Luther Vandross Documentary Sets UK Release Date – clashmusic.com

The acclaimed Luther Vandross documentary feature Luther: Never Too Much will be screened in UK and Irish cinemas for one night only, Thursday January 30^th.
Directed and executive produced by Dawn Porter, Luther: Never Too Much is produced by Trish D Chetty and Ged Doherty for Raindog Films; Jamie Foxx and Datari Turner for Foxxhole Productions; and Leah Smith for Trilogy Films.
Never Too Much seeks to reintroduce the troubled soul legend to the masses, using a treasure trove of rarely seen archives, in addition to testimonies from his closest friends and collaborators including Mariah Carey, Dionne Warwick, Valerie Simpson and Roberta Flack. The film relives the highs in a glittering, Grammy-winning career, whilst also exploring Luther’s personal life, health struggles, the discrimination he faced as a black artist and a lifelong battle to earn the respect his often-imitated music deserved.
Luther Vandross began his career as a back-up vocalist for the likes of David Bowie and Donna Summer. As an artist in his own right, Vandross sold close to 50 million records worldwide over the span of his career. He died on July 1st 2005, at the age of 54 due to complications of a stroke.
In an interview with IndieWire, director Dawn Porter spoke of the importance of bringing Luther’s family and estate into creative conversations early in the process. What makes Luther: Never Too Much different from the other artist-led documentaries was to focus on the work that went into Vandross becoming such a revered figure among his peers.
“Showing his intelligence, that was a big thing,” she said. “What I started to learn about him was that he was a composer, an arranger, and a producer, and produced Dionne Warwick, and Aretha Franklin, and sang backup for [David] Bowie, and ended up arranging Bowie’s first American album. Everybody I spoke to said he’s a vocal genius. I thought, that’s not how he’s portrayed. I think with a lot of Black artists, we act as if they’ve just come out of the womb singing, and then it’s this God-given natural talent as if there’s no work and intention. For me, I wanted to focus on that part of his skill, that just because you’re Black doesn’t mean that you can sing.”
Watch the new trailer for the documentary feature below.
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