Luther Vandross is more than the voice of a generation. His voice can be heard through his own performances and works, as well as through the years of work with countless artists across many musical genres. Yet for all the hits and public successes, there were also the private moments of reflection and longing for something missing.
Perhaps the details of Vandross’ private life and experiences were not public, however we could feel what he was going through in his voice when he sang. Through the effortless brilliance of his vocals – the lyrics, the phrasing, the pauses – we could feel the depth of emotions he was experiencing. The joy and the sorrow often all within one song.
In the documentary Luther: Never Too Much, which opens nationwide on November 1st, award-winning film producer and director Dawn Porter gives audiences the opportunity to be informed on the less public journey that Vandross was navigating. Porter’s list of credits is extensive, and also crisscrosses subjects and time in modern history. On the surface, Luther: Never Too Much may seem like a departure from her previous films. Upon closer research and viewing, there is a throughline of truth, honesty and respect that runs through all her work. Porter shows the real work of the people behind the click-bait headlines and 24/7 news feeds. Just as Porter can stealthily balance the tough and controversial news subjects of today, she deftly brings us into Luther’s creative and private world.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Janice Lee: Thank you for making this film. I am so happy this movie was made.
Dawn Porter: I love this movie so much. I always say to people - it was the joy I needed in my life.
Lee: Luther had immense success and worked with a wide range of artists as a session musician and vocalist, and his artistry would shine through these other projects. With the access to the vast Sony Music archives, was there anything you found that he didn’t get to do, projects he didn’t get to?
Porter: We didn’t really. One of the challenges of making this film was that he did so much. I was thinking, “who is the current contemporary audience for Luther’s story?” I was thinking about the superfans, the fans, then the casual familiars, and then people who knew nothing about him. I want to serve all those audiences.
There was so much to cover - we easily could’ve made it three hours. Everybody’s got favorite songs. It could’ve been song after song after song.
There was a lot of rediscovering. This is one of my favorite things about films that are a look-back, something you thought you knew, but you didn’t realize all the layers. And your mention of session musicians, having those people come together in the room together, to me, it’s magic. it’s like alchemy. You see them back & forth together, how they fed off of each other, how they related to each other. I still don’t totally understand that, not being a musician, but it’s just endlessly fascinating.
There is something different about bodies being in physical proximity and you see it in the recording session. You see where he puts his hand - maybe to hold somebody back, or lean in and encourage somebody. so there’s like a dance in the music.
For us as non-musicians, I wanted to bring the audience into that process.
Somebody’s not just going in and recording a song. There is emotion, and a setting, an interaction, a connection, all of that is happening. That’s why you feel how you feel when you hear this music. That is what’s been built for the artist to communicate. That’s what we’re hearing, that’s what we’re loving.
Lee: All of your films have a pacing – a timing - that invites the viewer to not only learn about the film’s subject, but also feel what it’s like to be the person on the screen. This latest Luther documentary is no different.
Porter: We worked really hard on that. I’m glad you noticed that. And a lot of times, a similar note I’ll give the editor is ‘We need a breath here’.
When somebody in the audience sees something new, I don’t want to rush from that.
I want them to go “Wait a minute, Luther Vandross was singing back-up for David Bowie! Let me think about that for a minute; let me enjoy that piece of knowledge for a moment about these two people who I would never put together.”
And then you learn something about David Bowie. Luther was 20-something years old and David Bowie was like,“yeah, not only are you going to sing, now you’re going to come tour with me, and you’re going to arrange my first big album in America.” That’s like a mind-blowing generosity of an artist. Then later in the film you see Luther doing that with Mariah Carey.
To your point about pacing – one of the things that’s really special about this project is because we were working with Sony, we had the ability to play those songs longer. By the time you get to “Never Too Much,” which is the song most people are familiar with, you need that release of letting the song go on for a long time. We had to figure out without just playing the song: how do you let that feel satisfying? I was really happy with how the pacing of that came through.
There’s a build in the first half hour – surprise, surprise, surprise - then “Never Too Much” comes on and you’re delighted. And then you’re just off to the races. Just sit back and let it all wash over you. That’s what movies should do. You should be able to be surprised, be delighted, and then sit back and think. I’m really proud of this movie. I think we accomplished that. That’s what we were working on.
Lee: There’s a section in the film about Vandross’ road to winning Grammys. To watch his journey, not only to winning a Grammy, but also the validation from his industry peers. A part of me hopes that he knew how his musical peers looked up to him and were fans of his. Many are featured in your film: Nile Rodgers, Valerie Simpson, Marcus Miller, Richard Marx, Dionne Warwick – there must have been countless others.
Porter: I don’t know, I think he would be surprised at the outpouring. We could’ve made the film just people saying amazing things about him – really famous people. And I didn’t want to do that, probably to the consternation of the marketing people (laughs). I wanted it to be people who worked with him – really understood the depth of his talent and weren’t just admirers. And that gives a certain level of texture to their storytelling. They’re remembering what it is like to hear him laugh, and write and be silly. They’re thinking about a person, not a song or performer, or a very sculpted kind of exterior of a person.
They’re thinking about an actual person, flaws and all. And they love that person for how he made them feel as a friend, a colleague and a co-worker. They’re really trying to explain to you, this is how it felt to be with him. They’re not explaining how he hits a high note, or how he writes a song, they’re explaining how they feel.
And that’s what audiences connect to.
Luther: Never Too Much opens in theaters all across the US November 1, 2024.
Watch the trailer here:
https://luthervandross.com/
Special SF Bay Area screenings:
October 30, 2024 | 7:00pm
AMC Bay Street 16 / Emeryville CA
Purchase tickets here
November 2, 2024 | 6:30pm
Grand Lake Theatre / Oakland CA
Purchase tickets here
Dawn Porter / Producer & Director
https://www.trilogy-films.com/