His hit songs include "Never Too Much", "Here and Now", "Any Love", "Power of Love/Love Power", "I Can Make It Better" and "For You to Love". Many of his songs were covers of original music by other artists such as "If This World Were Mine" (duet with Cheryl Lynn), "Since I Lost My Baby", "Superstar" and "Always and Forever". Duets such as "The Closer I Get to You" with Beyoncé, "Endless Love" with Mariah Carey and "The Best Things in Life Are Free" with Janet Jackson were all hit songs in his career.
During his career, Vandross sold over 35 million records worldwide, and received eight Grammy Awards including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four different times. He won a total of four Grammy Awards in 2004 including the Grammy Award for Song of the Year for a song recorded not long before his death, "Dance with My Father".
Possessing a tenor vocal range, Vandross was commonly referred to as "The Velvet Voice" in reference to his exceptional vocal talent, and was sometimes called "The Best Voice of a Generation". He was also regarded as the "Pavarotti of Pop" by many critics.
In 2008, Vandross was ranked No. 54 on Rolling Stone Magazine's List of 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. Mariah Carey stated several times in interviews that standing next to Vandross while recording their duet "Endless Love" was intimidating.
By popular vote, Vandross was inducted into The SoulMusic Hall of Fame at SoulMusic.com in December 2012.
Apologize
Luther Vandross Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
So good it's a sin
But it's time for a decision
Is it me or him?
Before you make your mind up, hear me
I just want you to see things clearly
This should be about love, not money
Don't let him try to take you from me
I don't want to feel I've been penalized
Just 'cause I can drive in a better car
Live in a bigger house just like a superstar
He says that I can only give you
Material things, but that's not true
You see my heart is rich with love for you
Don't let him make you doubt my love for you
Yeah, baby
I work hard for my money
No one gave it to me
But some fools think the deeper the pocket
The smaller the heart will be, not true
I'm only tryin' to share me with you
Look at all the lovin' we do
Find the meaning in the words I'm sayin'
I'm not just another player playin'
I don't want to have to apologize (or give a damn)
And I don't appreciate being criticized (for who I am)
Just 'cause I can buy you a lotta things
Or take you anyplace
That's just what money brings
He wants you to believe that I'm tryin' to buy your love
'Cause that's what he would do
He thinks since he's a man with nothing
That he's got better love for you
No way
Tell him now, let him go
Or I can no longer be yours
Tell him how you feel about me
I can't keep standing on the side
Don't let him fill your mind with lies about me
Leave him with his fallacies
I don't care what bull he believes
Tell him that enough is enough
Just don't return a disbeliever
You've always been a willing receiver of my love
I don't think I have to apologize (I work for this)
I don't want to feel like I'm penalized (for being rich)
Doesn't bother me where he thinks I stand
I'm bein' my true self
Just doin' what I can
He thinks I won you with materiality
But honey, you know that's not so
And even if he understood me
It's simply time for him to go, so let him go!
I don't want to change you
'Cause I'm in love with who you are
So I don't want to apologize for bein' a superstar
Haven't I proved that I'm here for you?
What am I guilty of?
What did or didn't I do?
Maybe I can't be myself with somebody
Who believes such things are true
I'm losing self-respect from trying
I'm losing my desire too I can't do it
I don't want to have to apologize (or give a damn)
I don't want to feel I've been penalized (for who I am)
Just 'cause I can buy you a lotta things
Or take you anyplace
That's just what money brings
He wants you to believe that I'm tryin' to buy your love
'Cause that's what he would do
In Luther Vandross's song Apologize, the singer is torn between his love for his partner and the possessive behaviour of a man who is trying to come between them. The song starts off with the singer acknowledging how good their love is, but a decision needs to be made. The man believes that he is being challenged by the other guy because he has more money and better material possessions. The singer, however, calls out the other guy's fallacy and suggests that love should not be about money. He wants his partner to see that he is not trying to buy her love and that his heart is rich with love for her. The other guy is filled with lies and is trying to make his partner doubt the singer's love for her.
The singer admits that he is very successful and wealthy, but none of that should matter, as he is not trying to buy her love. He is only trying to share himself with her, and their love should be based on that. He is tired of having to apologize for being successful and rich and doesn't want to feel like he is being penalized for it. The singer is passionate when he tells his partner to make a decision because he would not want to lose her because of someone who cannot see that he genuinely loves her. In conclusion, the song is about how love should never be about material possessions and money.
Line by Line Meaning
Your love's never been better
Your love is so perfect that it is almost sinful
So good it's a sin
Your love is just too perfect and too good to be true
But it's time for a decision
It's time for you to make a decision between me and him
Is it me or him?
Who do you choose, me or him?
Before you make your mind up, hear me
Before you decide, please listen to what I have to say
I just want you to see things clearly
I want you to see the truth clearly, without any doubt or confusion
This should be about love, not money
Our relationship should be based on love, not money
Don't let him try to take you from me
Don't let him take you away from me
I don't want to have to apologize
I don't want to apologize for being who I am
I don't want to feel I've been penalized
I don't want to feel like I'm being punished for being rich
Just 'cause I can drive in a better car
Just because I have a nice car
Live in a bigger house just like a superstar
Just because I live in a big house like a superstar
He says that I can only give you
He thinks that all I can give you are
Material things, but that's not true
Material things, but that's not true because I also have love for you
You see my heart is rich with love for you
My heart is full of love for you
Don't let him make you doubt my love for you
Don't let him make you doubt my love for you
Yeah, baby
A term of endearment
I work hard for my money
I work hard for the money I have
No one gave it to me
I earned my money through hard work
But some fools think the deeper the pocket
Some people foolishly believe that the more money one has
The smaller the heart will be, not true
The less loving or kind-hearted one will be, which is not true in my case
I'm only tryin' to share me with you
I just want to share myself with you
Look at all the lovin' we do
Look at all the love we share
Find the meaning in the words I'm sayin'
Understand what I am trying to say
I'm not just another player playin'
I am not just another person who is playing games
And I don't appreciate being criticized (for who I am)
I don't appreciate being criticized for being myself
Just 'cause I can buy you a lotta things
Just because I can buy you many things
Or take you anyplace
Or take you to any place
That's just what money brings
That's just the kind of thing that money can buy
He wants you to believe that I'm tryin' to buy your love
He is trying to make you believe that I'm only trying to buy your love
'Cause that's what he would do
Because that is what he would do
Tell him now, let him go
Tell him now to leave
Or I can no longer be yours
Or else, I cannot be with you
Tell him how you feel about me
Tell him how you truly feel about me
I can't keep standing on the side
I can't keep waiting on the sidelines
Don't let him fill your mind with lies about me
Don't let him fill your mind with lies about me
Leave him with his fallacies
Leave him with his false beliefs
I don't care what bull he believes
I don't care what false beliefs he has
Tell him that enough is enough
Tell him that it's time to stop
Just don't return a disbeliever
Just don't come back if you don't believe me
You've always been a willing receiver of my love
You've always been willing to receive my love
Haven't I proved that I'm here for you?
Haven't I proven that I am dedicated to you?
What am I guilty of?
What have I done wrong?
What did or didn't I do?
What did I do or not do that makes him doubt me?
Maybe I can't be myself with somebody
Maybe I can't be myself around someone
Who believes such things are true
Who believes these false things about me are true
I'm losing self-respect from trying
I'm starting to lose my self-respect by trying so hard
I'm losing my desire too I can't do it
I'm starting to lose my enthusiasm and I can't keep doing it
I don't want to change you
I don't want you to change who you are
Cause I'm in love with who you are
Because I love you for who you are
So I don't want to apologize for bein' a superstar
So I don't feel the need to apologize for being successful
Doesn't bother me where he thinks I stand
I'm not bothered by what he thinks about me
I'm bein' my true self
I'm being true to myself
Just doin' what I can
I'm just doing what I can to keep our love strong
He thinks I won you with materiality
He thinks that I won your affection with material possessions
But honey, you know that's not so
But you, my dear, know that it's not true
And even if he understood me
And even if he understood me
It's simply time for him to go, so let him go!
It's just time for him to leave, so let him go!
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: REX K RIDEOUT, LUTHER VANDROSS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Carter Tlhabi
on I’ll Get Along Fine
Luther feat Luther vandross. ......I'll get along fine
Carter Tlhabi
on This Strange Feeling
This is out of this planet