Luther Vandross 1995 Interview: The Roberta Flack Discovery

In this beautifully warm and deeply moving January 1995 broadcast of The Dini Petty Show, R&B master and definitive soul balladeer Luther Vandross sits down for a rare, long-form studio appearance. Arriving in Toronto at the absolute apex of his crossover success following the release of Songs—his celebrated all-covers album that yielded his massive, chart-topping “Endless Love” duet with Mariah Carey—Vandross treats host Dini Petty to an exceptionally relaxed, healthy, and humorous reflection on his life. Years before a devastating stroke silenced his incomparable voice in 2003, this pristine archive showcases the legendary vocalist operating at the peak of his creative power.

Vandross walks the audience through his foundational relationship with music, revealing that he had been playing the piano by ear since the tender age of three and, remarkably, never took a single formal voice lesson in his entire life. With his signature charm, Vandross watches an older clip of himself, playfully commenting on his past physique with the line, “How thin I look.” He also shares his immediate professional aspirations, including his strong desire to record a dream duet with Whitney Houston, and chuckles over the massive cultural legacy of his timeless masterpiece “Here and Now,” which had officially cemented itself as the definitive, mandatory wedding anthem across North America.

The emotional high point of the broadcast occurs when Vandross pulls back the curtain on his pre-fame days as an elite background vocalist. He vividly recounts a fateful afternoon while touring as a backup singer for the legendary Roberta Flack. Believing he was entirely alone in an empty theater, Vandross stepped up to test Flack’s microphone, letting his majestic voice ring out into the dark house. Unknown to him, Flack was sitting quietly in the shadows listening. In a moment of profound artistic mentorship, Flack stepped forward and demanded he stop singing behind other people, ordering him to go build the solo career he deserved—a directive that led directly to his milestone 1980 signing with Epic Records.

Following his tragic passing in 2005 at the age of fifty-four, this spectacular daytime television dialogue stands as an invaluable monument to Vandross’ warmth, genius, and generous spirit. Unseen since its original mid-90s CTV broadcast, this master tape has been meticulously optimized and preserved via the official archive of The Dini Petty Show, safeguarding a vital, joyous piece of vocal music history.