*Luther Vandross’s niece revealed the inspiration behind some of the late singer’s biggest hits in a new interview.
Her insights coincide with the new re-release of Luther’s second album, “This Close To You,” on vinyl, CD, and digital. His first album, “Luther,” was re-released in April, PEOPLE reports.
“I know that he wanted to be known as a premier singer of his time and he accomplished that no question,” Seveda Williams told PEOPLE.
“They don’t make them like him anymore. He was the last, in my opinion, true king of romance. He had a magnificent voice, but he also wrote the lyrics, these heartfelt lyrics,” Luther’s niece continued.
Williams explained that the R&B singer’s inspiration came from Vandross’s personal life but not his love life, which he kept private.
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“I think his depth of love came from his own situations and when you’re young, he was writing before he was even in any type of relationship or anything. So he was not always singing about romantic love,” she said.
“Most people assume it, but if you look at the lyrics of his songs, everything is not romantic. So it’s about loving yourself, loving your mom, loving a situation that you’re in. Everything’s not autobiographical.”
Vandross’s life and career are chronicled in “Never Too Much,” a highly anticipated documentary set for release in January 2025.
We reported earlier that the Jamie Foxx-produced project was acquired by CNN Films in partnership with the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN).
Dawn Porter directed and executive produced the documentary film, which premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and will debut next year on CNN and OWN before streaming on Max, IndieWire reports.
“I wanted him to be able to tell you his story as much as possible, so how do you do that with someone who’s not with us?” Porter told The Hollywood Reporter. “A lot of that was thinking about the lyrics. [On] ‘Any Love,’ he was just endlessly frustrated with the absence of a romantic partner in his life,” she explained. “So through his lyrics, I think you get to know a little bit more about him.”
As EUR’s Chris Richburg reported, “Luther: Never Too Much” explores Vandross’ musical legacy and influence. His former label, Sony, is on board with the project and some of the “Stop to Love” hitmaker’s former bandmates and collaborators. Those interviewed for the doc are Vandross’s musical partner Marcus Miller, Mariah Carey, Nile Rodgers, Clive Davis, Valerie Simpson, Richard Marx, and Jamie Foxx.
The film also dissects questions surrounding the singer’s sexuality.
“What we tried to do was balance, here’s how Luther handled those questions in his life,” Porter told InsideWire. “But it was really, really important to me and I hope the viewer senses, I’m trying to honor how he lived, because it’s important to not out people when they do not want to be outed and when they did not choose that…I’m going to let him have the last word.”
Williams told People she watched the documentary more than once and “enjoyed it a lot.”
“I’m willing to stand behind it,” Williams said. “It’s not going to be for everybody. I think it is very inclusive of everything and you’ll get to see it and come up with your opinion. It doesn’t hide anything. It hits many layers of who he is or was and how he got there and what happened for or to him.”
READ MORE FROM EURWEB.COM: CNN Films and OWN Acquire Jamie Foxx-Produced Luther Vandross Documentary
