Origins
According to legend, the burger was named for and was a favorite (and possibly invention) of the late singer-songwriter and record producer Luther Vandross. This origin is mentioned in episode of animated series The Boondocks, "The Itis". In this episode the character Granddad creates an entire restaurant based off the burger and other soul food.
HAHA I've seen that episode of Boondocks! I saw it because the diet I follow was mentioned!
Here is the wiki article for the episode:
wiki-link and the relevant bit: The food is a great success until Huey starts telling people about what they are putting into their bodies,
reciting from Elijah Muhammad's book, How to Eat to Live. Granddad is not amused and forces Huey to serve people their Luther burgers.Btw, I'm happy to see the original barbeque figure make an appearance in this thread! One of the first 2 figures I ever got, bought by my mom, who didn't generally believe in buying me toys.