LUTHER VANDROSS - A HOUSE IS NOT A HOME

A HOUSE IS NOT A HOME

LUTHER VANDROSS

SONGWRITERS: BURT BACHARACH & HAL DAVID

COUNTRY: u. s. a.

ALBUM: never too much

LABEL: epic records

Genre: soul

YEAR: 1981

 

          Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr.(April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his sweet and soulful vocals, Vandross has sold over 40 million records worldwide. He achieved eleven consecutive Platinum albums and eight Grammy Awards, including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four different times. In 2004, Vandross won a total of four Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Award for Song of the Year for a song recorded not long before his death, "Dance with My Father".

       Vandross worked as a backing vocalist in the 1970s, and appeared on albums by artists such as Roberta Flack, Donny Hathaway, Todd Rundgren, Judy Collins, Chaka Khan, Bette Midler, Diana Ross, David Bowie, Ben E. King, Stevie Wonder, and Donna Summer. He later became a lead singer of the group Change, which released its Gold-certified debut album, The Glow of Love, in 1980 on Warner/RFC Records. After Vandross left the group, he was signed to Epic Records as a solo artist and released his debut solo album, Never Too Much, in 1981.

       His hit songs include "Never Too Much", "Here and Now", "Any Love", "Power of Love/Love Power", "I Can Make It Better" and "For You to Love". Many of his songs were covers of original music by other artists such as "If This World Were Mine" (duet with Cheryl Lynn), "Since I Lost My Baby", "Superstar", "I (Who Have Nothing)" and "Always and Forever". Duets such as "The Closer I Get to You" with Beyoncé, "Endless Love" with Mariah Carey and "The Best Things in Life Are Free" with Janet Jackson were all hit songs in his career.

       Never Too Much is the debut solo studio album by American singer Luther Vandross, released on August 12, 1981, by Epic Records. Composed by Vandross himself, the album reached number 19 on the US Billboard 200 and number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and has been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America(RIAA). Never Too Much earned Vandross two Grammy Award nominations in 1982, including Best New Artist and Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male.

       The album's title track topped the Black Singles chart for two weeks. Vandross's rendition of Dionne Warwick's 1964 song "A House Is Not a Home" became one of his signature songs, and received attention for its transformation into an "epic", since its duration was extended to seven minutes. In 2020, the album was ranked number 362 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

A chair is still a chair, even when there's no one sittin' there

But a chair is not a house and a house is not a home

When there's no one there to hold you tight

And no one there you can kiss goodnight

Whoa, ohh, girl

 

A room is still a room, oh, even when there's nothin' there but gloom

But a room is not a house and a house is not a home

When the two of us are far apart

And one of us has a broken heart

 

Now and then I call your name

And suddenly your face appears

But it's just a crazy game

When it ends, it ends in tears

 

Pretty little darling, have a heart, don't let one mistake keep us apart

I'm not meant to live alone, turn this house into a home

When I climb the stairs and turn the key

Oh, please be there, sayin' that you're still in love with me, yeah

 

I'm not meant to live alone, turn this house into a home

When I climb the stairs and turn the key

Oh, please be there, still in love

I said still in love

Still in love with me, yeah

 

Are you gonna be in love with me?

I want you and need you to be, yeah

Still in love with me

Say you're gonna be in love with me

It's drivin' me crazy to think that my baby

Couldn't be still in love with me

 

Are you gonna be, say you're gonna be

Are you gonna be, say you're gonna be

Are you gonna be, say you're gonna be

Well, well, well, well

Still in love, so in love, still in love with me?

 

Are you gonna be

Say that you're gonna be

 

Still in love with me, yeah

With me, ohh

Still in love with me, yeah.