![]() ![]() Luther suffered a stroke the year it came outĪt the time of 'Dance with My Father''s release on May 30, 2003, Vandross had been hospitalised after suffering from a stroke.This is how I’m going to be associated'.” This is what I’m going to sing for the rest of my life. But more importantly, he said, 'This is the most important song of my life. "Luther really felt like 'Dance with My Father' would be a hit. It was the last song he ever recorded, and I think the last song he ever wrote. And he went into the studio and recorded it 10 days before he had the stroke that ultimately took him from us. "And so he changed the verse melody a little bit, but it was, again, effortless. "So he said, 'Look, I’ve got to just break these verses up a little bit, because I’ve got a lot to say. To hear Luther’s voice hold a note was just heaven. My original melody was not a lot of notes. I went off and wrote some music, and sent it to him. He told me kind of what he wanted it to be about. And it’s called ‘Dance with My Father’.' All he had was the title. He said: 'I’ve got an idea for a song, and only you can write it for me. Speaking about writing the song, he said: "And then in 2003, he rang me up one day. He was capable of writing it all, as I am. And it was so easy to write songs together because I wrote music, and he wrote lyrics. It was called 'Every Year, Every Christmas'. He did a Christmas album – his first and only Christmas album. "But then a year or two later, he asked me to write a song with him. He sang on 'Keep Coming Back' and some other tracks. He offered to do that, so I took him up on that. He sang background vocals on a couple of my records, which was amazing. "We didn’t work together that much in the first couple of years. We just developed a friendship over time. And then a few months later, we were both off the road, and he came to my house. "So we found ourselves calling each other at night after our shows, just to get to know each other, and hang out on the phone. "You know how sometimes you just hit it off with somebody immediately? You just feel like, 'Oh, this is a person I’m going to hang out with'? We started talking on the phone. And we exchanged phone numbers," Richard explained. It was a little mutual admiration society backstage for a minute. I was a big fan of his, and he was really sweet to me. "I met Luther in the early ‘90s at an American Music Awards show backstage. Richard Marx interview: Singer recalls writing 'Dance with My Father' with friend Luther Vandross It was years later, in 2003, when the talented duo worked on 'Dance With My Father' together, which resulted in them bagging a Grammy Award for Song of the Year. Soon, they were working together musically, with the 'Never Too Much' singer performing backing vocals for multiple Marx albums, and Richard writing songs for Luther's first and only Christmas album, This Is Christmas. ![]() Richard Marx later opened up about writing the song with Luther, when talking on Smooth Radio's Famous Firsts podcast.Īfter meeting backstage at the American Music Awards in the '90s, Marx and Vandross instantly hit it off. I was so surprised that at 7 1/2 years of age, he could remember what a happy household we had. I was amazed at how well Luther remembered his father, how we used to dance and sing in the house. Luther's most poignant memory of his dad was him dancing in the house with his kids, which is where the concept of the song came from. It is a tribute to his father, Luther Vandross, Sr, who died due to complications of diabetes, when Luther was seven. Vandross wrote 'Dance with My Father' with Marx, based on his personal experience. One of the reasons Vandross asked Marx to help him was because Richard lost his dad in 1997 and could understand the feeling he was trying to convey. The song was written for his 13th album of the same name, released in 2003. The 10 greatest Luther Vandross songs ever.Luther Vandross co-wrote this song with singer-songwriter Richard Marx, best known for his hits 'Hazard' and 'Right Here Waiting'. Here he is with the Grammy he won for the song in 2004. Richard Marx co-wrote the song with Luther Vandross. But did you know about the song's fascinating backstory and moving legacy? Find out all you need to know right here: ![]()
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