Vandross died on 1 July 2005 from a heart attack, at the age of just 54.Two years earlier he had suffered a severe stroke at his home in New York, and was in a coma for two months.Whitney Houston’s mother, Cissy Houston, sung at his funeral.In September 2005 the album So Amazing: An All-Star Tribute to Luther Vandross was released. It is a collection of some of his songs performed by various artists, including Stevie Wonder, Mary J Blige, Usher, Beyoncé, Donna Summer, Alicia Keys, Elton John, Celine Dion, Aretha Franklin and more.

In 2010, NPR included Vandross as one of its 50 greatest voices in recorded history, saying he represents “the platinum standard for R&B song stylings”.On the Google Doodle, his family released this statement: “It is a true reflection of Luther Vandross’ musical legacy around the world to be honoured by Google with an animated video Doodle that fittingly captures the joy Luther has brought the world.“Luther made each of his songs about one simple, universal subject – love; an emotion and feeling common to the human experience no matter who you are, where you’re from or what you look like.” This week on Spotlight we will feature the Legendary Luther Vandross here on JazzWave OnLine Radio.The New wave of Music where we play Pinoy Beats and Smooth Jazz all day and all night long.