Ballad of the Luther Burger

90-second read

Luther Vandross gave the world one of the great voices of modern R&B. And after everything he did for us, the internet decided to remember him for a hamburger.

Mr Vandross was the sound of the 80s and 90s. You know when people say, “They don’t make music like this anymore”? That’s Luther right there.

His albums sold millions of copies, he won multiple Grammy Awards, and he was rated as one of the greatest singers of all time. The kind of artist who pulls you inside a lyric and doesn't let go.

And yet, despite all this… the awards, the legacy, the voice… the internet remembers him for a bacon cheeseburger served between two glazed Krispy Kreme doughnuts.

According to urban legend, Mr Vandross invented the burger after he ran out of burger buns and used a pair of glazed doughnuts instead. The Boondocks even built an episode around the Luther Burger, which probably didn’t help.

There’s no real evidence that Mr Vandross invented the Luther Burger, or that it was part of his regular diet. It’s a great story, and it’s likely all made up.

So why people still choose to make and eat this diabolical piece of decadence is beyond me.

I reckon the myth grew because it’s funnier than the truth. I mean, look at what they did to Elvis Presley with that story about the Fool’s Gold Loaf.

In reality, Mr Vandross had serious long-term health problems, including diabetes, and suffered a major stroke in 2003. That reality is less entertaining than blaming a doughnut hamburger.

And maybe that’s the point. Culture loves attaching absurd stories to serious people.

But we do get some say in what we remember. Let’s remember the voice, not the pastry-related conspiracy theory.



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For the curious: The Boondocks, “The Itis” (Season 1, Episode 10).

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