged in a fatal car crash, it appeared that the soul singer was back in the early ‘90s with the success of Mariah Carey duet "My Endless Love" and his own "Always and Forever" (1994). The R&B veteran who got his start in songwriting continued to pen lyrics for the likes of Whitney Houston, Dionne Warwick and Aretha Franklin throughout his career. Vandross never fully recovered from a massive stroke in April of 2003; the singer was absent from the Grammys in which he received four awards and passed away in early 2005, leaving a legacy of love songs in his wake.