Luther Vandross "She Won't Talk to Me"

That awkward moment when you leave your radio boss a voicemail...and your voice cracks. It happened to me while I was working part-time for a Chicago radio station while attending college. Throughout my early-teen years, my mom's friends would call our house and mistake me for my mother. Lovely. Finally, my voice changed during my freshman year of high school and cracked for years afterward...including this very inopportune moment. I know they teach you to just keep going if you make a mistake or slip-of-the-tongue but I decided to just out myself. Halfway through my voicemail I stopped and said, "Wow. The woman who holds my radio future in your hands and my voice cracks.". Luckily, my boss Lynne saw the humor in it.

Heatwave "Always and Forever"

Another trip to Florida meant another chance to drive my dad's Buick LeSabre and cruise to The Dove. What's The Dove, you ask? It's home to Tampa Bay's Continuous Lite Favorites (favorites which only seem to span the years 1975-1989). This radio station features core artists like Lionel Richie, Madonna, Chicago, and Billy Joel and is consistently Tampa's most-popular radio station. The format is symbolic of the rise in Soft Adult Contemporary radio stations we saw in 2018.

Luther Vandross & Mariah Carey "Endless Love"

Thirteen years after Lionel Richie and Diana Ross teamed up for the wildly popular ballad "Endless Love", Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey did the same. The love song came from Vandross' Songs album which contained covers of vintage R&B tunes.

Luther Vandross "Any Love"

Remember the rapper Foxy Brown? She sampled Luther Vandross' "Any Love" in her song "If I...".

Mariah Carey "Hero"

Some fun facts about one of Mariah Carey's biggest hits:

• Mariah originally wrote "Hero" for Gloria Estefan to sing in the 1992 movie Hero, but Mariah's then-fiance (and CEO of Sony Music) felt the song was too good and urged Mariah to keep it for herself
• A different song called "Heart of a Hero" by Luther Vandross wound up being on the Hero soundtrack
• Multiple people sued Mariah claiming the song was theirs including Sylvester Stallone's limo driver -- Mariah prevailed in each instance
• Despite the song's popularity, Mariah doesn't care for the ballad and said she only performs it to meet the demand of her audience
• My alarm clock went off each morning at 6:00 during my Junior year of high school and nine times out of then, this damn song would be playing

Luther Vandross - "Stop to Love"

Sometimes you're asked to "Stop in the Name of Love".  Other times you're simply reminded to "Stop to Love".

Ronnie Milsap - "Any Day Now"

The year 1969 was quite popular for the song "Any Day Now".  Frankie Valli, Percy Sledge, Bill Medley, and James Brown all recorded separate versions of the song.  Later, Elvis Presley, Luther Vandross, and Ronnie Milsap recorded versions of the tune.  In 1982, Milsap took the song to the #1 spot.

Richard Marx - "The Way She Loves Me"

Take a listen to Richard Marx's "The Way She Loves Me".  With its a capella intro followed by bass riff, the song is one of Marx's better efforts...if only because it's different.  Listen closely and you can hear Luther Vandross and Lionel Richie.  Like many of his hits, the song is about his now ex-wife Cynthia Rhodes.  

Luther Vandross - "Power of Love/Love Power"

Thanks to TGIF's "Step by Step" starring Patrick Duffy and Suzanne Sommers, I grew to like the song "Power of Love/Love Power" by Luther Vandross.  The uptempo ballad played during a montage sequence of "Step by Step" forever cementing the song near to my heart.

Richard Marx - "Keep Coming Back"

When you think Richard Marx, you probably don't expect to hear him on R&B-formatted stations, but that was the case in 1991.  Richard Marx had an idea for an old-fashioned R&B song, so he picked up the phone and asked Luther Vandross for some assistance.  Thankfully for Richard, Luther picked up the phone and agreed to add some backing vocals to "Keep Coming Back".

Luther Vandross - "Always & Forever"

The group Heatwave proclaimed that their signature song "Always & Forever" would stand the test of time.  Luther Vandross did his part to make sure that happened when re-recording the ballad in 1994.

Luther Vandross - "Here And Now"

How many newlyweds do you think danced to "Here and Now" by Luther Vandross for their ceremonial first dance?  (My guess would be tens of thousands.)  Most women (and men) can't resist the soulful charm of Luther's voice (and his message about being faithful doesn't hurt).  So close your eyes, turn up the Luther, and let you memory take you back to that first dance...

Luther Vandross - "Don't Want to Be A Fool"

Not too many artists compared with the talents of Luther Vandross during the 1980s and '90s. His voice set the standard for R&B music for an entire generation. You could spend hours listening to his music while yelling out the occasional, "Oh, I forgot how much I loved that song!" "Don't Want to Be A Fool" is one of those songs that AC stations passed onto Smooth Jazz stations. "Don't Want to Be A Fool" was a top 10 song on the Hot 100, R&B, and AC charts in 1991 with good reason. Actually, Luther managed to score at least one #1 song on the R&B charts from 1981 to 1994. Like Lionel Richie, Marvin Gaye, and Whitney Houston, Luther's music will play on for generations to come.