Luther Vandross

American singer born on the Lower East Side of New York on April 20, 1951. Died on July 1, 2005 at the age of 54, two years after suffering a major stroke. Vandross's first big break came in 1975, when he performed as a backing singer on David Bowie's Young Americans album, and received a co-writer credit after his song Funky Music was adapted by Bowie to become Fascination.