"Here and Now" is a 1989 song by American recording artist

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American Soul music, soul and Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer. Over his career, he achieved eleven consecutive RIAA certification, RIAA-certified ...

, and written by: David L. Elliott, Terry Steele, and Charles "Casino" White. The single is from the compilation album '' The Best of Luther Vandross... The Best of Love''. "Here and Now" became his fifth single to peak at No. 1 on the

Hot Black Singles 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 po ...

, and his first single to chart in the top ten on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at No. 6.

Critical reception

David Giles from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' wrote, "Vandross diehards will happily lap this up — it's already put in a showing in the lower reaches of the chart — but this typically dreamy, sensual ballad hardly represents a quantum leap in style for the romantic soul maestro."

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Accolades

"Here and Now" also earned Vandross his first

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance in 1991.

Popular culture

*Vandross performed the song on an episode of ''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Oprah Winfrey. The show ran for twenty-five seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in which it broadcast 4,561 episodes. The show was taped i ...

'' *Vandross also performed the song in the two-part "Do Not Pass Go" (season 5) of '' 227'', where he performed during Rose and Warren's wedding ceremony in early 1990.

Renditions

*American singer

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American Rhythm and blues, R&B singer and actress. She has been referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godmother of Soul". LaBelle began ...

recorded a version of the song for the 2005 album So Amazing: An All-Star Tribute to Luther Vandross. *In 1997, saxophonist

Richard Elliot Richard Elliot (born January 16, 1960) is an American saxophonist. He was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards for '' Summer Horns''. Biography Early life Elliot was born in the Scot ...

covered the song on the soprano saxophone for his album "Jumpin' Off."

References

1989 singles 1990 singles Luther Vandross songs Contemporary R&B ballads 1989 songs Epic Records singles Soul ballads 1980s ballads {{1980s-R&B-song-stub