Dance with My Father is the fourteenth and final studio album by American singer Luther Vandross. It was released by J Records on June 10, 2003 in the United States and served as the follow-up to his self-titled studio album (2001). The album, especially its title track, was dedicated to Vandross's late father Luther Vandross, Sr. and features production credits from Nat Adderley Jr., Shep Crawford, and Marcus Miller as well as guest appearances by singer Beyoncé, R&B trio Next, and rappers Foxy Brown, Queen Latifah, and Busta Rhymes.

Upon its release, Dance with My Father debuted atop the US Billboard 200 chart with first week sales of 442,000 units, becoming his first and only album to do so. It also marked his eighth and first album in twelve years to top the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Critically acclaimed, Dance with My Father earned Vandross two American Music Awards in the Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist and the Favorite Soul/R&B Album categories as well as four Grammy Awards wins out of five nominations, including Song of the Year and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for "Dance with My Father", Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for "The Closer I Get to You", his duet with Beyoncé, and Best R&B Album.

Critical reception

Dance with My Father was released to generally positive reviews from music critics. In his review for AllMusic, David Jeffries summed that "Dance with My Father isn't able to maintain the high standards it often achieves, but Vandross' voice is always compelling and the background singers live up to the superior arrangements throughout. With nearly 70 minutes of music on the disc to choose from, more savvy listeners will be able to program their CD players for a more focused and rewarding listen." He rated the album four out of five stars. Writing for The Guardian, Adam Sweeting declared the album "one of Vandross's very finest recordings." He found that "always a class act, a kind of top-of-the-range Lexus among soulmen, Vandross has clung to his traditional strengths – lush melodies and artful arrangements, sung with that elegantly beseeching voice – while incorporating some discreet nods to modernity."

BBC Music critic Jack Smith called Dance with My Father "another faultless, high-gloss collection of love songs to follow his 2001 Luther Vandross release [...] Now in his early-50s, Vandross is so much the master of his craft, you cant help but want him to stretch out a little, take a few chances, maybe get a collaborator with some more imaginative ideas for instrumentation to match his own impeccable vocal arrangements. But if you like your R&B to be smooth and your songs to be grown-up, you're not going to argue too much." Los Angeles Times editor described the album as "a beautifully sung, ultra-nostalgic ballad cataloging childhood memories of his long-departed dad. But more to the point, [it] better updates the singer-songwriter-producer's time-tested strengths as a butter-voiced chronicler of romance." Gail Mitchell, writing for Billboard, found that Dance with My Father was "signature Luther: hot-buttered vocals dripping over lush ballads, with occasional midtempo spikes [...] Vandross proves, again, that he's a gifted vocalist who transcends time."

Accolades + Awards and nominations for Dance with My Father Organization Year Category Result American Music Awards 2003 Favorite Soul/R&B Album Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist BET Awards 2004 Best Male R&B Artist Grammy Award 2004 Song of the Year Best Male R&B Vocal Performance Best R&B Song Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals Best R&B Album NAACP Image Awards 2004 Outstanding Album Outstanding Male Artist Outstanding Music Video Outstanding Song Soul Train Music Awards 2004 Best Album of the Year Best R&B/Soul Album – Male Best R&B/Soul Single – Male Soul Train Music Awards 2005 Best R&B/Soul Single – Group, Band or Duo

Chart performance Upon its release, Dance with My Father debuted atop the US Billboard 200 chart with first week sales of 442,000 units, becoming Vandross' first and only album to do so, while also marking his best sales week in the Nielsen SoundScan era. The album was his eighth and first album in the twelve years to top the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. By October 2003, Dance with My Father had sold 1.2 million copies in the United States. On April 14, 2004, it was certified Double Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RAA) for domestic shipments figures in excess of 2.0 million units.

Track listing

Sample credits "Lovely Day (Part II)" contains excerpts from the composition "Say Yeah" as performed by The Commodores.

Personnel Adapted from AllMusic.

Nat Adderley Jr. – arranger, keyboards, piano, producer, string arrangements Tawatha Agee – background vocals Sanford Allen – concert master Alli – art direction June Ambrose – stylist Skip Anderson – arranger, keyboards, programming, soloist, vibraphone Ray Bardani – engineer, mixing, string engineer Beyoncé – primary artist Big Bub – background vocals Jeff Bova – sound design Al Brown – string contractor Al Brown & His Tunetoppers – string contractor Foxy Brown – featured artist, guest artist, vocals Sharon Bryant – background vocals Busta Rhymes – featured artist, guest artist, vocals Shep Crawford – instrumentation, producer Carl Cyrius – assistant engineer Jason Dale – assistant engineer Jill Dell'Abate – production coordination DJ Kay Gee – remix producer James Ervin – choreographer Jim Ervin – choreographer Eddie F. – remix producer Paul J. Falcone – vocal engineer, vocal recording Phil Hamilton – guitar Reggie Hamilton – bass Ivan Hampden – arranger, drum programming, drums, keyboard programming Cissy Houston – guest artist, background vocals Loren Howard – mixing assistant Roger Innocent – hair stylist Michael J – background vocals Paul Jackson Jr. – guitar Brion James – guitar Chris James – piano Joyce James – performer, background vocals Bashiri Johnson – percussion Jeff Jones – hair stylist, make-Up Beyoncé Knowles – primary artist Chris LeBeau – art producer, artwork Darren Lighty – remix producer Richard Marx – drum programming, keyboard programming Michael McCoy – assistant engineer Rick McDonald – background vocals Daniel Milazzo – assistant engineer Byron Miller – bass Marcus Miller – arranger, drum programming, engineer, keyboard programming, producer, background vocals Claudius Mittendorfer – assistant engineer Cindy Mizelle – background vocals Robbie Nevil – guitar, keyboards Flip Osman – assistant engineer April Owens – group member, performer, background vocals Dave Perini – assistant engineer James Porte – arranger, drum programming, keyboard programming Herb Powers Jr. – mastering Queen Latifah – featured artist, guest artist, primary artist, vocals Jerome Ramos – bass Rex Rideout – arranger, drum programming, keyboard programming RL – background vocals Matt Snedecor – assistant engineer Jason Stasium – assistant engineer Max Szadek – assistant, personal assistant Candace Thomas – group member, performer, background vocals Fonzi Thornton – vocal contractor, background vocals Luther Vandross – executive producer, primary artist, producer, vocal arrangement, vocals, background vocals Gabriel Varde – engineer, tracking Víctor Vega – guitar Reed Vertelney – arranger, drum programming, keyboard programming Jamie Wallace – assistant engineer Stan Wallace – engineer Rick Watford – guitar Ricky Watford "Bishop" – guitar Kevin Westenberg – photography Brenda White-King – background vocals James "D-Train" Williams – background vocals Jay Williams – guitar Stevie Wonder – guest artist, harmonica, soloist "You Can Ask" Giz – engineer, mixing

Charts

Weekly charts + Weekly chart performance for Dance with My Father Chart (2003–2004) Peakposition Australian Albums (ARIA) 60Australian Urban Albums (ARIA)9Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)23Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)4

Year-end charts + 2003 year-end chart performance for Dance with My FatherChart (2003)Position US Billboard 20037 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)8 + 2004 year-end chart performance for Dance with My FatherChart (2004)Position US Billboard 200106 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)35

Certifications

References