Never Too Much (album)

Never Too Much is the debut solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Luther Vandross, released on August 12, 1981. It peaked at number 19 on the Billboard 200 (then known as Pop Albums), peaked at number one on the R&B Albums chart, and went double platinum by the RIAA. The album earned Vandross two Grammy Award nominations in 1982—"Best New Artist" and "Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male".

Never Too Much
Studio album by Luther Vandross
Released	August 12, 1981
Recorded	April–July 1981
Studio	Media Sound Studios (New York City)
Genre	R&B
Length	36:50
Label	Epic
Producer	Luther Vandross Larkin Arnold (exec.)
Luther Vandross chronology
Never Too Much (1981) Forever, for Always, for Love (1982)
Singles from Something Inside So Strong
"Never Too Much" Released: July 21, 1981 "Don't You Know That?" Released: December 1981

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Chicago Tribune	[2]
Robert Christgau	B+[3]
Rolling Stone	[4]

The album's title track topped the Black Singles chart for two weeks. Vandross's rendition of Dionne Warwick's 1964 "A House Is Not a Home" became one of his signature songs, and received attention for its transformation into an "epic", since its duration was extended to seven minutes.

Track listing

All songs written by Luther Vandross; except "A House Is Not a Home" written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David.

Side One

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Never Too Much"	3:50
2.	"Sugar and Spice (I Found Me a Girl)"	4:57
3.	"Don't You Know That?"	4:01
4.	"I've Been Working"	6:35

Side Two

No.	Title	Length
5.	"She's a Super Lady"	5:04
6.	"You Stopped Loving Me"	5:16
7.	"A House Is Not a Home" (Dionne Warwick cover)	7:07

Personnel

Adapted from Allmusic[5]

• Luther Vandross – lead vocals, vocal arrangements, rhythm arrangements (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7), backing vocals (1, 3-6), arrangements (4), song arrangements (7)
• Nat Adderley, Jr. – keyboards (1–7), rhythm arrangements (1, 2, 3, 5, 6), arrangements (4), backing vocals (4, 5)
• Ed Walsh – synthesizers (2, 4)
• Georg Wadenius – guitar (1, 2, 3, 7)
• Steve Love – guitar (3–6)
• Marcus Miller – bass (1–7)
• Anthony Jackson – bass (7)
• Buddy Williams – drums (1–7)
• Errol "Crusher" Bennett – percussion (1, 4, 5, 7), congas (4)
• Bashiri Johnson – congas (1, 2), percussion (2, 5)
• Billy King – congas (3, 5, 6)
• Paul Riser – horn arrangements (2, 5), string arrangements (2, 3, 5)
• Gary King – arrangements (4)
• Leon Pendarvis – string arrangements (6, 7), horn arrangements (7)
• Tawatha Agee – backing vocals (1–6)
• Michelle Cobbs – backing vocals (1, 2)
• Cissy Houston – backing vocals (1, 2)
• Yvonne Lewis – backing vocals (1, 2)
• Sybil Thomas – backing vocals (1, 2)
• Brenda White King – backing vocals (1, 2)
• Phillip Ballou – backing vocals (3–6)
• Fonzi Thornton – vocal contractor, backing vocals (4, 5)
• Norma Jean Wright – backing vocals (4, 5)

Production

• Producer – Luther Vandross
• Executive Producer – Larkin Arnold
• Production Coordination – Sephra Herman
• Recorded and Mixed by Michael H. Brauer
• Engineer – Carl Beatty
• Assistant Engineers – Lincoln Clapp, Andy Hoffman, Nicky Kalliongos, Gregg Mann and Don Wershba.
• Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound (New York, NY).
• Art Direction – Karen Katz
• Photography – William Coupon
• Wardrobe – Hutaff Lennon
• Management – David M. Franklin

Charts

Album

Chart (1981) Peak position US Billboard 200[6] 19 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[7] 1 Chart (1987) Peak position UK Albums (OCC)[8] 41

Year End Chart (1982) Peak position U.S. Billboard 200 56 R&B 8

Charting Singles

Single	Chart	Position
Never Too Much	Billboard Hot 100	33
	US Club Play	4
	Dance Sales	35
	R&B HipHop Songs	1
	Ireland	18
	New Zealand	47
	UK	13
Don't You Know That?	Billboard Hot 100	107
	Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs	72
"Sugar and Spice (I Found Me a Girl)"	Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs	72

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[9]	2× Platinum	2,000,000^^
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

See also

• List of number-one R&B albums of 1981 (U.S.)

Notes

1. Never Too Much at AllMusic
2. Kot, Greg (1993-10-03). "The Best Of Vandross On Record". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2013-04-03.
3. Christgau, Robert. "CG: Luther Vandross". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved 2013-04-03.
4. DeCurtis, Anthony; Henke, James; Miller, Jim; George-Warren, Holly (February 14, 1992). "The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll: The Definitive History of the Most Important Artists and Their Music". Random House – via Google Books.
5. "Never Too Much - Luther Vandross | Credits". AllMusic.
6. "Luther Vandross Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
7. "Luther Vandross Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
8. "Luther Vandross | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
9. "American album certifications – Luther Vandross – Never Too Much". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.