Grammy winner Luther Vandross dies. Not release cause of death

A statement says that Vandross "never really recovered" from a stroke two years ago. Vandross also battled weight problems for years while suffering from diabetes and hypertension.

Grammy award winner Luther Vandross, whose deep, lush voice on such hits as "Here and Now" and "Any Love" provided the romantic backdrop for millions of couples worldwide, has died. He was 54.

Vandross died on Friday at John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Edison, New Jersey, a hospital spokesman said. He did not release the cause of death but said in a statement that Vandross "never really recovered" from a stroke two years ago. Vandross also battled weight problems for years while suffering from diabetes and hypertension.

Since the stroke in his Manhattan home on April 16, 2003, the R&B crooner stopped making public appearances - but amazingly managed to continue his recording career. In 2004, he captured four Grammys as a sentimental favourite, including best song for the bittersweet "Dance With My Father".

Vandross sold more than 25 (m) million albums and was arguably the most celebrated R&B balladeer of his generation. He made women swoon with his silky yet forceful tenor, which he often revved up like a motor engine before reaching his beautiful crescendos.

Four-time Grammy winner

Vandross was a four-time Grammy winner in the best male R&B performance category, taking home the trophy in 1990 for the single "Here and Now", in 1991 for his album "Power of Love", in 1996 for the track "Your Secret Love" and a last time for "Dance With My Father". The album, with its single of the same name, debuted at Number 1 on the Billboard charts while Vandross remained hospitalised from his stroke. It was the first time a Vandross album had topped the charts in its first week of release.

In 2005, he was nominated for a Soul Train Music Award for a duet with Beyonce on "The Closer I Get To You". Vandross' sound was so unusual few tried to copy it; even fewer could. "I'm proud of that - it's one of the things that I'm most proud of," he told The Associated Press in a 2001 interview, adding: "I was never compared to anyone in terms of sound."

Vandross' style harkened back to a more genteel era of crooning. While many of his contemporaries and successors belted out tunes that were sexually charged and explicit, Vandross preferred soft pillow talk and songs that spoke to heartfelt emotions.

A career in music seemed predestined for the New York native; both his parents were singers, and his sister, Patricia, was part of a 1950s group called the Crests. But he happily toiled in the musical background for years before he would have his first hit. He wrote songs for projects as varied as a David Bowie album ("Fascination") and the Broadway musical "The Wiz" ("Everybody Rejoice (Brand New Day)"), sang backup for acts such as Donna Summer and Barbra Streisand and even became a leading commercial jingle singer.

First big hit

Vandross' first big hit came as the lead vocalist for the group Change, with their 1980 hit, "The Glow of Love". That led to a recording contract with Epic Records and in 1981, he made his solo recording debut with the disc "Never Too Much". The album, which contained his aching rendition of "A House is Not a Home", became an instant classic.

Over the years, Vandross would emerge as the leading romantic singer of his generation, racking up one platinum album after another and charting several R&B hits, such as "Superstar," "Give Me The Reason" and "Love Won't Let Me Wait". Yet, while Vandross was a household name in the black community, he was frustrated by his failure to become a mainstream pop star. Indeed, it took Vandross until 1990 to score his first top 10 hit - the wedding staple "Here & Now".

Another frustration for Vandross was his lifelong battle with obesity. Health problems ran in his family, and Vandross struggled for years to control his waistline. When he first became a star, he was a hefty size; a few years later, he was almost skinny.

His weight fluctuated so much that rumours swirled that he had more serious health problems than the hypertension and diabetes caused by his large frame. Vandross' two sisters and a brother died before him. The lifelong bachelor never had any children, but doted on his nieces and nephews. The entertainer said his busy lifestyle made marriage difficult; besides, it wasn't what he wanted.