Dance with My Father (song)

"Dance with My Father"
A-side label of U.S. vinyl single
Single by Luther Vandross
from the album Dance with My Father
Released	May 30, 2003 (2003-05-30)
Format	7", CD single, digital download
Genre	R&B, pop, adult contemporary
Length	4:26
Label	J
Writer(s)	Luther Vandross, Richard Marx
Producer(s)	Luther Vandross, Nat Adderley, Jr.
Luther Vandross singles chronology
"I'd Rather" (2002) "Dance with My Father" (2003) "Think About You" (2003)
Instrumental track B-side label of U.S. vinyl single

"Dance with My Father" is the title track to singer and songwriter Luther Vandross' thirteenth studio album. With Richard Marx, Vandross wrote the song based on his personal experience. Its heart touching lyrics recall childhood memories with Vandross' father, who used to dance with him and his mother.

Despite the lack of promotion due in part to Vandross' hospitalization, "Dance with My Father" became one of the most requested songs at the time. During the 2003 Grammy Awards, "Dance with My Father" earned Vandross the Song of the Year and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance accolades.

Vandross wrote "Dance with My Father" with Marx, based on his personal experience. Considered by Vandross as his "career song", "Dance with my Father" is a tribute to his father, Luther Vandross, Sr., who died due to complications of diabetes. Vandross was seven when his father died. According to Marx, writing the song was emotional for Vandross because it is "a subject matter [Vandross] hadn't written before".

On the backdrop of strings and interplay of piano and drums, Vandross recalls fond memories with his late father who used to dance with his mother. Mary Ida, his mother, says, "I was amazed at how well Luther remembered his father, how we used to dance and sing in the house. I was so surprised that at 7 1/2 years of age, he could remember what a happy household we had." Barry Walters of Rolling Stone magazine qualifies the memories invoked in the lyrics as painful and private, adding that when Vandross asks God to return his father, it "turn a potentially maudlin song into a meditative, deeply personal prayer".

At the time of "Dance with My Father"'s release as a single on May 30, 2003, Vandross had been hospitalized due to his suffering from stroke. This timely release of the song gained attention from critics. On his review for the album, David Jeffries of AllMusic wrote that its release "makes the song's references to absent loved ones even more poignant". For Larry Flick of The Advocate, it transformed the song into "a haunting composition rife with subtext".