Dance with My Father

Dance with My Father
Studio album by Luther Vandross
Released	June 10, 2003 (U.S.) June 23, 2003 (UK)
Recorded	BearTracks Studios (Suffern, New York) Hannibal Studios (Santa Monica, California) Playground/MiniMansion Studios (Closter, New Jersey) Right Track Recording The Hit Factory (New York City, New York) Skip Trip-Algoryhthm Studios (Belle Mead, New Jersey) The Dengen (Torrance, California)
Genre	R&B, soul
Length	67:18
Label	J
Producer	Luther Vandross (also executive), Marcus Miller, Nat Adderley, Jr., Shep Crawford
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Rolling Stone link
Luther Vandross chronology
The Very Best of Love (2003) Dance with My Father (2003) The Essential Luther Vandross (2003)

Dance with My Father is the thirteenth and final studio album by American R&B-soul singer-songwriter Luther Vandross. It was released in the United States on June 10, 2003 by J Records, his final album to be released before his death on July 1, 2005. The album, especially its title track, was dedicated to Vandross' late father.

The album earned Vandross two American Music Awards in 2003—Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist and Favorite Soul/R&B Album—and four Grammy Awards in 2004—Song of the Year and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for "Dance with My Father" (also nominated for Best R&B Song), Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for "The Closer I Get to You" (with Beyoncé), and Best R&B Album.

Chart performance and sales

Dance with My Father debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart, moving some 442,000 units in its opening week alone,^[1] and also topped the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, after debuting at #42 the previous week.

It was Vandross' first and only album to top the 'Pop' albums chart. It was his eighth time at #1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Dance With My Father also stands as the biggest selling studio album of Luther's entire career with over 2.9 million sales in the United States alone. The title track single was a hit on Pop, R&B, and Adult Contemporary radio. It received the 2004 Grammy Award for Song Of The Year, which Luther shared with his co-writer - superstar Richard Marx.

Track listing

1. "If I Didn't Know Better" – 4:07 (Ezekiel Lewis, Vadross, Vertelney)
2. "Think About You" – 5:04 (James Porte/Vandross)
3. "If It Ain't One Thing" (featuring Foxy Brown) – 4:13 (Robbie Nevil/Vandross/Vertelney)
4. "Buy Me a Rose" (originally recorded by Kenny Rogers) – 3:48 (Jim Funk/Erick Hickenlooper)
5. "The Closer I Get to You" (duet with Beyoncé) – 6:25 (originally recorded by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway) (Reggie Lucas/James Mtume)
6. "Lovely Day" (featuring Busta Rhymes) (originally recorded by Bill Withers) – 5:57 (Ronald LaPread/Lionel Richie/Bill Withers/Clarence Scarborough)
7. "Dance with My Father" – 4:26 (Vandross/Richard Marx)
8. "She Saw You" – 5:44 (Marcus Miller/Vandross)
9. "Apologize" – 4:59 (Rex Rideout/Vandross)
10. "Hit It Again" (featuring Queen Latifah) – 4:37 (Rideout/Vandross)
11. "Right in the Middle" – 4:50 (Vandross/Vertelney)
12. "Once Were Lovers" – 4:34 (Rideout/Fonzi Thornton/Vandross)
13. "Lovely Day (Part II)" (featuring Busta Rhymes) – 3:54 (LaPread/Richie/Withers/Scarborough)
14. "They Said You Needed Me" – 4:40 (Ivan Hampden/Vandross)

Production

• Executive Producer: Luther Vandross
• Producers: Luther Vandross, Nat Adderley Jr., Shep Crawford, Marcus Miller
• Re-mix Producers: Eddie F., Kay Gee, Darren Lighty
• Engineers: Ray Bardani, Paul J. Falcone (Vocals), Marcus Miller, Gabriel Varde, Stan Wallace, "You Can Ask" Giz
• Assistant Engineers: Carl Cyrius, Jason Dale, Michael McCoy, Daniel Milazzo, Claudius Mittendorfer, Flip Osman, Dave Perini, Matt Snedecor, Jason Stasium
• Tracking: Gabriel Varde
• Mixing: Ray Bardani, "You Can Ask" Giz
• Mastering: Herb Powers

Personnel

• Drums: Ivan Hampden
• Percussion: Bashiri Johnson, Skip Anderson
• Drum & Keyboard Programming: Ivan Hampden, Richard Marx, Marcus Miller, Rex Rideout, James Porte, Reed Vertelney
• Bass: Reggie Hamilton, Byron Miller, Jerome Ramos
• Guitars: Phil Hamilton, Paul Jackson Jr., Brion James, Robbie Nevil, Victor Vega, Rick Watford, Jay Williams
• Keyboards: Nat Adderley Jr., Skip Anderson, Chris James, Robbie Nevil
• Harmonica: Stevie Wonder
• Backing Vocals: Tawatha Agee, Sharon Bryant, Cissy Houston, Michael J., Joyce James, Rick McDonald, Marcus Miller, Cindy Mizelle, RL, Candace Thomas, Fonzi Thornton, Brenda White-King, James "D-Train" Williams
• Additional Instrumentation By Shep Crawford
• Arranged By Luther Vandross, Reed Vertelney, Rex Rideout, James Porte, Marcus Miller, Ivan Hampden, Skip Anderson & Nat Adderley Jr.
• String Arrangements By Nat Adderley, Jr.;
• Strings Contracted By Al Brown;
• Concertmaster: Sanford Allen
• Sound Design: Jeff Bova

Charts

References