A decades-old cassette revealed an unreleased Luther Vandross cover of a Beatles classic
Singer Luther Vandross sings former Beatle George Harrison's song "My Sweet Lord" during a tribute to Harrison and other artists during a reflective moment at the 29th annual American Music Awards in Los Angeles January 9
By Wesli Jones, CNN
(CNN) — A musical gem was recently uncovered from the vaults of the Luther Vandross Estate — a soulful, never-before-heard rendition of The Beatles’ song “Michelle.”
The cassette tape was simply labeled June 1, 1989. On Thursday, a new music video of Vandross’ rendition of “Michelle” is set to debut on YouTube. Details surrounding the recording remain a mystery. The finished song was found by Vandross’ longtime dear friend and background vocalist, Fonzi Thornton, while visiting the family to search through musical archives.
This discovery adds to a catalog of musical milestones that solidified Vandross as an R&B genre-defining artist. An eight-time Grammy winner, Vandross also collaborated with artists including Dionne Warwick, David Bowie, Aretha Franklin and Mariah Carey.
The director of the “Michelle” music video, Darrin James, aimed for the visuals to be “scrappy and ingenuitive,” inspired by the French New Wave era and Spike Lee’s “She’s Gotta Have It.”
The song will be featured on “Never Too Much: Greatest Hits,” a compilation from Sony Music available December 13.
The Beatles’ “Michelle,” written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, won the Grammy for song of the year in 1967. Vandross’ version transformed the original by adding a more slow, soulful romance with layers of background vocals.
“He was a boss from the beginning. He had vision and an idea of how he wanted it to go down, and that’s how it went down,” Thornton, who met Vandross at 15, reflected on their early days together:
Vandross died in 2005 at age 54. His life and entertainment career are celebrated in the upcoming CNN film “Luther: Never Too Much,” directed Dawn Porter. The film will premiere on Jan. 1, 2025, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CNN.
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