--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Luther Vandross and I met in Roberta…" description: "\"Luther Vandross and I met in Roberta Flack's band. He was singing background, I was playing bass, and Roberta was beautiful. She's like the mom to all ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4b/marcus-miller-28262_audience_luther-vandross-and-i-met-in-roberta-fla_3123929.jpg" --- # Luther Vandross and I met in Roberta Flack's band. He was… ![“Luther Vandross and I met in Roberta Flack's band. He was singing background, I was playing bass, and Roberta was beautiful. She's like the mom to all these young musicians in New York. At that time that I met Luther, I was a musician snob. For me, the singers were just the people out in the front…” quote by Marcus Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4b/marcus-miller-28262_audience_luther-vandross-and-i-met-in-roberta-fla_3123929.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4b/marcus-miller-28262_audience_luther-vandross-and-i-met-in-roberta-fla_3123929.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4b/marcus-miller-28262_audience_luther-vandross-and-i-met-in-roberta-fla_3123929.jpg) > “Luther Vandross and I met in Roberta Flack's band. He was singing background, I was playing bass, and Roberta was beautiful. She's like the mom to all these young musicians in New York. At that time that I met Luther, I was a musician snob. For me, the singers were just the people out in the front to keep the audience entertained. While the musicians did the real work.” [Marcus Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-miller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He recounts meeting Luther Vandross in Roberta Flack's band, reflecting on early musical hierarchies and later appreciation. **In simple terms:** Early bias saw singers as surface, musicians as core. Key Takeaway Recognize value in all roles. Themes humility collaboration musical hierarchy growth Mood nostalgic reflective Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - band rehearsals - studio sessions - mentoring young artists Key Concepts artistic ego team dynamics career evolution Questions to Reflect On - How did his view of singers evolve? - What lessons can new musicians learn about teamwork? A Different Perspective Changing perspectives may overlook systemic biases. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luther/) [Luther Musician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luther-musician-5496779/) [Luther Vandross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luther-vandross-1784814/) [Met Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/met-luther-5496778/) [Mom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mom/) [Musician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/musician/) [Musicians Did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/musicians-did-1540761/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Roberta Flack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roberta-flack-547256/) [Singing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/singing/) [Snob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/snob/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) ## Related quotes > [The whole music industry has completely and totally changed from how it was. 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I re-discovered Roberta Flack, Smokey Robinson, and Aretha Franklin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miquita-oliver/i-cannot-express-how-much-music-got-me-through-lockdown-i-re/) [Miquita Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miquita-oliver/) > [Being around people like Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, Dionne Warwick and Roberta Flack...had a great impact on me as a singer, as a performer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-houston/being-around-people-like-aretha-franklin-gladys-knight-dionne-warwick/) [Whitney Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-houston/) > [I'd sing with Roberta Flack in a taxi if you called up and said she'd be in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peabo-bryson/i-d-sing-with-roberta-flack-in-a-taxi-if-you-called-up-and-said-she-d/) [Peabo Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peabo-bryson/) > [Listening to Roberta Flack, but I know you won't come back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-hot-chili-peppers/listening-to-roberta-flack-but-i-know-you-won-t-come-back/) [Red Hot Chili Peppers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-hot-chili-peppers/) > [I have a couple of all-time favorites: Donny Hathaway and Roberta Flack, Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauryn-hill/i-have-a-couple-of-all-time-favorites-donny-hathaway-and-roberta/) [Lauryn Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauryn-hill/) > [Prince didn't want to sound like Michael Jackson. Neither of them wanted to sound like Luther Vandross. They didn't want to sound like David…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warryn-campbell/prince-didn-t-want-to-sound-like-michael-jackson-neither-of-them/) [Warryn Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warryn-campbell/) > [Id love to a duet with Luther Vandross.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-easton/id-love-to-a-duet-with-luther-vandross/) [Sheena Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-easton/) > [Most importantly for me growing up, it was a spirituals, it was a gospels, it was James Cleveland, Aretha Franklin, Marion Williams; and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/most-importantly-for-me-growing-up-it-was-a-spirituals-it-was-a/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [How did I write 'Spin Me?' I listened to Luther Vandross's 'I Wanted Your Love.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-burns/how-did-i-write-spin-me-i-listened-to-luther-vandross-s-i-wanted-your/) [Pete Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-burns/) > [I get a lot of my inspiration from the Jackson 5 and Luther Vandross.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-fisher/i-get-a-lot-of-my-inspiration-from-the-jackson-5-and-luther-vandross/) [Jordan Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-fisher/) > [I remember Luther Vandross had turned me on to Versace in 1990. I remember a girl ironing the jeans for me and she was,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-daddy-kane/i-remember-luther-vandross-had-turned-me-on-to-versace-in-1990-i/) [Big Daddy Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-daddy-kane/) ## More by Marcus Miller > [It's a great thing about being a musician; you don't stop until the day you die, you can improve. So it's a wonderful thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-miller/it-s-a-great-thing-about-being-a-musician-you-don-t-stop-until-the/) [Marcus Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-miller/) > [I think jazz is a beautiful, democratic music. It encourages musicians with very strong, and many times, very different points of view to work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-miller/i-think-jazz-is-a-beautiful-democratic-music-it-encourages-musicians/) [Marcus Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-miller/) > [Luther Vandross was doing fine, but he said, "Man, I want to do my own project." 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