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 Beyoncรฉ, "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.
I'd Rather
Luther Vandross Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Was what we really needed
You said this time would hurt more than it helps
But I couldn't see that
I thought it was the end
Of a beautiful story
And so I left the one I loved at home to be alone (alone)
And I tried to findOut if this one thing is true
That I'm nothing without you
I know better now
And I've had a change of heart
I'd rather have bad times with you, than good times with someone else
I'd rather be beside you in a storm, than safe and warm by myself
I'd rather have hard times together, than to have it easy apart
I'd rather have the one who holds my heart
Whoo-oo-oo-oo, yeah
And then I met someone
And thought she could replace you
We got along just fine
But wasted time because she was not you
We had a lot of fun
Though we knew we were faking
Love was not impressed with our connection they were all lies, all lies
So I'm here 'cause I found this one thing is true
That I'm nothing without you
I know better now
And I've had a change of heart
I'd rather have bad times with you, than good times with someone else
I'd rather be beside you in a storm, than safe and warm by myself
I'd rather have hard times together, than to have it easy apartI'd rather have the one who holds my heart
Who holds my heart
I can't blame you if you turn away from me, like I've done you
I can only prove the things I say with time
Please be mine
I'd rather have bad times with you (please be mine)
Than good times with someone else (I know)
I'd rather be beside you in a storm (anytime)
Than safe and warm by myself (so sure, baby)
I'd rather have hard times together
Than to have it easy apart
I'd rather have the one who holds my heart (my heart)
I'd rather have bad times with you (surely)
Than good times with someone else (surely)
I'd rather be beside you in a storm (oh yeah)
Than safe and warm by myself (all by myself)
I'd rather have hard times together
Than to have it easy apart (you know it)
I'd rather have the one who holds my heart
I'd rather have the one who holds my heart
I'd rather have the one who holds my heart
Whoo, who holds my heart
The lyrics of Luther Vandross's song I'd Rather are a testament to the power of true love, and the realization that no one can replace the one who holds your heart. The song describes how the singer, after a breakup, tries to move on and find happiness with someone else. However, he soon realizes that no one can compare to the person he left behind. He would rather face hard times with that person than have easy times alone, and he would rather be in a storm with them than be safe and warm without them.
The song highlights the importance of companionship and the value of fighting through the tough times for the one you love. It is a reminder that true love is worth the struggle, and that even the bad times are better with the right person by your side. Ultimately, the singer realizes that he is nothing without the one he loves and would do anything to have them back.
In summary, Luther Vandross's song I'd Rather is a powerful love ballad that emphasizes the importance of true love and the value of sticking together through the good times and the bad.
Line by Line Meaning
I thought sometime alone
Was what we really needed
At one point I believed that being alone was what was necessary for our relationship to flourish.
You said this time would hurt more than it helps
But I couldn't see that
You warned me that being alone would hurt our relationship more than it would help, but I failed to heed your advice.
I thought it was the end
Of a beautiful story
And so I left the one I loved at home to be alone(alone)
I believed that our love story had come to an end, and as a result, I left the one I loved at home to be alone.
And I tried to find
Out if this one thing is true
That I'm nothing without you
I tried to determine if the saying 'I'm nothing without you' held any truth.
I know better now
And I've had a change of heart
Now I understand better and have changed my opinion about needing to be alone.
I'd rather have bad times with you, than good times with someone else
I'd rather be beside you in a storm, than safe and warm by myself
I'd rather have hard times together, than to have it easy apart
I'd rather have the one who holds my heart
Whoo-oo-oo-oo yeah
I would rather go through difficult times with you, than have good times with someone else. I'd rather be by your side during tough times, than be safe by myself. I don't mind going through hard times if it's with you. I'd rather be with the one who has my heart.
And then I met someone
And thought she could replace you
We got along just fine
We wasted time because she was not you
I met someone else and believed that she could replace you. We had a decent relationship, but we wasted time together because she wasn't you.
We had a lot of fun
Though we knew we were faking
Love was not impressed with our connection they were all lies, all lies
We enjoyed each other's company, but deep down we knew that we were pretending. Love was not impressed with our connection because it was all fake, all fake.
So I'm here cause I found this one thing is true
That I'm nothing without you
I know better now
And I've had a change of heart
So now I'm here, having realized that the saying 'I'm nothing without you' is accurate. I know better now and have had a change of heart.
I can't blame you if you turn away from me, like I've done you,
I can only prove the things I say with time,
Please be mine,
I wouldn't blame you if you turned away from me as I've done to you. However, I can only demonstrate the sincerity of my words with time. Please be mine.
I'd rather have bad times with(please be mine) you,
Than good times with someone else(I know)
I'd rather be beside you in a storm(anytime),
Than safe and warm by myself(so sure baby)
I'd rather have hard times to gether,
Than to have it easy apart
I'd rather have the one who holds my heart(my heart)
I'd rather have bad times with you(surely),
Than good times with someone else(surely)
I'd rather be beside you in a storm(oh yeah),
Than safe and warm by myself(all by myself)
I'd rather have hard times together,
Than to have it easy apart(you know it)
I'd rather have the one who holds my heart
I'd rather have the one who holds my heart
I'd rather have the one who holds my heart
Whooo who holds my heart
I would rather experience hardships with you rather than good times with someone else. I would rather be with you in a storm than alone and comfortable. I would rather face difficult circumstances with you than have an easy time apart. Most importantly, I would want to be with the one who owns my heart.
Lyrics ยฉ Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Anthony S. Crawford
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@rara7988
idk, naiiyak lang ako haha. sher ko lang dito kahit hindi siya konek sa kanta. naiiyak lang talaga habang pinakikinggan yung kanta at naiisip buhay ko.
teacher's day ngayon at teacher ate ko. gusto ko siya bigyan ng mamahalin pero kailangan ko magtipid. ice cream lang nabili ko sa kanya ngayong teacher's day. may pera naman ako pero may mas dapat pa akong unahin. kung may maganda lang sana akong work at maayos na kita, mabibili ko yung gusto ko para sa kanya- kaso sobrang broke ko financially.
proud na proud ako sa ate ko. sobra pa sa sobra. kapag may bago ako nakikilala, lagi ko siyang nakkwento at ipinagmamalaki. palagi ko siyang bukambibig kasi hangang hanga ako sa lakas ng loob niya, sa sipag at tiyaga niya. patunay ako na lahat ng pinagdaanan niya, sariling sikap, dugo't pawis at grabeng luha ang dinaanan niya bago siya nakarating sa kung ano ngayon. siya yung superhero ko at nagiisang tao na titingalain at ipagmamalaki. mahal na mahal ko yun at patuloy ko susuportahan.
happy teacher's day ening etot. maraming salamat sa lahat ng sakripisyo mo at sa aral na tinuro mo sakin. kapag nagkaroon ako maayos na trabaho, ikaw ang unang una kong iispoil bukod sa mama at papa kasi sobrang deserve mo yun. babawi ako sayo, pangako.
Hdjsja umiiyak ako habang tinatype to kasi sorry, sa ngayon ice cream lang talaga afford ko pa para sayo.
@francessmalls4075
Thank You Father God For Blessing Me With A Husband Sent From You. He Loves Me For Me, And I Love Him Just The Same. Nobody But You Can Joined Two People Together In Holy Matrimony, From One End Of The World To The Next. Only God Is Able To Fulfill The Void And Missing Parts In Our Live's. From Different Cultures, And Blend It All Together As One! Hallelujah Glory Be To The Most High God; He Just Keep Doing It Again And Again, Over And Over. Only God Get's All The Glory, All The Honor, And All The Praise; In The Name Of Jesus Amen โค๏ธ
@khalilfareed
We all know we had times that match the message in this music. Where we rather have bad times with the one we love than good times with someone else. That's powerful. Powerful love. And no better voice could have sung this than Luther. RIP, man.
@emoore8478
Those so called bad times, were our building blocks. No one ever wanted to throw in the towel. Thirty five yrs and still counting.
@Nikkay_224
Pp
@AlviArbis
I used this song as a lullaby songs to my first born son when he was new born ๐ i played repeated it on my playlist while im dancing him softly at my arms i really missed that ๐โค๏ธ now he's already 8 years old โค๏ธ
@sharongitau8727
This is crazyโฆ my 4 month old son was fussing and fighting sleep so I thought about this songโฆ. I havenโt heard it in many years and now heโs calm and heading to slumberland ๐
@galaxypmusic2242
Great song ๐ต ๐ ๐ ๐ โฅ๏ธ
@CAROLINENUEVA
@@sharongitau8727 }00 โฐ
@ChristinaLouie2017
My husband and I hit a very rough patch in our marriage because of the decisions I made but he never left my side, I thought I needed to distant myself to get better not knowing I was making it worse....I know that now and we are now working to make it better than it was before, I love my husband with my entire heat let's just say I'm glad he slapped ( not physically but mentally) me back to reality to really make me see things for what they really are this song also helped me come to realization and speaks it very truthfully to me as much as it hurts I needed it.
@zhakira16diana
Godbless ur marriage... ๐๐ฅฐ๐