Luther has to be one of the best singers of the 1980s. He had the pipes and he had the charm. This tune is off of his 1981 debut album, Never Too Much. Luther wrote every song off the album except this final track. A House Is Not a Home was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for the 1964 film of the same name. Early fun fact: Raquel Welch made her film debut with a small role in this movie. One of the most famous versions of this song, outside of Luther’s, is by the great Dionne Warwick. There is a thrilling video of Luther singing this live at the 19th NAACP Image Awards. Dionne sits in the audience as Luther serenades the world. Check it out here.
Fun Fact: The drummer on this track is a New York drummer named Buddy Williams. Buddy played on an incredible amount of albums from the 70s onward as well as being a member of the Saturday Night Live band. Tiny brag: I got to play with him at a Christmas show in New York years ago.
Fun Fact 2: The keyboardist on this track is Nat Adderley, Jr. His father was Nat Adderley, a great jazz trumpeter who played on many jazz albums and wrote the jazz tune “Work Song.” Jr.’s uncle was the great Cannonball Adderley, who played on the top jazz album of all time, Kind Of Blue by Miles Davis. I have not played with any of the Adderley family.
My Listening Tips: I think Luther’s vocals are mesmerizing. Take a listen to the vamp section at the end. He does an incredible riff that gets me every single time I hear this track. Right around 5:55. Wow. Also, Anthony Jackson’s bass playing is top-notch this whole track. Pump it up for sure!
Happy listening!
Song: “A House Is Not a Home”
Artist: Luther Vandross
Album: Never Too Much
Year: 1981
My other favorites from the album:
“Never Too Much”
“Don’t You Know That”
“Sugar and Spice (I Found Me a Girl)”
A chair is still a chair,
Even when there’s no one sittin’ there
But a chair is not a house and a house is not a home
When there’s no one there to hold you tight
And no one there you can kiss goodnight
A room is still a room,
Even when there’s nothin’ there but gloom
But a room is not a house and a house is not a home
When the two of us are far apart
And one of us has a broken heart
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My name is Michael Sanchez and I’m an avid record collector and obscure song searcher. My goal is to post one song a day that’s been on my stereo/turntable frequently. If you don’t like the song… too bad 🙂 You can just wait another day for a new one.
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