So Amazing (song)
{{Short description|1983 Dionne Warwick song}}
{{For|other songs with same title|So Amazing (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox song
| name = So Amazing
| alt =
| border = Yes
| type =
| artist = Dionne Warwick
| album = How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye
| released =
| format =
| recorded = 1983
| studio =
| venue =
| genre =
| length = 3:43
| label = Arista
| writer = {{hlist|Luther Vandross|Marcus Miller}}
| producer = {{hlist|Luther Vandross}}
| tracks =
}}
"So Amazing" is a 1983 song recorded by Dionne Warwick. It was written by Luther Vandross and Marcus Miller and produced by Vandross for her studio album How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye (1983). Three years later, Vandross himself covered the song for his fifth studio album Give Me the Reason (1986). Released as a single, it entered the top 40 on the UK Singles Chart and earned a Soul Train Music Award nomination in 1988.
In 2005, singers Stevie Wonder and Beyoncé recorded a duet version of "So Amazing" for the tribute album So Amazing: An All-Star Tribute to Luther Vandross (2005) that was released three months after Vandross' death. Their rendition won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards.{{cite web|first=Andrea|last=Wurzburger|url=https://people.com/music/beyonce-28-grammys-what-they-are-for/|title=Beyoncé Has 28 Grammys: Here's What They're For|website=People.com|date=March 15, 2021|accessdate=April 14, 2021}} The song has since been recorded by several artists, some of which are tributes to Vandross.
Luther Vandross version
{{Infobox song
| name = So Amazing
| cover = So Amazing.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Luther Vandross
| album = Give Me the Reason
| released = 1987
| recorded = 1986
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Soul
| length = 3:41
| label = Epic
| writer =
- Luther Vandross
- Marcus Miller
| producer = Luther Vandross
| prev_title = I Really Didn't Mean It
| prev_year = 1987
| next_title = See Me
| next_year = 1987
| misc =
}}
Warwick and Vandross wanted "So Amazing" to serve as the lead single from Warwick's How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zpgp_qAMqEM |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/Zpgp_qAMqEM |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Dionne Warwick on working with the Bee Gees and Luther Vandross|website=YouTube|accessdate=April 17, 2021}}{{cbignore}} However, Arista Records head Clive Davis found that the song lacked commercial crossover appeal and chose the album's title track, a duet by Warwick and Vandross, instead. His decision prompted Vandross to re-record "So Amazing" for his fifth studio album Give Me the Reason (1986). Released as the album's fifth single, his version reached number 33 on the UK Singles Chart and number 94 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The song was nominated for the Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul Single – Male at the 1988 awards ceremony. Regarding the success of Vandross' version, Warwick joked in a 2021 interview that she had felt pleasure telling Davis "You can't be right all the time, Sir."
=Charts=
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
! Chart (1987) ! Peak |
| {{singlechart|UK|33|artist=Luther Vandross|date=1987-11-07|access-date=April 14, 2021|rowheader=true|refname="uk"}} |
| {{singlechart|Billboardrandbhiphop|94|artist=Luther Vandross|access-date=April 14, 2021|rowheader=true|refname="Billboardrandbhiphop"}} |
Other cover versions
In March 1999, Whitney Houston sang Vandross's "So Amazing" as a tribute to Vandross being honored with the Career Achievement award, as he sat in the audience during the Soul Train Music Awards. Johnny Gill, El DeBarge, and Kenny Lattimore provided background vocals.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeDjTojm450 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/PeDjTojm450 |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Whitney Houston LIVE - So Amazing|website=YouTube|accessdate=April 14, 2021}}{{cbignore}} In 2001, Chante Moore performed the song at the 2001 at the BET Walk of Fame Awards for Vandross.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bv8VWmCcZS4 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/Bv8VWmCcZS4 |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=CHANTE MOORE SO AMAZING|website=YouTube|accessdate=April 14, 2021}}{{cbignore}} Tamia performed the song at the 2003 Essence Festival on July 5, 2003 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her performances was taped and aired on the UPN Network on September 12, 2003.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2qhFwMj6mo |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/q2qhFwMj6mo |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Tamia - So Amazin - Luther Vandross Tribute|website=YouTube|accessdate=April 14, 2021}}{{cbignore}}
Studio versions
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
- Gerald Albright on Just Between Us (1987){{cite AV media notes|title=Just Between Us|others=Gerald Albright|year=1987|type=liner notes|publisher=Atlantic}}
- Janet Kay on So Amazing (1988){{cite AV media notes|title=So Amazing|others=Janet Kay|year=1970|type=liner notes|publisher=Body Music}}
- Darwin Hobbs on Vertical (2000){{cite AV media notes|title=Vertical |others=Darwin Hobbs|year=1994|type=liner notes|publisher=EMI Gospel}}
- Richie Stephens on Covers for Lovers (2003){{cite AV media notes|title=Covers for Lovers|others=Richie Stephens|year=2003|type=liner notes|publisher= Pot of Gold}}
- Rigmor Gustafsson with Jacky Terrasson on Close to You (2004){{cite AV media notes|title=Close to You|others=Rigmor Gustafsson|year=2004|type=liner notes|publisher=ACT}}
- Beyoncé and Stevie Wonder on So Amazing: An All-Star Tribute to Luther Vandross (2005){{cite AV media notes|title=So Amazing: An All-Star Tribute to Luther Vandross|others=Beyoncé and Stevie Wonde|year=2005|type=liner notes|publisher=J}}
- Patti Austin on Forever, for Always, for Luther Volume II (2008){{cite AV media notes|title=Forever, For Always, For Luther, Vol. 2|others=Patti Austin|year=2008|type=liner notes|publisher=Rendezvous}}
- Marti Pellow on Love to Love (2011){{cite AV media notes|title=Love to Love|others=Marti Pellow|year=2011|type=liner notes|publisher=Marti Pellow}}
- Ruben Studdard on Ruben Sings Luther (2018){{cite AV media notes|title=Ruben Sings Luther|others=Ruben Studdard|year=2014|type=liner notes|publisher=SEG}}
{{div col end}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Dionne Warwick}}
{{Luther Vandross}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:So Amazing (song)}}
Category:Luther Vandross songs