BEFORE: OK, I'm catching up today on posting, no matter what - I've been working at the NY Asian Film Festival, two late nights in a row - I worked a movie the day before that, and was there to see "Superman" the day before THAT, so finally I've got a day off. Sure, I should be updating my job search history for the Dept. of Labor, but first I've got to post. Post or Die. OK, actually it's Sleep Late, then Post or Die. I've been so tired I've been falling asleep at 2 am, which for me is way early, I'm nocturnal now. Also I've been living on iced coffees at the theater, too many probably, so by the time I get home and sit down in the recliner, it's not long before my brain shuts off and my eyes close, I don't even have to try. Still, somehow I'm behind on sleep, go figure.
Bette Midler (and others) carry over from "Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary".
THE PLOT: Chronicles the life of an iconic musical performer, from childhood musical talent to worldwide fame. Explores his collaborations, influences, character and relationships with family, friends and fans.
AFTER: Just 15 docs left in the block (or maybe 17, we'll see) but this film is the last one on the topic of musicians or singers. That was what, 18 or 19 in a row? Anyway, new topic tomorrow as the Doc Block rolls on. I'll admit I didn't know a ton about Luther Vandross, but I did know about the David Bowie connection, because I watched several docs about Bowie in the past, and he was often featured in the footage from certain performances because he served as a back-up singer for many artists during the 1970's, including Roberta Flack, Chaka Khan, Ringo Starr, Sister Sledge, Donna Summer and the band Chic, but the longest tours were with David Bowie and then Bette Midler. You can hear Luther and his friends prominently on Bowie's song "Young Americans", and then Luther just went ahead and got a lot of credit for putting those vocal arrangements together.
He could do it all, sing and compose and arrange and direct, so he had a very lucrative side business during the 1980's writing and recording commercial jingles for NBC, Juicy Fruit gum, Mountain Dew, Burger King and KFC. Eddie Murphy poked fun at him for his work on fried chicken commercials, and Vandross took that in stride, at least at first. But it was a different time, when it was easier to find humor in making fun of another person's appearance, by time Cedric the Entertainer came around, he wouldn't make jokes about Luther's weight, as the singer had become so universally loved in the black community.
Ah, but the media persisted - curse the media, and this was long before there was even social media. When Vandross managed to finally lose some weight (using the power of positive thinking, apparently) the print media was right there to speculate that maybe he had AIDS. To be fair, it was the 80's, but more to the point, please shut up, print media. Luther had diabetes (or "the sugar") and that made weight loss very difficult, also since he never got married, there was already speculation about his sexual orientation, and printing that he might have AIDS probably sent him into a downward spiral of emotions, and he was accustomed to turning to food for comfort, so naturally he gained most of that weight back over time.
Look, I don't know if he was gay, the doc kind of dances all around it but has no definitive answer - it doesn't really matter now, of course. Except that it kind of does, it would explain a few things, because Luther had several close female friends in his early singing groups, and they now say there was nothing romantic between them. After his music career was enormously successful, he said that his one regret was not finding that one special person to share his life with, and my first thought was, "Well, just PICK SOMEONE, what's the problem?" As Albert Brooks said, you find that special person when you stop looking. But his situation might have been more complicated than anyone knew, if he was afraid to come out and shock his mother and also lose his female fan base. I guess some of his friends kind of outed him years after he died, which I'm not sure is OK, for several reasons including the fact that it was done to late to help him deal with it or change anything at all. Again, none of my business - but it's perhaps reminiscent of the complex situations of George Michael, Elton John and many others.
After finally going solo in 1980, he got his first number one song with "Never Too Much", which led to a string of successful albums, and then his work started winning Grammys in 1991 - but I don't think he had another really really big hit until the "Dance with My Father" in 2004. The album with that song debuted at #1 and he (and co-writer Richard Marx) won the Grammy for Song of the Year. But Vandross had a stroke in 2003, and took a long time to recover - and then the year after "Dance with My Father" hit big, he died from a heart attack.
But he'd maybe led a few lives, starting out as part of a singing group called Listen My Brother, which got hired to appear on the first season "Sesame Street" to sing the alphabet and count to twenty in new and innovative rhythmic styles. It's not a bad gig, but he left NYC to go to college in Michigan, however he dropped out after just a year or so to get back to New York and work on becoming a background singer. Man, this week's documentaries seem to really be about the power of networking, first the future members of Toto appeared on every smooth rock album produced in the 1970's, and now Luther went on tour with every soul act under the sun. That's the life of a singer, just move on to the next gig and the next gig and keep gaining experience until you can become a headliner.
So here's to networking, and here's to following your dreams and rising to the top - but as we've seen many times in the Doc Block, once you reach the top, there's really nowhere to go but down. You can get to the top, but can you stay there? Something, whether it's alcohol, or drugs or food or a plane crash is eventually going to happen. Vandross was involved in a car crash in 1986, and was charged with vehicular manslaughter, after his musical protege Larry Salvemini died. There was no evidence of DWI, but Luther pleaded "no contest" to reckless driving, he had to settle the case with Salvemini's family and also perform a benefit concert, I think.
The other legacy (briefly mentioned in the film) is that the combination of a hamburger on a glazed donut came to be known as a "Luther". I've tried it, and enjoyed it, but I'll eat just about anything. I guess I can see how it's not for everyone, some people just don't appreciate high-calorie meals or the combination of sweet and savory items. It's their loss...
Directed by Dawn Porter (director of "John Lewis: Good Trouble")
Also starring Carlos Alamar, Jocelyn Brown, Mariah Carey (last seen in "Pavarotti"), Ava Cherry, Robin Clark, Lisa Fischer, Roberta Flack (last seen in "Rolling Thunder Revue"), Jamie Foxx (last seen in "The Burial"), Patti LaBelle (last seen in "Stevie Van Zandt: Disciple"), Cheryl Lynn, Richard Marx, Marcus Miller, Kevin Owens, Jon Platt, Nile Rodgers (last seen in "Little Richard: I Am Everything"), Valerie Simpson (last seen in "Dionne Warwick: Don't Make Me Over"), Danyel Smith, Alfonzo Thornton, Mary Ida Vandross, Dionne Warwick (also carrying over from "Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary")
with archive footage of Luther Vandross (last seen in "Moonage Daydream"), Debbie Allen (last seen in "Fame" (2009)), Michael Bolton (last seen in "Listening to Kenny G"), David Bowie (last seen in "Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes"), Karen Carpenter, Johnny Carson (last seen in "Brats"), Cedric the Entertainer (last seen in "Unfrosted"), Dick Clark (also carrying over from "Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary"), Michael Jackson (ditto), Otis Redding (ditto), Diana Ross (ditto), Stevie Wonder (ditto), Andy Cohen, Katie Couric (last seen in "Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story"), Matt Lauer (ditto), Oprah Winfrey (ditto), Ann Curry (last seen in "Inside Job"), Tommy Davidson (last seen in "Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls"), Clive Davis (last seen in "What the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears?"), El DeBarge, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds (last seen in "Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project"), Eminem (last seen in "Straight Outta Compton"), Melissa Etheridge (last seen in "Janis: Little Girl Blue"), Aretha Franklin (last seen in "Wham!"), Bryant Gumbel (last seen in "Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind"), Arsenio Hall (last seen in "Join or Die"), Jim Henson (last seen in "Jim Henson: Idea Man"), Cissy Houston (last seen in "Dionne Warwick: Don't Make Me Over"), Gladys Knight (ditto), Whitney Houston (last seen in "Waiting to Exhale"), Ice Cube (last seen in "Ride Along 2"), Freddie Jackson, Jesse Jackson (last seen in "I Am MLK Jr."), Mick Jagger (last seen in "Travelin' Band: Creedence Clearwater Revival at the Royal Albert Hall"), Jay-Z (last seen in "Paper Soldiers"), Alicia Keys (last seen in "The Secret Life of Bees"), Ben E. King, Carole King (last seen in "Murphy's Romance"), Kool Moe Dee (last seen in "The New Guy"), Eddie Murphy (last seen in "Stevie Van Zandt: Disciple"), Joan Rivers (last seen in "Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed"), Garry Shandling (last seen in "Remembering Gene Wilder"), Maria Shriver (last seen in "Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind"), Snoop Dogg (last heard in "The Garfield Movie"), Ed Sullivan (last seen in "Beatles '64"), John Tesh, Alan Thicke (last seen in "That's My Boy"), Usher (last seen in "She's All That"), Denzel Washington (last seen in "Tom Hanks: The Nomad") and the voice of Casey Kasem (last heard in "What the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears?")
RATING: 5 out of 10 greatest hits compilations
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