Personnel: Luther Vandross (vocals); Beyonce Knowles, (vocals); Foxy Brown, Busta Rhymes, Queen Latifah (rap vocals); Robbie Nevil (guitar, keyboards); Brion James, Victor Vega, Paul Jackson Jr. (guitar); Stevie Wonder (harmonica); Nat Adderley Jr. (piano, electric piano, keyboards); Chris James (piano); James Porte, Marcus Miller (keyboards, programming); Skip Anderson (keyboards, vibraphone); Byron Miller (bass); Ivan Hampden (drums); Bashiri Johnson (percussion); Cissy Houston, Tawatha Agee, Cindy Mizelle, Brenda White-King, Khadijah Mohammed, Ulisa Ivey, James "D Train" Williams, Michael Harvey, Ricky McDonald, Fonzi Thornton (background vocals).
Producers: Luther Vandross, Nat Adderley Jr.
Recorded at The Hit Factory, New York, New York; Beartracks Studios, Suffern, New York; Hannibal Studios, Santa Monica, California; Skip Trip-Algoryhthm Studios, Belle Mead, New Jersey.
DANCE WITH MY FATHER won the 2004 Grammy Award for Best R&B Album. "Dance With My Father" won for Song Of The Year and for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. The song was also nominated for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals and for Best R&B Song. "The Closer I Get To You" won for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals.
Life can be cruel and nowhere is this more apparent than when Luther Vandross was felled by a stroke just prior to the release of DANCE WITH MY FATHER. For the most personal of his 15 albums, Vandross dipped into the worlds of R&B and hip-hop for help on a handful of songs. Checking in are Beyonce Knowles playing Donny Hathaway to Luther's Roberta Flack on a lush reading of "The Closer I Get to You" that finds the roles flipped and Busta Rhymes hopping aboard a thumping cover of Bill Withers' "Lovely Day" (that includes a Part II). Also helping out with the heavy lifting are Queen Latifah on the snappy "Hit It Again" with its crackling rhythms, and bad-girl Foxy Brown who brings plenty of attitude to the sassy "If It Ain't One Thing." For all the celebrity cameos, Vandross is most successful when he masterfully changes gears into his guise as pop's premiere balladeer. With his velvety croon, this New York City native reminisces about better times on the wistful "Once Were Lovers" (featuring a moving Stevie Wonder harmonica solo) and also delivers the heartfelt title track, a self-described career song dedicated to Vandross' late father.
What the critics say...
Rolling Stone (6/26/03, p.72) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...He reinterprets pop and R&B classics masterfully, and his detailed lyrics give his own sleek ballads a lived-in presence..."
Entertainment Weekly (6/20/03, p.72) - "...The melding of old and new actually works..." - Rating: B
