Luther Vandross

Released: June 10, 2003

Featuring: Busta Rhymes Next

Songwriter: Bill Withers Skip Scarborough Lionel Richie Ronald LaPread

Producer: Luther Vandross Marcus Miller

[Intro: Busta Rhymes]
Yeah, what's up, my people!
I am your weatherman, Busta Rhymes
I've come today give you your weather forecast
You know, today looks like one of those beautiful days, you know
To be perfectly honest, there ain't a cloud in the sky
You know this a kind of weather where you take your girl to the beach
Lay down and talk to her
Luther, step to the microphone

[Verse 1: Luther Vandross]
When I wake up in the morning, love
And the sunlight hurts my eyes
And something strange without a warning, love
Bears heavy on my mind

[Pre-Chorus]
Then I look at you
And the world is all right with me
Just one look at you
And I know it's gonna be...

[Chorus]
A lovely day (Lovely day, lovely day, lovely day, it's gonna be a...)
(Lovely day, lovely day, lovely day)
A lovely day (Lovely day, lovely day, lovely day, it's gonna be a...)
(Lovely day, lovely day, lovely day, lovely day)

[Verse 2: Luther Vandross]
When the day that lies ahead of me
Seems impossible to face
When somebody else instead of me
Always seems to know the way

[Pre-Chorus]
Then I look at you
And the world is all right with me, yeah
Just one look at you
And I know it's gonna be, yeah...

[Chorus]
A lovely day (Lovely day, lovely day, lovely day, it's gonna be a...)
(Lovely day, lovely day, lovely day, lovely day, oh, lovely day)
A lovely day (Lovely day, lovely day, lovely day, it's gonna be a...)
(Today I love the world, and I love you)

[Rap: Busta Rhymes]
Let's take a ride, baby, and park under a lamppost
Recline your seat, relax, and let's listen to Mr. Vandross
And watching how my mami watching her dude
Creating a situation that put us right in the mood
I'm sayin', I got plenty suggestions on what that we could maybe do
Especially when we're rocking the songs we make babies to
You know the way we do, baby, and as we lay
I look at you and sit back and think how today was such a lovely day

[Chorus]
(Lovely day, lovely day, lovely day, it's gonna be a...)
(Lovely day, lovely day, lovely day, oh, lovely day)
(Lovely day, lovely day, lovely day, it's gonna be a...)
(Lovely day, lovely day, lovely day)
Let's sing it together

[Outro: Luther + (background)]
Said it's gonna be a lovely day, it's gonna be a lovely day
Said it's gonna be a lovely day, it's gonna be a lovely day
Today I love the world, you better believe it, girl
Think I'm gonna go out, 'cause I heard so much about it
Maybe I'll go for a little while
(It's a lovely day, it's a lovely day)
And the lovely thing about it
Not a sad face anywhere you go
(It's a lovely day, it's a lovely day)

Luther Vandross (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was a Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and record producer who made “Luther” a household name in the 1980s with his tenor tone on #1 R&B hits such as “Never Too Much,” “Stop To Love,” “Any Love,” and “Here and Now.” He continued the hits into the ‘90s with “Power of Love/Love Power” and his duet with Janet Jackson “The Best Things in Life are Free.” He also released the hit song “Dance With My Father” in 2003, which went on to win Song of the Year at the 2004 Grammy Awards while the album of the same name peaked at #1 on the Billboard charts and also won a Grammy for Best R&B Album. During his career, he won eight Grammy Awards, sold over 30 million albums and also produced hits for other artists such as Aretha Franklin (“Jump To It” and “Get It Right”).

Luther broke into the music business as a background singer in the 1970s for artists such as David Bowie, Chaka Khan, Diana Ross, Chic, Sister Sledge, Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer among others. He was also a vocal arranger and songwriter, creating songs such as “Everybody Rejoice (Brand New Day)” used in the Broadway musical The Wiz. After releasing two albums with the group Luther in 1976 and 1977, his profile began to rise with his lead features on the group Change’s 1980 hits “Searching” and “The Glow of Love.” Luther’s debut album Never Too Much was released in 1981 and hit #1 on the Billboard R&B Albums chart. His five subsequent albums through 1991 also peaked at #1 on the R&B chart and are certified Platinum. All six of these albums featured contributions from his longtime musical partners Marcus Miller and Nat Adderley Jr, and the trio continued to work together on Luther’s Gold and Platinum albums up through his last, 2003’s Dance With My Father.

Luther was also known for his remakes that outshined the originals. Songs like Major Harris' “Love Won’t Let Me Wait”, Dionne Warwick’s “A House is Not a Home”, Brenda Russell’s “If Only For One Night”, The Carpenters' “Superstar”, The Temptations' “Since I Lost My Baby”, Stevie Wonder’s “Creepin'” and his duet cover with Cheryl Lynn of the Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell classic “If This World Were Mine” all became associated with Luther. He even won a Grammy in 2004 along with Beyoncé in the Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals category for their cover of the Roberta Flack/Donny Hathaway duet “The Closer I Get To You.” His music has also been sampled in many hip-hop hits such as Jay Z’s “Excuse Me Miss” and the Twista/Kanye West/Jamie Foxx collaboration “Slow Jamz” among others.

more tracks from the album

Dance with My Father

From the album

Dance with My Father (2003)

Luther Vandross popular songs

Lovely Day (Part II)Luther Vandross

Luther Vandross

Dance with My Father