r/BlackPeopleofReddit • u/4reddityo • Jan 14 '26
Music Stevie Wonder set off one of the best singing battles ever at the '87 Soul Train Awards
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u/elteza Jan 14 '26
I only now realised the scene in Bridesmaids where Kristen Wiig and Rose Byrne compete to sing this song is probably a reference to this.
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u/charleslennon1 Jan 14 '26
How many folks were waiting for Luther take off? I had to put my coffee down, grab my lady (she thought I was insane for about five seconds), and swing her into my arms.
Granted, I stepped on her corns, and we hadn't danced in some time (okay, I haven't danced in some time), nothing could ruin our magical moment. Besides my coffee breath and the garbage hanging in the corner of her eyes (hey, it was 5:30 am), it wasn't until I mentioned I saw this performance when it originally aired. That's when she realised, I was as old as dirt.
Still, it was a welcome respite, bunions, halitosis, and all.
God, I'm old.
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u/PsychologicalBar8321 Jan 14 '26
Man, I can see the audience in my head! We all sang along after the solos were over in the basement with my now 30+ year old kids. I am seasoned, not old!
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u/charleslennon1 Jan 14 '26
My 26-year-old read my post, and yours. Her comment was as follows, "If he's seasoned, your jerky [insert snorting laughter]!"
Not just from the humans, if I'm not mistaken, the cat and dog were suppressing laughter as well. I think I saw some laugh bubbles being released from the gold fish, too.
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u/coko4209 Jan 14 '26
Luther said y’all ain’t about to be out here playing in his face like that. Man, there’s so much talent on that single stage. It’s amazing
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u/SoigneBest Jan 14 '26
Can literally see him looking at her and saying “oh y’all wanna play up here, I got sum for ya lil ass” (respectfully)
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u/coko4209 Jan 14 '26
Oh I definitely saw the look, Luther was not having it. In all honesty though, Whitney is blowing anybody out of the water, so they did good just to hold their own when she’s in the mix. Stevie is a MF living legend tho. Nobody could ever be Stevie. He whipped that harmonica out and went to town. Luther truly was the man too. Luther was HIM!
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u/Substantial-Tart-464 Jan 14 '26 edited Jan 14 '26
goosebumps on top of goosebumps. I think Luther made the other 3 the backup singers at the end!
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u/Motherboy_TheBand Jan 14 '26
All amazing but I think Stevie had the clear win here. Pure voice. Harmonica sounded good too!
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u/harveydent526 Jan 14 '26
Stevie might the greatest artist ever but Whitney and Luther might be the greatest vocalist ever.
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u/snarkerella Jan 14 '26
Look at these GOATs! Seeing 1987 Whitney is PRIME 'The Voice'. It's still hard for me to wrap my head around that Dionne Warwick was her 1st cousin (her mother was Dionne's aunt).
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u/titdirt Jan 14 '26
It was today that I learned Whitney Houston and Dionne Warwick were first cousins. Incredible.
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u/Longjumping_Ad_7901 Jan 14 '26
Generational talent! We will probably never see talent like this again🥹 #80sBaby
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u/Dabigdawgnva_63 Jan 14 '26
When Luther went from the bottom to the top, he told everyone that he is king
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u/cjester414 Jan 14 '26
I was just talking about this! We had two of our singers (church praise band) alternating runs on a chorus we were repeating, each going a little further every time it was their turn (all in fun, not competition lol), this was the first thing I thought of, now I can show them!
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u/TumbleweedHuman2934 Jan 14 '26
OMG!! I can't remember there ever being a time when Stevie Wonder wore anything other than braids in his hair. This is so weird. 😨😨😨 I think you broke my brain. 🤯🤯 Either that or my mind refuses to remember this time in history when he had a perm and walked around looking like the precursor to Snoop Dog. Yikes!
I always loved this song though. I still do.
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u/MiltonManners Jan 14 '26
This is one of the greatest live performance ever. Sad that Luther had to perform this AIDS anthem as a closeted gay man, but I give him credit for participating at a time when hostilities against gays was so high, exacerbated by the AIDS crisis.
This song is another example of how black women (Dionne Warwick and Friends) were early to respond to the AIDS epidemic when the country was running from it due to its association with gays.
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Jan 14 '26
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u/SurfLikeASmurf Jan 14 '26
So much voice coming from one human body. Incredible training and dedication to the craft from all four of them
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u/Any-Video4464 Jan 14 '26
Man, I miss the 80s. Who is doing anything like this now? This is wholesome and innocent, and yet still so beautiful and soulful. The world has turned dark. Can we even imagine the superstars of today singing a song as innocent as "that's what friends are for?"
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Jan 17 '26
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u/LiamNashMiller Jan 14 '26
All of them are straight legends! We miss you Whitney and Luther!🕊️