“When I listen to Luther Vandross’ music, It makes me happy. I want to sing along and move to the beat. I want to snap my fingers and stomp my feet. There is joy in his music,” says Evetta Petty, the owner and designer of Harlem Heaven’s Hats.
Evetta will be joining us at our upcoming Luther Vandross: “Never Too Much” birthday celebration featuring a Music Panel, Fashion Show, Live Performances, Style Vendors, and Live DJ on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, at Thread Lounge at the Renaissance Hotel in NY, NY.
Evetta and Divabetic partnered on a successful faith-based diabetes outreach program, Hat Boxing. At these events, we challenged women at risk, affected by, and living with diabetes to design hat boxes with educational, motivational, and encouraging messages about managing their diabetes health. Our main focus was raising awareness of the link between mismanaged diabetes and stroke.
In 2003, before the release of “Dance With My Father,” my boss, Luther Vandross, suffered a debilitating stroke due to mismanaged type 2 diabetes. Please learn how to keep your house a home by learning to prevent a stroke from occurring. If someone you know is experiencing a store, don’t wait to take action. Once a stroke strikes, every minute counts. BE FAST is a simple way to remember the signs of a stroke. BE FAST stands for balance, eyes, face, arm, speech, and time.
Strokes don’t automatically result in long-term impairment. A clot-busting drug, known as tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), can be given intravenously to people having a stroke. The drug can shrink the size of the clot, allowing blood to flow back to the brain. The key is calling 911 when you recognize a loved one is experiencing a stroke.
My boss, Luther Vandross, was known for wearing rhinestones, silk tuxedos, and tailcoats on stage and Versace, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, and Tom Ford off-stage! He wore bright colors, animal prints, geometric patterns, and fringes, which Evetta Petty appreciated.
“When I design hats, I want them to make the customer happy. I am dressing people for important events in their life. I want them to smile when they see the hats and look great in them. I want my hats to evoke that same joy that I feel from Luthers’ music, ” says Evetta Petty. Harlem Heaven’s Hats have been featured in VOGUE, ELLE, CNN, the NY Times, and the World-Renowned Kentucky Derby and Royal Ascot. She will participate in our Fashion Show at the Luther Vandross Never Too Much Birthday Celebration on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, at Thread Lounge in New York City.
Join us when we celebrate the Glitz, Glamour, and Romantic Elegance that made Luther’s music and concerts memorable and set him apart from other entertainers.
MUSIC PANEL: Luther’s Vocalist, Cindy Mizelle, and Luther’s Choreographer, James Ervin, discuss working on his recording and stage shows. Hosted by Max “Mr. Divabetic” Szadek.
MAKEVOER: Graffiti Glamour Makeup Artistry Founder Alicia Mitchell demonstrates the power of beauty in transforming your health. Alicia’s own health journey is powerful, and she will share how small steps led her to great success in managing her weight. Hosted by Max “Mr. Divabetic” Szadek.
FASHION SHOW: Harlem Heaven’s Hats, Kynetik Soundz, Baro Sanchez, Dig Ferreira, LPF Collection, Teresa Marie Collection, JM Designs, and Modafleur showcase the hottest trends in fashion. Plus, S Designs spotlights Luther’s Wedding Song, “Here & Now,” with funky, flashy, and fabulous wedding gowns you don’t want to miss! Hosted by Catherine Schuller.
LIVE MUSIC: Keith Anthony Fluitt will perform some of Luther’s most beloved songs, plus Special Guest performer Christopher Faison. DJ DAN.C.E. will spin Luther’s hits all night long.
STYLISH VENDORS: Support a dazzling array of small businesses, including True Serenity Teas, Power Pieces, and Harlem Heaven’s Hats.
Come dressed in your Big 80s Bling! Register Now. It’s Free!
This year marks two decades since the release of Luther‘s soulful and emotional ballad “Dance with My Father.” It’s also the twentieth anniversary of Luther’s devastating stroke related to mismanaged type 2 diabetes. Luther suffered a stroke at age 52.
I found Luther on the floor of his Fifth Avenue apartment after he suffered a stroke. Many have speculated that Luther experienced the stroke several hours before my arrival. Sadly, his stroke damaged Luther’s motor skills and mental abilities, leaving him unable to perform on stage again.
At the time, I had no idea that mismanaged diabetes could cause such tragic health outcomes even though, I had a family history of diabetes. When the media reported that Luther suffered a stroke but failed to mention it’s linked to diabetes, I felt was angry. I wanted to warn Luther fans about the connection so they could avoid a similar fate. Luther’s stroke changed the course of my life. I became Lutehr’s caregiver, a passionate diabetes advocate, and the founder of the nonprofit, Divabetic. Every day I strive to help inspire and empower people with diabetes to take charge of their diabetes health. I know it’s not easy. Some days are more challenging than others, mainly when unexpected setbacks occur. But ignoring your diabetes is not the answer.
“Dance With My Father” is a testament to the power of mismanaged diabetes to decimate a family tree. Luther lost his father at a tender age due to mismanaged diabetes too.
I lost my father four years ago to bone cancer. I am grateful for the many years my father and I spent together working on Divabetic outreach. We saw the power of educating the generations in families to prevent diabetes health complications from occurring.
“Dance With My Father” is co-written by Luther Vandross and GRAMMY-winning singer, songwriter, and producer Richard Marx, and resonated with millions of listeners worldwide, touching hearts and earning Vandross a posthumous GRAMMY for Song of the Year in 2004.
https://youtu.be/OiNSRU-smNI
To honor Luther’s enduring music legacy, Primary Wave Music, The Luther Vandross Estate, and Legacy Recordings/Sony Music have released the song in high-resolution Dolby Atmos for an enhanced audio experience that fans can stream and download from several platforms.
Visit LutherVandross.com to create and share personally customized Father’s Day memories using the ‘What My Father Taught Me’ meme generator with the hashtag #DanceWithMyFather20. Additionally, on the site, you can purchase items from a limited edition gift guide, encapsulating the soul of this unforgettable song. Commemorate Father’s Day and Black Music Month by celebrating this iconic piece of Black music history. Let’s unite as fans, saluting Luther Vandross’ lasting legacy and the special connection between fathers and their children.
I will take every opportunity to raise awareness for diabetes and diabetes health-related complications such as stroke.
Senior Writer and Editor of Jet Magazine, Clarence Waldron, talks about his stroke and its recovery.
Twenty years ago, Clarence interviewed Luther’s mother, Mrs. Mary Ida Vandross, for Jet Magazine after Luther suffered a stroke due to mismanaged type 2 diabetes. Clarence’s story is an excellent reminder of why it’s essential to ACT F.A.S.T. if you or a loved one is experiencing a stroke. The acronym FAST (Facial drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulties, and Time) has been used by the National Stroke Association, American Heart Association, and others to educate the public on detecting stroke symptoms.
Earlier treatment results in a greater chance of recovery, a reduced likelihood of permanent disability, and a lesser need for extensive rehabilitation. You’ll quickly hear Clarence’s upbeat attitude and ferocious appetite for music and divas have served him well during his recovery.
Throughout this podcast, we feature music from Aretha Franklin’s Get It Right album and Luther Vandross’s Live At Radio City Music Hall 2003 20th Anniversary Edition album courtesy of SONY Music.
Patti LaBelle‘s outspoken attitude about living well with type 2 diabetes at a Luther Vandross Tribute concert changed my life 20 years ago. She said, “diabetes doesn’t control me, I control my diabetes!”. Those words inspired me to coin the phrase ‘Divabetic’ (Divabetic.Org).
My former boss, Luther Vandross, never spoke openly about his type 2 diabetes beyond a prescription refill. At that moment, watching her on stage, I wished that I had the chance to talk about diabetes self-care with Luther prior to his stroke. Like everyone else, I thought he had his type 2 diabetes in the bag and didn’t need any support, or encouragement. When I found him on the floor after experiencing a stroke (related to mismanagement of type 2 diabetes) in April 2002, prior to the release of Dance With My Father, I deeply regretted my ignorance. To this day, I still wonder “what if?”
Patti LaBelle’s candidness or ‘new attitude’ about her diabetes health is probably the singular reason why I started a nonprofit organization. As hard as it might seem to ask for help, it’s worth it when you know there’s someone looking out for you. You deserve an entourage – a group of loving collaborators supporting you to live your best life!
Looking for a fun way to socialize without putting your diabetes wellness at risk? Do you need a little help staying on track with your diabetes self-care?
Back by popular demand! The happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic, hosts this free, fun Virtual Baking Party with our special guest, Stacey Harris, aka The Diabetic Pastry Chef on Wednesday, June 29, 2022, 7 – 8:30 PM, EST on Zoom.
“Are you running away, Mom?” Mark Crenshaw rubs his eyes awake. Behind his mother, he can see it’s 12:15 AM on the clock on the nightstand. He eyes her suspiciously, standing in her bedroom doorway of their modest home in the San Fernando Valley.
“What?” Candace jumps from the sound of her eighteen-year-old son’s voice. Once again, her son manages to sneak up on her without her noticing. When he was younger, he did that a lot. She reasoned, without a father, he needed constant reassurance his only living relative was alright.
Fortunately, for Mark’s sake, Candace Crenshaw has never given her son reason to worry until now. Her unshakeable self-confidence was shattered a few days earlier when one of her music students, a young boy, was a fatal school shooting victim. Since then, she is jumpy, anxious, and on edge. “Remain calm,” Candace tells herself. She isn’t ashamed of what he caught her doing as much as she is scared. After all, the weekend trip she is packing for isn’t for her, it’s for him. This is something she should have done a long time ago.
Eighteen years earlier, the day after discovering she was pregnant, Candace cut off all ties with her past and ran away to Los Angeles. In quick succession, she needed to make things happen. Find an apartment in a good area. Enroll in college to get a music education degree. Join a church. Find a doctor. After Mark’s birth and with her degree in hand, she got a job teaching music at a public high school. Her passion for teaching caught the eyes of several administrators at nearby schools and she soon transferred to a school with a more extensive music program. The salary increase from switching jobs allowed her to purchase a small two-bedroom bungalow in the Valley where she and her son reside today. In those early days, she only had time to take care of her son, go to school, work odd jobs, and repeat it again the following day. She held firm to her goal to provide a safe, stable environment for her son. The pride she felt in the making over her life she held on to like a badge of honor.
Now her baby was this tall, self-assured young man standing before her. The dark clouds she saw reflected in his large brown eyes did not comfort her. She could see the wheels spinning in his head, questioning her actions. “What are you doing up?” she snaps back. She thought he was sleeping when she started to pack, but maybe her music was too loud. She always loses herself in Luther, especially listening to Dance With My Father. But the last thing she needs is for her son to start giving her the third degree. Her nerves are already shot from the tragedy.
“Why don’t you tell me first.” He points to the mountain of clothes on top of her bed.
“If I’m running away, then I’d better get a bigger suitcase to pack your stuff too.” She lets out a nervous laugh. Candace looks down at her suitcase struggling to remain calm. She fully intends to tell him about her trip after she returns. Right now isn’t the right time or place. She doesn’t know the outcome of her trip yet, so there’s no guarantee she can protect him. The thought of her son being vulnerable, like the boy who died, terrifies her. She has to steer their conversation in a different direction. The school counselors caution parents to explore rather than ignore their children’s random thoughts and questions using clear, concise communications.
“I’m packing for the coping conference this weekend I told you about.” But when her son’s expression makes it clear he doesn’t buy her explanation, she attempts to turn the tables on him. “I know that look on your face. Should I guess what you’re thinking, or are you going to tell me?”
“Destiny’s Mom doesn’t know about your conference,” he says with air quotes. “I asked her earlier. So what’s really going on?”
Her mother’s intuition warned her that Mark would ask Destiny’s mother, Sheila, the nurse at her school, about her trip. These days Mark spends most of his time at Destiny’s house. She gives him her prepared explanation. “It’s for teachers. The Board of Education has one for school nurses in a few weeks. Are you okay? You should be sleeping.”
His eyes soften as he looks at her. “The whole town feels like it’s in a daze.” He looks over to his Mom. “Starting with you.”
When Luther’s rendition of Superstar fills the room, Candace starts humming along as she debates to herself whether or not to pack a black cardigan sweater. Deep in thought, it takes a minute for her to realize Mark has stopped talking. She turns to look at him.
“Sorry. Luther’s voice had me thinking about how love had the power to put people in a daze, not violence. People fell in love and celebrated love at Luther’s concerts. Even couples with problems got swept up in his music. Their troubles melted away as soon as he began to sing.”
“Can you feel something for someone you don’t even know?”
“I think so.” Candace tries to keep her voice calm.
“That’s how I feel.”
Candace nods in agreement. Every night since the shooting, she lies awake thinking about the potential dangers lurking outside her front door. She was lucky nothing happened to Mark. But what about next time? She shakes away the thought from her mind.
“Come here, and give me a hug.”
Candace sighs and goes back to packing for her trip. From her bed, Mark watches his mother grab a plain understated business suit out from her closet. She looks at it, shakes her head, and puts it back. Unsure of what to pack for her trip, Candace keeps changing her mind about what she should pack. She takes out every item from her bag and starts over. Her actions make her son very nervous. Her graceful gestures, the ones honed for years from dance lessons, are gone. She appears clumsy and jittery at best.
“I have a closet full of clothes but nothing to wear. How can that be possible?” Frustrated, she accidentally slams a dresser drawer shut, and it catches her finger. She screams in pain.
“Maybe I shouldn’t go. We haven’t spent much time together lately.”
His mother’s behavior is so atypical. Usually, Candace is usually decisive, grounded and reserved. She is her son’s rock.
“I’ve been busy. Here, let me help.” As Mark gets up to help her, a greeting card slips out of the pocket of his sweatpants. Mark picks it up, hands it to his mother.
“This is for you, Mom.”
Candace looks up from the envelope and smiles. Opening the envelope slowly, she finds a Father’s Day card inside. Her shoulders relax. She grabs her reading glasses off the nearby dresser, then gently pulls out the card and opens it. Candace reads aloud the message inside. Her son writes:
To the best Dad, a son can have. I love you, Mom! Mark.
Candace pushes clothes aside and scoots beside her son on the bed. She feels a lump in her throat as they glimpse at the muted TV screen. There’s a news flash of the shooting in front of their eyes. She turns to Mark.
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned this week, it’s that life is precious. Promise me – do the things that make your heart sing. Don’t let yourself settle for less.”
“Like the way you did when you toured with Luther?”
“This moment right now is what makes my heart sing.”
Yesterday she offered words of comfort to the victims’ parents and classmates. Who would comfort her if something happened to Mark? Or what if something happened to her? How would her son cope with the loss? She is both his mother and father. They are each other’s worlds.
“I heard you singing to the Power Of Love (Love Power) when I was at your door.”
“Did I sound like my touring days were a long, long time ago?”
“Nah, You still sound just like you do on the record, Dad.”
The word ‘Dad’ sticks in his throat. Deep down in his heart, Mark’s burning desire is to know who his father is or was.
“Doesn’t the guy pictured on your card look like Luther?”
At the mention of Luther’s name, Candace presses Mark’s card against her chest. She comments, “Both of you have such beautiful penmanship. Your swirls and curves are just like Luther’s.”
“So, I take after my father?”
Candace looks up from the card. “There you go again, talking nonsense.”
“Why else did you teach me his songs when I was growing up? It has to be him.” Mark looks at her intently. He wants his mother to confirm what he is sure he already knows. The legendary R & B icon Luther Vandross is his father. The father he has never met. She constantly compares the two, like she just did. Why can’t she just admit it?
“Stop saying that! People will get the wrong impression.”
“Then, why don’t you tell me who he is?”
“According to you, I am.” She points to the card. “You said so yourself. Now, move your behind so your father can finish packing her clothes and go to sleep.”
“You always say his music is responsible for making babies. I must be one of those babies, right?”
In honor of Luther Vandross’s 70th birthday on April 20, 2021, Max Szadek shares an excerpt of his Luther jukebox musical idea, ‘Last Dance With My Father,’ which focuses on a group of fictitious female backing vocalists’ lives and loves.
Synopsis: A son’s ultimatum on Father’s Day causes his mother, one of Luther Vandross’s vocalists, to reunite with her former bandmates for a Luther Tribute Concert after a twenty-year absence. Old rivalries, secrets, and heartaches threaten to break up their perfect harmony.
Daily links will be posted on Divabetic.Org and the Quiet Storm Fans FB page. There’s also a Last Dance With My Father playlist on Spotify.
“Emotional eating only becomes a problem when it’s over-used to cope with or avoid feelings,” says Dr. Michelle May.
Experts define emotional eating as eating as a way to suppress or soothe negative emotions, such as stress, anger, fear, boredom, sadness and loneliness. Major life events or, more commonly, the hassles of daily life can trigger negative emotions that lead to emotional eating and disrupt your weight-loss efforts.
“Over the years, I’ve learned to heal the emotional connection to food that wasn’t serving my highest good”, admits Dr. Michelle May. “I’ve also learned to embrace my healthy emotional relationship with food. When I’m craving chocolate even though I’m not hungry (and sometimes when I am!), I’m probably bored of working at my desk or I’m feeling overwhelmed and in need of a break. I also love the emotional connection of cooking with my chef-husband, dining with my friends and family, and savoring a fabulous piece of chocolate–simply for pleasure!”
Though Luther Vandross enjoyed success after success in his professional life, he was beset by personal struggles with his weight — the cruel cycle of gaining and losing 100 pounds dominated his life. He lost more than 100 pounds over thiriteen times during his lifetime.
“It’s the most awful, dark feeling in the world,” Luther said of the times when he put back on 100 pounds. “It feels like you’re wearing an 80-pound hat and a coat that weighs 300 pounds … You feel like it’s always dark and gloomy.”
While many people struggle with significant weight fluctuations, Luther’s yo-yo relationship with food was displayed before millions of fans.
“It makes it very hard,” he said. “You wear it externally so the minute you walk through the door, everybody knows ‘Luther’s not winning his battle with his demon.'”
Luther Vandross suffered from type 2 diabetes and hypertension, both of which may have been brought on by family genetics as well as lifestyle and nutrition. He had just finished the final vocals for the album ‘Dance With My Father’, when on April 16, 2003 he suffered a severe stroke at his home in New York City. The stroke left him in a coma for nearly two months, during which time he also had to fight both meningitis and pneumonia (which required a tracheotomy). The stroke also left Vandross with noticeable difficulty speaking and singing, as well as confinement to a wheelchair.’
TUNE IN: Divabetic’s Annual Luther Vandross Tribute podcast on Thursday, April 19, 2018, 6 -7:30 PM, EST. Guests include Dr. Michelle May, Alyson Williams, ‘Here & Now’ songwriter and entertainer Terry Steele, Luther Vandross Historian Leon Petrossian and superfan, John Price. Throughout the podcast we will be featuring selected songs from the album entitled ‘Busy Body’ courtesy of SONY Music. On ‘Busy Body’, Luther Vandross’ third album features ‘Superstar’, ‘For the Sweetness Of Your Love’, and the duet with Dionne Warwick entitled ‘ How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye’.
Join us for the inaugural Fandross Festival presented by the Vandross Family Estate and Divabetic celebrating the musical legacy of Luther Vandross and raising awareness for the prevention of diabetes health-related complications such as stroke.
Ever since last week’s Luther Vandross Tribute podcast I’ve been listening nonstop to Luther’s ballads and several other of the ‘Quiet Storm’ radio favorites. Songs like Anita Baker’s ‘Sweet Love’ , Meli‘sa Morgan’s ‘Do Me Baby’ and Luther’s ‘Dance with My Father’ are inspiring me to discuss the health risks related diabetes ‘after dark’.
Dead in Bed Syndrome (DIB) describes the sudden unexplained deaths of young people with type 1 diabetes. The syndrome is characterized as when someone with insulin dependent diabetes has gone to bed seemingly perfectly fine and has been found dead in an undisturbed bed.
Clinical reports strongly suggest that nocturnal hypoglycemia (which also occurs in people living with type 2 diabetes) is a likely prerequisite of the event, but that the death is sudden and probably caused by cardiac arrhythmia.
Nocturnal hypoglycemia is a low blood sugar that occurs overnight while you are asleep. It is common to sleep through a low blood sugar when it occurs during sleep.
You many be asking why doesn’t the person experiencing nocturnal hypoglycemia wake up?
There reason may be the phenomenon of hypoglycemic unawareness, which is defined as a hypoglycemic episode without warning symptoms of the decreasing blood glucose level.Most often, this is quite asymptomatic and the person does not wake up with hypoglycemic symptoms. Often the glucose value returns to normal or even high in the morning (so called Somogyi phenomenon) so this pattern is difficult to discover without taking nighttime tests every now and then
What can cause Nocturnal Hypoglycemia?
One cause could be taking the wrong type of insulin before going to bed. For example, if a large dose of bedtime insulin (not uncommon in puberty/prepuberty) is replaced with a similar dose of regular or rapid-acting insulin, this will lower the blood glucose considerably and could presumably trigger a severe hypoglycemic reaction which in turn could be further complicated by cardiac arrhythmia.
What can be done to avoid this from happening?
Checking your blood sugars before going to bed. Discuss with your health care provider a safe blood glucose target for bedtime. Many people feel comfortable if their blood glucose is at least 100 mg/dL before going to sleep.
If you use pen injectors, make sure the pen for your bedtime insulin looks and feels quite different from the one you use for daytime meal doses (not just another color that may be difficult to observe in the dark). If you use syringes and vials, store daytime and bedtime insulin in different places. When mixing insulin, be extra careful not to take the often higher bedtime dose of the wrong type.
If you like to exercise at night make sure to check your blood sugars before going to bed. Remember to decrease the bedtime dose after more strenuous exercise, especially if you do not exercise regularly.
If you have problems with nighttime hypoglycemia, ask your diabetes team for a continuous glucose monitoring device that may help you to detect nighttime glycemia patterns and help adjusting your insulin doses to avoid this.
Did you know that both legendary New York City disc jockey Vaughn Harper and Luther Vandross suffered strokes related to type 2 diabetes?Vaughn Harper was referred to as the architect of the Quiet Storm and Luther’s ‘House Is Not A Home’ was part of his blueprint by design.
The ‘Quiet Storm’, characterized by an enticing mix of unabashedly romantic songs, often fused with jazzy overtones, mellow dynamics, slow tempos, and relaxed rhythms.
We’re celebrating Luther Vandross, his musical legacy and raising awareness for diabetes health-related complications (such as stroke) on this Luther Vandross Tribute podcast.
In the years since Luther’s passing, one constant has remained to define his life and musical success: the voice. Like any great singer of the past 100 years, Luther Vandross’ voice and distinct singing style led to not only monumental success, but an instant recognition when you hear him singing–through your stereo, car radio, on TV or in a movie. Coupled with that voice was Luther’s unique ability to write and sing about love and the shared emotions we all feel in that search for and enjoyment of love. Through his songs, for the last two generations Luther Vandross became a staple in the most joyous moments of people’s lives.
Featured guests include Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE, Luther percussionist Steve Kroon, Luther vocalists Tawatha Agee and Pat Lacy, Luther historian Leon Petrossian, members of ‘The Luther Re-Lives Experience’, friends and fans.
Throughout the podcast we will be featuring selected songs from the album entitled ‘Luther Vandross’ courtesy of SONY Music.
