Dance with My Father (album)
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| BBC Music | (favorable)[2] |
| The Guardian | [3] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B[4] |
| Los Angeles Times | [5] |
| Plugged In | (mixed)[6] |
| Rolling Stone | [7] |
Dance with My Father is the thirteenth and final studio album by American R&B recording artist Luther Vandross. It was released in the United States on June 10, 2003, by J Records, The album, especially its title track, was dedicated to Vandross' late father.
The album earned Vandross two American Music Awards in 2003—Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist and Favorite Soul/R&B Album—and four Grammy Awards in 2004—Song of the Year and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for "Dance with My Father" (also nominated for Best R&B Song), Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for "The Closer I Get to You" (with Beyoncé), and Best R&B Album.
Chart performance and sales
Dance with My Father debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart, moving some 442,000 units in its opening week alone,[8] and topped the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart after debuting at #42 the previous week.
This was Vandross' only album to top the U.S. albums chart and his eighth album to reach #1 on the Top R&B Albums chart. The album stands as his first #1 R&B album in twelve years since the release of Power of Love. Dance With My Father is the biggest selling studio album of Luther's entire career with over 2.9 million sales in the United States alone. The title track single was a hit on Pop, R&B, and Adult Contemporary radio. It received the 2004 Grammy Award for Song of the Year, which was accepted by the song's co-writer Richard Marx.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "If I Didn't Know Better" | Ezekiel Lewis, Vandross, Vertelney | 4:07 |
| 2. | "Think About You" | James Porte, Vandross | 5:04 |
| 3. | "If It Ain't One Thing" (featuring Foxy Brown) | Robbie Nevil, Vandross, Vertelney, Marchand | 4:13 |
| 4. | "Buy Me a Rose" | Jim Funk, Erick Hickenlooper | 3:48 |
| 5. | "The Closer I Get to You" (duet with Beyoncé) | Reggie Lucas, James Mtume | 6:25 |
| 6. | "Lovely Day" (featuring Busta Rhymes) | Ronald LaPread, Lionel Richie, Bill Withers, Clarence Scarborough | 5:57 |
| 7. | "Dance with My Father" | Vandross, Richard Marx | 4:26 |
| 8. | "She Saw You" | Marcus Miller, Vandross | 5:44 |
| 9. | "Apologize" | Rex Rideout, Vandross | 4:59 |
| 10. | "Hit It Again" (featuring Queen Latifah) | Rideout, Vandross | 4:37 |
| 11. | "Right in the Middle" | Vandross, Vertelney | 4:50 |
| 12. | "Once Were Lovers" | Rideout, Fonzi Thornton, Vandross | 4:34 |
| 13. | "Lovely Day (Part II)" (featuring Busta Rhymes and Next) | LaPread, Richie, Withers, Scarborough | 3:54 |
| 14. | "They Said You Needed Me" | Ivan Hampden, Jr., Vandross | 4:40 |
Production
- Executive Producer: Luther Vandross
- Producers: Luther Vandross, Nat Adderley, Jr., Shep Crawford, Marcus Miller
- Re-mix Producers: Eddie F., Kay Gee, Darren Lighty
- Engineers: Ray Bardani, Paul J. Falcone (Vocals), Marcus Miller, Gabriel Varde, Stan Wallace, "You Can Ask" Giz
- Assistant Engineers: Carl Cyrius, Jason Dale, Michael McCoy, Daniel Milazzo, Claudius Mittendorfer, Flip Osman, Dave Perini, Matt Snedecor, Jason Stasium
- Tracking: Gabriel Varde
- Mixing: Ray Bardani, "You Can Ask" Giz
- Mastering: Herb Powers
Personnel
- Drums: Ivan Hampden (Track 5)
- Percussion: Bashiri Johnson (Track 5), Skip Anderson (14)
- Keyboard & Drum Programming: Ivan Hampden (Track 14), Richard Marx (7), Marcus Miller (6, 8), Rex Rideout (9-10, 12), Reed Vertelney (3, 11)
- Bass: Reggie Hamilton (Track 1), Byron Miller (5), Jerry Ramos (2), Ivan Hampden (5)
- Guitars: Phil Hamilton (Track 5), Paul Jackson, Jr. (6, 8), Brion James (1), Robbie Nevil (3), Victor Vega (2), Ricky Watford (10), Jay Williams (4)
- Keyboards: Nat Adderley, Jr. (Tracks 5, 14), Skip Anderson (1-3, 7, 11), Chris James (2), Robbie Nevil (3)
- Harmonica: Stevie Wonder (Track 12)
- Backing Vocals: Tawatha Agee (Tracks 1-3, 5, 7, 11-12), Julia Byrd (3, 6, 10-11), Sharon Bryant (12), Cissy Houston (1-2, 5, 7, 11), J. Michael (9), Joy James (3, 6, 10-11), Ricky McDonald (8), Marcus Miller (10), Cindy Mizelle (1-3, 7, 11), April Owens (3, 6, 10-11), RL (13), Candace Thomas (3, 5-6, 10-11), Fonzi Thornton (8), Brenda White-King (1-3, 5, 7, 11-12), James "D-Train" Williams (8), Luther Vandross (8, 14)
- Additional Instrumentation by Shep Crawford (Track 4)
- Arranged by Luther Vandross (Tracks 1-6, 8-12), Reed Vertelney (1, 3, 11), Rex Rideout (9-10, 12), James Porte (2), Marcus Miller (6, 8), Ivan Hampden (14), Skip Anderson (5), & Nat Adderley Jr. (5, 14)
- String Arrangements by Nat Adderley, Jr. (Track 5)
- Strings Contracted by Al Brown (Track 5)
- Concertmaster: Sanford Allen (Track 5)
- Sound Design: Jeff Bova (Tracks 1-3, 7, 9-12)
Charts
| Chart (2003) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart | 41 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Internet Albums | 1 |
References
- ^ Jeffries, David. "Dance with My Father - Luther Vandross". Allmusic.
- ^ Smith, Jack. "Review of Luther Vandross - Dance With My Father". BBC Music. Retrieved 2013-04-04.
- ^ Sweeting, Adam (2003-06-26). "Luther Vandross: Dance With My Father". The Guardian. Retrieved 2013-04-04.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Jones, Vanessa (2003-06-20). "Dance With My Father Review". Entertainment Weekly: 72. Retrieved 2013-04-04.
- ^ Nichols, Natalie (2003-06-22). "Romance with special poignancy". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2013-05-17.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Waliszewski, Bob. "Luther Vandross - Dance With My Father - Album Review". Plugged In. Retrieved 2013-04-04.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Walters, Barry (2003-06-03). "Dance With My Father". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2013-04-04.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Martens, Todd (June 18, 2003). "Ailing Vandross Dances Atop Album Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 2009-03-21.