"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 and number four on the US Billboard Dance Club Songs chart. It peaked at #27 in Cash Box and #33 on the US Billboard Hot 100.[2]
| "Never Too Much" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Side-A label of the U.S. 1981 single | ||||
| Single by Luther Vandross | ||||
| from the album Never Too Much | ||||
| B-side | "You Stopped Loving Me" | |||
| Released | October 1981 | |||
| Recorded | July 21, 1981 | |||
| Genre | R&B[1] | |||
| Length | 3:50 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Luther Vandross | |||
| Producer(s) | Luther Vandross | |||
| Luther Vandross singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Never Too Much" on YouTube | ||||
The album (Vandross' first as a solo artist) was very popular, especially with Black Radio and R&B Charts. It received several accolades, including two Grammy Award nominations in 1982—"Best New Artist" and "Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male".[3][4][5] A remixed version of the song reached number 13 on the UK singles chart in November 1989.[6]
The single is also included on his later album The Ultimate Luther Vandross, which was released in 2001. The single was released alongside a music video in which he is shown singing in a recording studio.
"Never Too Much" was ranked number 466 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in September 2021.[7]
Track listings
edit- U.S. 1981 7" single
- "Never Too Much" – 3:50
- "You Stopped Loving Me" – 4:59
- UK 1981 7" single
- "Never Too Much" – 3:50
- "Don't You Know That?" – 4:04
- UK 1981 12" single
- "Never Too Much" (Extended Version) – 5:38
- "Sugar and Spice (I Found Me a Girl)" – 4:57
- "Don't You Know That?" – 4:04
- UK 1989 7" single
- "Never Too Much" (Remix '89 by Justin Strauss) – 4:02
- "The Glow of Love" – 6:10
- UK 1989 12" single
- "Never Too Much" (Extended Remix '89 by Justin Strauss) – 6:42
- "Never Too Much" (Original Remix '81 a.k.a. Extended Version) – 5:38
- "The Glow of Love" – 6:10
- UK 1989 alternative 12" single
- "Never Too Much" (Ben Liebrand Mix) – 7:30
- "Never Too Much" (Alternate Vocal Mix '89 by Justin Strauss) – 6:49
- "Never Too Much" (Original 7" Version) – 3:50
Charts
edit| Chart (1981–1989) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Ireland (IRMA)[8] | 18 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[9] | 47 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[10] | 13 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[11] | 33 |
| US Billboard Dance Club Songs[12] | 4 |
| US Billboard Hot Soul Singles[13] | 1 |
Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[14] | 2× Platinum | 1,200,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[15] | Platinum | 1,000,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
Samples and cover versions
editSamples
edit- The song, without Vandross's vocals, was sampled by Will Smith (who was then known as The Fresh Prince) in "Can't Wait to Be with You" on his and Jeffrey A. Townes's hit album Code Red (1993). Smith (by that time a.k.a. Big Will) also used the vocal melody and lyrics from the song's chorus in "1,000 Kisses" on his 2002 album Born to Reign.
- Teddy Riley protege rapper Queen Pen sampled the same song on the track "All My Love" produced by Riley from her 1997 debut album My Melody.
- Keyshia Cole sampled the same song on the Eve-assisted track "Never" from her 2005 debut album The Way It Is.
- Fat Joe, DJ Khaled and Amorphous sampled the song for their 2021 single "Sunshine (The Light)".
Cover versions
edit- Guitarist Craig T. Cooper covered the song for his 1996 album Romantic Letter.[16]
- In 1997, contemporary jazz guitarist Richard Smith recorded a take for the album First Kiss.[17]
- In 2004, jazz guitarist Paul Jackson Jr. recorded a cover for the Vandross tribute album Forever, for Always, for Luther.[18][19]
- In 2005, the selection was covered by Mary J. Blige for another Vandross tribute album entitled So Amazing: An All-Star Tribute to Luther Vandross.[20]
- In 2013, vocalist Tracy Hamlin covered the song for her album This Is My Life.
- In 2014, John "Jon Jon" Harreld, of the R&B group Troop, covered the song in tribute to Vandross, and released the song as a single.[21]
- In 2015, Paul Kalkbrenner sampled the song in "A Million Days" on his album 7.
In film, television, and video games
edit- The first minute of this song is used in the American sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati season four episode 17 "Fire" (March 17, 1982), until it is unceremoniously cut off by Les Nessman when he reports that the Flimm Building is on fire while Venus Flytrap is on air.
- The song was used in the soundtrack for the Rockstar Games 2002 action-adventure video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City on the in-game radio station Emotion 98.3.
- "Never Too Much" is featured on the soundtrack of the 2012 movie, Think Like a Man.
- The intro of the song is used during the announcement of the guests in the Dutch daily late night show Jinek.
- The song was used in The Simpsons' "Treehouse of Horror XXV" includes a segment spoofing the film A Clockwork Orange.
- The song was used in the Google Doodle celebrating Luther Vandross' 70th birthday[22] on April 20, 2021.
- Drag artists Willow Pill and Bosco lip-synced to the song on RuPaul's Drag Race, season 14, episode 11.[23]
References
edit- ^ Billboard Staff (October 19, 2023). "The 500 Best Pop Songs: Staff List". Billboard. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
The joyous, club-wrecking R&B single that put Vandross, a gifted session singer with a slew of A-list credits, on the map...
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2011). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles: 1955-2010 (13th ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 934. ISBN 978-0-89820-190-1.
- ^ "Luther Vandross - Grammy Award". Grammy Awards. Archived from the original on 2023-10-21. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
24th Annual GRAMMY Awards - Nominations - Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male - Never Too Much (Album) - Best New Artist - Luther Vandross
- ^ "24th Annual Grammy Awards". Grammy Awards. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
24th Annual GRAMMY Awards - Best New Artist - Nominees...Luther Vandross - Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male - Nominees...Never Too Much (Album)
- ^ "1982 Grammy Award nominees, "Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male"", Grammys
- ^ "UK Official Singles Chart - Never Too Much (Luther Vandross)". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2017-10-25.
- ^ "Never Too Much ranked #466 on Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs List". Rolling Stone. 15 September 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
- ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Never Too Much". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
- ^ "Luther Vandross – Never Too Much". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
- ^ "Music: Top 100 - Billboard Hot 100", Billboard
- ^ "Dance Club Songs - Billboard", Billboard
- ^ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs - Billboard", Billboard
- ^ "British single certifications – Luther Vandross – Never Too Much". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
- ^ "American single certifications – Luther Vandross – Never Too Much". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
- ^ "Craig T. Cooper". Smooth-jazz.de.
- ^ "First Kiss Overview". AllMusic.com.
- ^ "Song: Never Too Much". Secondhandsongs.com.
- ^ "Forever, for Always, for Luther". AllMusic.com.
- ^ "Various Artists - So Amazing: An All-Star Tribute to Luther Vandross (2005)". AllMusic.com.
- ^ Prescott, Pat (2015-06-30). "Troop's Jon Jon Talks Group Survival, Performing Live & More « 94.7 The WAVE". 947thewave.cbslocal.com. Retrieved 2016-10-23.
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Luther Vandross's 70th Birthday". YouTube.
- ^ "Willow Pill vs. Bosco - Never Too Much by Luther Vandross". YouTube.