Luther Vandross’ Cover of The Beatles’ “Michelle” Released: “Another Classic Song Has Been Lutherized!”
Luther Vandross passed away in 2005, but unreleased music from the R&B icon was made available Friday — a cover of The Beatles’ ‘60s hit “Michelle.”
Vandross’ close friend and vocal collaborator, Fonzi Thornton, discovered the tape following the singer’s death when he visited his family to look through his music archives, unseen videos, cassette tapes, personal effects, stage costumes and more. He then moved the archives to a room in his apartment for safekeeping.
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“I found two cassettes labeled ‘Michelle’ in his handwriting — [I had] no idea what it was [and then I] played it! I realized it was a beautiful rendition of the Beatles classic that had been vocally and musically Lutherized,” Thornton tells The Hollywood Reporter. “I played Luther’s version for Jeff James, A&R at Sony and Dave Gottlieb, manager of the Vandross Estate, and we agreed it was such a find. We decided to save it until the right time — which is now.”
The release of “Michelle” coincides with the Vandross documentary feature Luther: Never Too Much, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and opens in select cities on Nov. 1. The 21-track Never Too Much: Greatest Hits album will be released on Dec. 13 and includes more unreleased songs and remixes, as well as the singer’s popular hits like “Here and Now,” “Endless Love” and “Power of Love/Love Power.”
The Beatles’ “Michelle,” written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, is about two-and-a-half minutes long and won the Grammy for song of the year at the 1967 show. Vandross’ soulful rendition is close to seven minutes and features his smooth and lush vocals.
“This is something we were in the process of working on but never finished. I think Luther decided to put it away to finish later and we never got around to it. Even so, the magnificence of Luther’s voice shines through. He uses every part of his voice so effortlessly and expertly — it never ceases to amaze me,” Marcus Miller, his close friend and collaborator, tells THR. “And toward the end you also get to hear the magic Luther could create when singing his own background vocals! Maybe he would have replaced them with his incredible team of background singers at some point — but he created some deliciousness here on his own. Another classic song has been Lutherized!”
Thornton, who appears in the documentary alongside Miller, Mariah Carey, Nile Rodgers and doc producer Jamie Foxx, says Vandross “once mentioned he loved the way ‘Michelle’ was written.”
“He had complimented Sarah Vaughan’s version but never mentioned recording the song. I figured it was an experiment in his quest to do a classic love song per album like ‘A House Is Not A Home’ or ‘Always and Forever.’ Funny enough, none of his musicians or engineers remember ever recording this,” he adds.
Vandross began his career as a backup singer for Roberta Flack, Chaka Khan, Bette Midler and David Bowie. He released his double-platinum debut album, Never Too Much, in 1981 and sold 40 million albums worldwide. Most of his albums — which he mostly self-produced — achieved platinum or double platinum status.
Luther: Never Too Much, directed by award-winning filmmaker Dawn Porter, tackles the legendary singer’s rich career as well as his battles with his sexuality and overeating. It arrives nearly 20 years after the eight-time Grammy winner died in 2005 at age 54, after suffering a stroke in 2003.
The documentary will premiere on CNN, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network and Max next year.
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