Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. was an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer. Throughout his career, he achieved eleven consecutive RIAA-certified platinum albums and sold over 40 million records worldwide. Known as the "Velvet Voice", Vandross has been recognized as one of the 200 greatest singers of all time (2023) by Rolling Stone, as well as one of the greatest R&B artists by Billboard. In addition, NPR named him one of the 50 Great Voices. He was the recipient of eight Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year in 2004 for a track recorded not long before his death, "Dance with My Father". In 2021, he was posthumously inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame.
Risqué is the third studio album by American disco band Chic, released on Atlantic Records on July 30, 1979. One of the records that defined the disco era, the album became highly influential not only within the movement, but also in other styles such as hip hop, art rock and new wave. In 2020, Rolling Stone ranked the album at number 414 on their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Change is an Italian-American post-disco group formed in Bologna, Italy, in 1979 by businessman and executive producer Jacques Fred Petrus (1948–1987) and Mauro Malavasi. They were heavily influenced by the disco band Chic. The current incarnation of the group formed in 2018.
We Are Family is the third studio album by the American R&B vocal group Sister Sledge, released on January 22, 1979, in the United States and on April 30, 1979, in the United Kingdom by Cotillion Records. The album was written and produced by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of the band Chic, and includes four hit singles: the title track, "He's the Greatest Dancer", "Lost in Music" and "Thinking of You", all of which have been sampled, remixed, and reissued in the decades after the album's release. The album reached number one on the Top R&B Albums chart and peaked at number three on the Billboard 200, making it the band's most commercially successful album. In 2013, NME named it among the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Jump to It is the twenty-eighth studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin, produced by Luther Vandross and released on July 26, 1982, by Arista Records.
Norma Jean Wright is an American singer and was the lead vocalist of the American group Chic, a soul, R&B and disco band, from 1977 to 1978.
"Never Too Much" is the debut song written, composed, produced, and performed by Luther Vandross. The R&B song was released in 1981, as the lead single from Vandross's debut album of the same name. The title track hit number one on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, reached number four on the US Billboard Dance Club Songs chart, and peaked at number 33 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Forever, for Always, for Love is the second studio album by American R&B singer and songwriter Luther Vandross, released on September 21, 1982, by Epic Records. It became Vandross' second album to chart in the top 20 on the Billboard 200 and was his second album to top the R&B Albums chart where it spent three weeks.
Jacques Fred Petrus was a West Indian-born businessman and a pioneer of post-disco music. He spent much of his career in Italy and the United States.
Chic, currently called Nile Rodgers & Chic, is an American disco band that was formed in 1972 by guitarist Nile Rodgers and bassist Bernard Edwards. It recorded many commercially successful disco songs, including "Dance, Dance, Dance " (1977), "Everybody Dance" (1977), "Le Freak" (1978), "I Want Your Love" (1978), "Good Times" (1979), and "My Forbidden Lover" (1979). The group regarded themselves as a rock band for the disco movement "that made good on hippie peace, love and freedom". In 2017, Chic was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the eleventh time.
Mauro Malavasi is an Italian pianist, songwriter and producer. After graduating from the Bologna Conservatory and performing in several jazz ensambles, in 1977 he started collaborating with Jacques Fred Petrus in various disco, Italodisco and dance projects, and went on to write and produce hits with various Italian musicians. He received a Pico Mirandola Award in his hometown in 2008. He created the R&B band Change, in the process discovering vocalists Luther Vandross and Jocelyn Brown, and had a million-selling single, "A Lover's Holiday". Starting from the 1984 album Viaggi organizzati, he became co-writer and producer of Italian superstar singer Lucio Dalla. In the following years he collaborated with numerous high-profile Italian artists, including Andrea Bocelli, Gianni Morandi, Gianna Nannini, Elisa, Luca Carboni, Mango, Biagio Antonacci, Tony Esposito, Gerardina Trovato, Ron.
Les Plus Grands Succès De Chic: Chic's Greatest Hits, also known as The Best of Chic, is a greatest hits album by the American R&B band Chic, released on Atlantic Records in late 1979. It includes the biggest hits from their first three albums: Chic (1977), C'est Chic (1978) and Risqué (1979).
"My Forbidden Lover" is the second single from Chic's 1979 album Risqué. From the funk/soul genre, and in the style of disco, the song was written and produced by Chic's two frontmen, Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers.
"A Lover's Holiday" is the debut single by Change, from the album The Glow of Love. "A Lover's Holiday", along with the album's title track and "Searching" were very successful on the dance charts, spending nine weeks at number one - the all-time record. The three tracks were the most successful dance chart entries for 1980. Lead vocals for the tracks "Glow of Love" and "Searching" were performed by Luther Vandross. While "A Lover's Holiday" was a hit on the soul singles chart peaking at No. 5, and peaking at No. 40 on the Hot 100, "The Glow of Love" was the band's most successful single in Italy, peaking at No. 2 on the local hit parade.
Miracles is the second studio album by the Italian/U.S. ensemble Change. It was released in 1981 and reached number forty-six on the US Billboard Album Chart and nine on the US Billboard Black Albums chart. Miracles includes the singles "Paradise", "Your Move", "Heaven of My Life", "Stop for Love" and "Miracles".
Sharing Your Love is the third studio album by the Italian/U.S. ensemble Change. It was released in 1982 and reached number sixty-six on the US Billboard Album Chart and fourteen on the US Billboard Black Albums chart. Sharing Your Love includes the singles "The Very Best in You", "Oh What a Night", "Sharing Your Love", "Hard Times " and "Keep On It".
"Here We Go Again" is a song by American singer and songwriter Aretha Franklin. It was written by Trina Broussard, Jermaine Dupri and Trey Lorenz for Franklin's thirty-fourth studio album, A Rose Is Still a Rose (1998), while production was helmed by Dupri and Manuel Seal. The song is built around replayed portions of "The Glow of Love" (1980) by Italian-American post-disco group Change. Due to the inclusion of the sample, Mauro Malavasi, David Romani and Wayne K. Garfield are also credited as songwriters. The song was the second single released from A Rose Is Still a Rose in June 1998 and reached number 76 on the Billboard Hot 100, also becoming Franklin's fifth number one on the US Dance Club Songs.
Alfa Anderson is a soul /rhythm and blues/ disco singer and teacher, best known as one of the lead singers of the 1970s band Chic.
Alfonso "Fonzi" Thornton is an American vocalist, songwriter, producer and vocal contractor. In a career spanning 40 years, Thornton has sung backing vocals for top artists across many genres of music. His vocal credits can be found on the recordings of Aretha Franklin, Luther Vandross, Mick Jagger, Bryan Ferry, Roxy Music, Chic, Diana Ross, Garth Brooks, Ray Charles, Mariah Carey, Steely Dan, David Bowie, Robert Palmer, Patti LaBelle, Al Jarreau, Michael Jackson, Celine Dion, Phoebe Snow, Scritti Politti, Bette Midler, Lady Gaga and many others. In 2008, Thornton joined the musical entourage of Aretha Franklin as backing vocalist and vocal contractor and continued to accompany her in concert, on recordings and TV until her death in 2018.
Wayne K. Garfield was an American composer, collaborating songwriter, vocalist, social entrepreneur, community activist, and producer, who was born in 1952 in New York City. He co-founded of the music collective Change, which launched the career of Luther Vandross with the hit song "The Glow of Love" which became #1 on the Billboard Dance/Disco Chart in the summer of 1980.In addition, Garfield’s songs appear on Platinum-Plus recordings by Luther Vandross, J. Cole, Now! 7, and Janet Jackson. Garfield was an active participant in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and internationally as a player representative. Among his successful clients were NBA Summer League standout, Chedney Gray and Jimmy Baxter, who in 2006 was the recipient of the France basketball league’s Sixth Man of the Year and Newcomer of the Year.
