Never Too Much (song)

"Never Too Much" is a song written, composed, produced, and performed by Luther Vandross. The R&B song was released in 1981, as the lead single from Vandross' debut studio album Never Too Much (1981). The title track hit number one on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, reached number four on the US Billboard Dance Club Songs chart, and peaked at number 33 on the US Billboard Hot 100.[1]

"Never Too Much"
Side-A label of the U.S. 1981 single
Single by Luther Vandross
from the album Never Too Much
B-side	"You Stopped Loving Me"
Released	October 1981
Recorded	July 21, 1981
Genre	Post-disco R&B soul
Length	3:50
Label	Epic
Songwriter(s)	Luther Vandross
Producer(s)	Luther Vandross
Luther Vandross singles chronology
"Never Too Much" (1981) "Don't You Know That?" (1981)
Music video
"Never Too Much" on YouTube

The album (Vandross' first as a solo artist) was very popular, especially with Black Radio and R&B Charts. It received several accolades, including two Grammy Award nominations in 1982—"Best New Artist" and "Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male" A remixed version of the song reached number 13 on the UK singles chart in November 1989.[2]

The single is also included on his later album The Ultimate Luther Vandross, which was released in 2001. The single was released alongside a music video in which he is shown singing in a recording studio.

Vandross received a nomination for "Never Too Much" at the 24th Grammy Awards (1982) in the category, 'Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male'.[3]

In film, television, and video games

• The first minute of this song is used in the American sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati season four episode 17 "Fire" (March 17, 1982), until it is unceremoniously cut off by Les Nessman when he reports that the Flimm Building is on fire.
• The song was used in the soundtrack for the Rockstar Games 2002 action-adventure video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City on the in-game radio station Emotion 98.3.
• "Never Too Much" is featured on the soundtrack of the 2012 movie, Think Like a Man.
• The intro of the song is used during the announcement of the guests in the Dutch daily late night show Jinek.

Samples and cover versions

Samples

• The song, without Vandross's vocals, was sampled by Will Smith (then a.k.a. The Fresh Prince) in "Can't Wait to Be with You" on his and Jeffrey A. Townes's hit album Code Red (1993). Smith (by that time a.k.a. Big Will) also used the vocal melody and lyrics from the song's chorus in "1,000 Kisses" on his 2002 album Born to Reign.
• Teddy Riley protege rapper Queen Pen sampled the same song on the track "All My Love" produced by Riley from her 1997 debut album My Melody.

Cover versions

• Guitarist Craig T. Cooper covered the song for his 1996 album Romantic Letter.[4]
• In 1997, contemporary jazz guitarist Richard Smith recorded a take for the album First Kiss.[5]
• In 2004, jazz guitarist Paul Jackson Jr. recorded a cover for the Vandross tribute album Forever, for Always, for Luther.[6][7]
• In 2005, the selection was covered by Mary J. Blige for another Vandross tribute album entitled So Amazing: An All-Star Tribute to Luther Vandross.[8]
• In 2013, vocalist Tracy Hamlin covered the song for her album This Is My Life.
• In 2014, John "Jon Jon" Harreld, of the R&B group Troop, covered the song in tribute to Vandross, and released the song as a single.[9]
• In 2015, Paul Kalkbrenner sampled the song in "A Million Days" on his album 7.
• In 2018, English singer Jessie J performed a cover live on the Chinese competition series Singer.[10]

Track listings

U.S. 1981 7" single

1. "Never Too Much" – 3:50
2. "You Stopped Loving Me" – 4:59

UK 1981 7" single

1. "Never Too Much" – 3:50
2. "Don't You Know That?" – 4:04

UK 1981 12" single

1. "Never Too Much" (Extended Version) – 5:38
2. "Sugar and Spice (I Found Me a Girl)" – 4:57
3. "Don't You Know That?" – 4:04

UK 1989 7" single

1. "Never Too Much" (Remix '89 by Justin Strauss) – 4:02
2. "The Glow of Love" – 6:10

UK 1989 12" single

1. "Never Too Much" (Extended Remix '89 by Justin Strauss) – 6:42
2. "Never Too Much" (Original Remix '81 a.k.a. Extended Version) – 5:38
3. "The Glow of Love" – 6:10

UK 1989 alternative 12" single

1. "Never Too Much" (Ben Liebrand Mix) – 7:30
2. "Never Too Much" (Alternate Vocal Mix '89 by Justin Strauss) – 6:49
3. "Never Too Much" (Original 7" Version) – 3:50

Charts

Chart (1981–83)	Peak position [11]
Ireland (IRMA)[12]	18
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[13]	47
UK (Official Charts Company) [14]	44
US Billboard Hot 100 [15]	33
US Billboard Dance Club Songs [16]	4
US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs [17]	1

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[18]	Platinum	600,000
sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

References

1. Whitburn, Joel (2011). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles: 1955-2010 (13th ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 934. ISBN 0-89820-190-X.
2. "UK Official Singles Chart - Never Too Much (Luther Vandross)". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2017-10-25.
3. "1982 Grammy Award nominees, "Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male"", Grammys
4. "Craig T. Cooper". Smooth-jazz.de.
5. "First Kiss Overview". AllMusic.com.
6. "Song: Never Too Much". Secondhandsongs.com.
7. "Forever, for Always, for Luther". AllMusic.com.
8. "Various Artists - So Amazing: An All-Star Tribute to Luther Vandross (2005)". AllMusic.com.
9. Prescott, Pat (2015-06-30). "Troop's Jon Jon Talks Group Survival, Performing Live & More « 94.7 The WAVE". 947thewave.cbslocal.com. Retrieved 2016-10-23.
10. "Jessie J《Never Too Much》 "Singer 2018" Episode 7【Singer Official Channel】". YouTube. Singer 2018. 2018-02-23. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
11. Luther Vandross - Singles Chart history.Billboard.com
12. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Never Too Much". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
13. "Charts.nz – Luther Vandross – Never Too Much". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
14. "UK Official Singles Chart", UK Official Charts Company
15. "Music: Top 100 - Billboard Hot 100", Billboard
16. "Dance Club Songs - Billboard", Billboard
17. "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs - Billboard", Billboard
18. "British single certifications – Luther Vandross – Never Too Much". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 7, 2020.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics