Long before he was the "Velvet Voice" selling out Madison Square Garden, Luther Vandross was just a skinny kid from the Bronx trying to figure out how to count to twenty on national television.
It sounds like a fever dream, right? The man who gave us "Never Too Much" and "A House Is Not a Home" started his professional journey hanging out with Muppets. But honestly, if you look back at the very first season of Sesame Street in 1969, there he is. No sequins. No backup dancers. Just a teenager with a massive amount of talent and a very stylish 1960s wardrobe.
Why Luther Vandross Sesame Street Clips are Actually Music History
Most people think Luther just popped out of thin air in 1981 with a hit record. Nope. He was a veteran of the industry by then. His time on Sesame Street wasn't some random cameo like celebrities do today. He was part of the actual fabric of the show's experimental first year.
He was a member of a musical theater workshop group called Listen My Brother. They were based out of the Apollo Theater in Harlem. This wasn't just a choir; it was a collective of young, hungry artists. The group was brought in by Peter Long—the husband of Loretta Long, who played Susan on the show—to give the series some authentic "street" soul.
Luther was only 18 years old.
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In the pilot episodes, you can see him front and center. He’s tall, he’s expressive, and that tone? It’s already there. Even back then, his voice had that specific weight and warmth. He wasn't just singing "ABCs." He was performing songs like "Nobody" and "You've Got to Learn to Count to Twenty."
The Famous "Count to Twenty" Performance
If you want to see the exact moment the world should have known he’d be a superstar, find the clip where he’s leading the group in a counting song. It’s funky. It’s soulful. It’s basically a proto-R&B track disguised as educational television.
- The Vibe: High energy, hand-clapping, and pure Harlem soul.
- The Hair: An impeccable, tight Afro.
- The Vocals: Effortless. Even while teaching kids basic math, he was doing vocal runs that most singers would kill for today.
Beyond the First Season: The 25th Anniversary and More
Luther didn't just leave the street and never look back. He returned later in his career, once he was a household name. In 1993, for the Sesame Street's 25th Birthday: A Musical Celebration, he came back to perform "ABC-DEF-GHI."
Imagine being a kid in '69 watching this teen sing about numbers, and then being an adult in the 90s watching that same man—now a multi-Grammy winner—serenading Big Bird. It’s a full-circle moment that most artists don't get. He also appeared in the Elmopalooza special in 1998, proving that he never outgrew his roots.
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The Connection to David Bowie and Chic
Here is the part that blows people's minds. Luther’s time on the show actually helped build the network that led to his big break.
The musicians and singers he met during those early television days stayed in his orbit. For instance, Robin Clark and Fonzi Thornton were also in Listen My Brother. These are the same people who ended up singing backup for David Bowie on the Young Americans album. In fact, Bowie discovered Luther because he heard him singing in the background during a session.
Basically, without the Apollo Theater workshop and the subsequent Sesame Street gig, Luther might not have been in the room when Bowie needed that "plastic soul" sound.
What Most People Get Wrong About Luther's Early Days
There’s a common misconception that Luther was "discovered" as a jingle singer. While it's true he made a fortune singing for Juicy Fruit and Kentucky Fried Chicken in the 70s, Sesame Street was his true professional debut.
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He wasn't just a face in the crowd. He was a lead vocalist. He was writing and arranging even then. The show gave him a platform to understand how television production worked, which served him well when he started producing his own elaborate stage shows later on.
How to Experience the "Listen My Brother" Era Today
Finding these clips used to be impossible. Now, thanks to archives and the 2024 documentary Luther: Never Too Much, more of this footage is coming to light.
- Check YouTube: Search specifically for "Listen My Brother Sesame Street 1969." You’ll find grainy but glorious footage of a teenage Luther.
- The Documentary: The Dawn Porter-directed film Never Too Much dives deep into these Harlem roots. It’s the best way to see the high-def restoration of his early performances.
- Listen to the Arrangements: Pay attention to the vocal harmonies in those early children's songs. You can hear the beginnings of the "Luther Sound"—that stacked, lush background vocal style that became his trademark.
Luther Vandross didn't just happen. He was built through years of hard work, starting on a sidewalk set in a studio in New York. He taught a generation how to count, and then he spent the rest of his life teaching us how to love.
If you want to truly understand the history of R&B, you have to look at those early episodes. It’s where the magic started.
To dig deeper into the "Velvet Voice" era, your best bet is to watch the Never Too Much documentary or track down the original 1969 Sesame Street pilot footage, which is often preserved in the Paley Center for Media.