This success of Frank Sinatra’s highly acclaimed Duets album, released in 1993, would not have been possible without the remarkable vocal talents of Luther Vandross.

The Making of a Multi Platinum Album…

Billed as “The Recording Event of the Decade,” Duets brought together an array of global superstars including Tony Bennett, Natalie Cole, Gloria Estefan, Barbra Streisand and Aretha Franklin, for an album of standards that featured many songs instantly associated with Ol’ Blues Eyes.

Music insiders referred to it as groundbreaking because it showcased Sinatra alongside his peers in the hitmaking royalty category.

Luther Vandross was reluctant to participate in the project when he was approached by the album’s producer, Phil Ramone. “Why do you want me, Phil? Frank Sinatra’s never heard of me.”

When Luther finally agreed, he requested the Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart classic “The Lady Is A Tramp.” This songwriting duet created it for their Broadway show, Babes in Arms, and it was sung by the show’s star Mitzi Green in 1939.

Sinatra performed the song in the movie version of the play in 1957 and it quickly became one of his signature songs.

Although Luther and Sinatra recorded their parts at Capitol Records Studio A in Los Angeles, a familiar studio for Sinatra, they did not sing together, nor did any of the others. The album was engineered with such utter precision, most listeners never knew that Sinatra hadn’t actually performed beside his duet partners.

Luther Vandross Was The Catalyst for The Album’s Creations

Luther and Sinatra’s song was the first to be brought to Sinatra for his approval. The entire project’s completion hung on whether Frank Sinatra liked what he heard.  The verdict was, “That’s wonderful,” and it’s Luther’s voice, not Sinatra’s, that kicks off the album. Pretty wonderful indeed!

“Duets is a marvelous and nostalgic comeback from a singer who has been absent from the recording scene for many years,” reported The Christian Science Monitor.

Frank Sinatra’s Duets album is the only Sinatra album to date to achieve triple platinum certification. It is also the biggest worldwide selling duets album in history.

For Luther Vandross, it’s just another example of his musical genius. 

We’re celebrating the musical legacy of Luther Vandross and raising awareness for diabetes health-related complications (such as vision loss) on Divabetic’s Annual Luther Vandross Tribute podcast.

Diabetic eye disease, caused by diabetes, is a leading cause of blindness and vision loss. Because of the high risk for eye disease, all people with type 2 diabetes should receive an annual dilated eye exam..

Guests include Andre “Doctor Dre” Brown, Nat Adderley Jr.,  Dr. Khoshnevis, Danny Clay, and Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE.  Throughout this podcast we will be featuring music from Luther Vandross’s album, ‘The Night I Fell In Love’ courtesy of SONY Music