We Remember Luther Vandross

[CrimsonTide4]

Vandross Talking, Singing, Improving
Thu Aug 14, 5:20 PM ET Add Entertainment - E! Online to My Yahoo!


By Joal Ryan

The Grammy-winning R&B balladeer, stricken in April by a stroke, is now talking and showing movement on his right side, reports say.


A spokeswoman for J Records, Vandross' label home, calls those two breakthroughs the "most exciting developments."


"Every day there's something new," the rep tells Rolling Stone.


Another sign of progress: The hit-maker, currently being cared for at an undisclosed rehab facility, is recognizing his own tunes on the radio, and sometimes singing along.


Still, J Records' Lois Najarian, is careful not to overstate the challenges ahead for Vandross, telling the Associated Press she doesn't want to "give the impression that miracles are taking place and he's going to be up and singing right away."


The fact that he's singing at all, though, is why his business manager once described his progress as a "modern-day miracle."


Vandross was found unconscious in his Manhattan apartment on April 16. In the ensuing touch-and-go weeks, the critically ill crooner battled pneumonia and endured a tracheotomy, all while in a coma.


In May, the 52-year-old began to show what were termed "the first signs of awareness"--moving his eyes, responding with a nod to "yes" and "no" questions.


In June, as his latest album, Dance with My Father, was climbing the charts, Vandross was checking out of New York's Weill Cornell Medical Center, and into a private facility.


No word if the singer is yet breathing entirely on his own, or still needs the aid of a respirator.


Dance with My Father, its title track a tribute to the parent he lost at age 7, remains a hot seller, currently number five on Billboard's R&B album charts.


Vandross' catalog of smooth hits include "Give Me the Reason," "Here and Now" and "Power of Love/Love Power."