"So Amazing" is a 1983 song by

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick (; born December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on ''Billboards Hot 100 pop singles cha ...

. It was written by

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his sweet and soulful vocals, Vandross has sold over 40 million records worldwide. He achieved eleven consecutive P ...

and

Marcus Miller William Henry Marcus Miller Jr. (born June 14, 1959) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work as a bassist. He has worked with trumpeter Miles Davis, pianist Herbie Hancock, singer Luther Vandros ...

and produced by the former for her studio album ''

How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye ''How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye'' is a studio album by the American singer Dionne Warwick. It was released by Arista Records on September 29, 1983, in the United States. Recorded during the spring of 1983, Warwick worked with the singer and ...

'' (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 The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and earned a Soul Train Music Award nomination in 1988. In 2005, singers

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

and

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

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 The 48th Annual Grammy Awards took place on February 8, 2006, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning from October 1, 2004 through September 30, 2005. Irish rock band U2 were ...

. The song has since been recorded by several artists, some of which are tributes to Vandross.

Luther Vandross version

Warwick and Vandross wanted "So Amazing" to serve as the lead single from Warwick's ''How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye''. However,

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...

head

Clive Davis Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer, in 2000. From 1967 to 1 ...

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

and number 94 on the US

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

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

Other cover versions

In March 1999,

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...

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. In 2001, Chante Moore performed the song at the 2001 at the BET Walk of Fame Awards for Vandross. Tamia performed the song at the 2003 Essence Festival on July 5, 2003 in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. Her performances was taped and aired on the

UPN Network The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which produ ...

on September 12, 2003. Studio versions *

Gerald Albright Gerald Albright is an American jazz saxophonist. He earned Grammys for 24/7 in 2012 and Slam Dunk in 2014 and has been nominated for New Beginnings in 2008 and for Sax for Stax in 2009. Biography Born in Los Angeles, Albright grew up in its ...

on '' Just Between Us'' (1987) * Janet Kay on ''So Amazing'' (1988) *

Darwin Hobbs Darwin Todd Hobbs (born November 30, 1968) is an American gospel music singer noted for his vocal similarity to classic soul singers Luther Vandross, Freddie Jackson and Lou Rawls. In addition to his career as a gospel artist, Hobbs and his ensem ...

on ''Vertical '' (2000) *

Richie Stephens Richard Stephenson (born 5 December 1966), better known as Richie Stephens is a Jamaican R&B, dancehall and reggae singer and producer. Biography Born in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, Jamaica,

on ''Covers for Lovers'' (2003) *

Rigmor Gustafsson Rigmor Elisabeth Gustafsson (born 12 April 1966) is a Swedish jazz singer. Gustafsson comes from a musical family. Her sister Christina is also a singer in the field of jazz. At the age of eight she learned how to play the guitar at the public ...

with Jacky Terrasson on ''Close to You'' (2004) *

and

on '' So Amazing: An All-Star Tribute to Luther Vandross'' (2005) *

Patti Austin Patti Austin (born August 10, 1950) is an American R&B, pop, and jazz singer and songwriter. Music career Austin was born in Harlem, New York, to Gordon Austin, a jazz trombonist. She was raised in Bay Shore, New York on Long Island. Quincy ...

on '' Forever, for Always, for Luther Volume II'' (2008) *

Marti Pellow Marti Pellow (born Mark McLachlan; 23 March 1965) is a Scottish singer. He was the lead singer of the Scottish pop group Wet Wet Wet for 28 years: from their formation in 1982 until their split in 1997, and again from their reformation in 2004 ...

on ''Love to Love'' (2011) * Ruben Studdard on ''Ruben Sings Luther'' (2018)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:So Amazing (song) 1983 songs 1986 songs 1987 singles Dionne Warwick songs Luther Vandross songs Pop ballads Epic Records singles