Lou Rawls - R.I.P.

[Squaredancecalling Steve]

Sad news, although not unexpected.

Lou Rawls passed away this morning. He was 70.

[Squaredancecalling Steve]

Some reports put his age at 72.

°°°°°

Lou Rawls dead at 70

Friday, January 6, 2006; Posted: 11:07 a.m. EST (16:07 GMT)


(CNN) -- Lou Rawls, whose mellifluous baritone was featured on hits ranging from his own "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine" to Sam Cooke's "Bring It on Home to Me," has died, CNN has learned. He was 70.

Rawls died Friday morning at a Los Angeles hospital, according to a spokesperson. The singer died of lung cancer.

The singer was as well known for his charitable activities as he was for his four-octave range. He founded the Lou Rawls Parade of Stars Telethon, which raised millions of dollars for the United Negro College Fund.

Rawls was born on December 1, 1935, in Chicago, Illinois. A childhood friend of Sam Cooke -- and, like Cooke, trained in gospel -- as a teenager he took Cooke's place in Cooke's gospel group, the Highway QCs, and later supported Cooke on tour and in the studio. He nearly died in an auto accident while traveling with Cooke in 1958, spending several days in a coma, according to Allmusic.com.

Rawls had his first big solo hit with 1966's "Love Is a Hurtin' Thing," which earned him mention in Arthur Conley's "Sweet Soul Music."

He had his biggest hit in 1976 with "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine," which topped the R&B charts and hit No. 2 on the pop charts. Other hits include "Your Good Thing (Is About to End)," "Natural Man" and "Lady Love."


****
****

[Gary Sisco]

Well, he'll "never find..." now.

RIP

[bluenoter]

He sure enriched my life.

R.I.P.

[Gentle Giant]

Grammy-winning singer Lou Rawls dies
January 6, 2006

LOS ANGELES --Lou Rawls, the velvet-voiced singer who started as a church choir boy and went on to sell more than 40 million albums has died at age 72. He won three Grammy Awards in a career that spanned nearly five decades and a range of genres.

Rawls died early Friday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he was hospitalized last month for treatment of lung and brain cancer, his publicist Paul Shefrin said. His wife Nina was at his bedside when he died, Shefrin said.

The family and Shefrin said Rawls was 72, although other records indicate he was 70.




Very sad. He will be missed.

[Gentle Giant]

Just started a thread on this in Speak Out, where it rightfully belongs. I trust Lois will merge.

You'll never find another voice like his.

[Mike Schwartz]

Grammy-winning singer Lou Rawls dies

By JEFF WILSON

ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

LOS ANGELES -- Lou Rawls, the velvet-voiced singer who started as a
church choir boy and went on to sell more than 40 million albums has
died, his publicist said. He won three Grammy Awards in a career that
spanned nearly five decades and a range of genres. He was 72.

Rawls died early Friday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he was
hospitalized last month for treatment of lung and brain cancer, his
publicist Paul Shefrin said. His wife Nina was at his bedside when he
died, Shefrin said.

The family and Shefrin said Rawls was 72, although other records
indicate he was 70.

Rawls' voice was his inimitable trademark.

Jazz historian Leonard Feather wrote in "The Encyclopedia of Jazz in
the Sixties" that Rawls "has a vigorous, confident style, a strong
affinity for the blues and a personal sound."

"I've gone the full spectrum, from gospel to blues to jazz to soul to
pop," Rawls once said on his Web site. "And the public has accepted
what I've done through it all."

Rawls' grandmother introduced him to gospel in his hometown of
Chicago. The singer moved to Los Angeles in the mid-1950s to join a
touring gospel group, the Pilgrim Travelers.

After a two-year stint in the Army, Rawls returned to Los Angeles and
rejoined the Pilgrim Travelers, where he sang with Sam Cooke. Rawls
performed with Dick Clark at the Hollywood Bowl in 1959, and two
years later, he opened for The Beatles at Crosley Field in Cincinnati.

Rawls was playing small blues and R&B clubs in Los Angeles when his
four-octave range caught the ear of a Capitol Records producer, who
signed him to the label in 1962.

His debut effort, "Stormy Monday," recorded with the Les McCann Trio,
was the first of 28 albums Rawls made with Capitol.

His 1966 hit, "Love Is a Hurtin' Thing," topped the charts and earned
Rawls his first two Grammy nominations. He received 13 during his
career.

Rawls, whose hits included "Dead End Street" and "You'll Never Find
Another Love Like Mine," released his most recent album, "Seasons 4
U," in 1998 on his own label, Rawls & Brokaw Records.

The stalwart singer also appeared in 18 movies, including "Leaving
Las Vegas" and "Blues Brothers 2000," and 16 television series,
including "Fantasy Island" and "The Fall Guy."

A longtime community activist, Rawls visited schools, playgrounds and
community centers in the 1960s, encouraging children to continue
their studies and have confidence in their abilities. In the '80s, he
helped the United Negro College Fund raise more than $200 million
through telethons.

In 1976, Rawls became the corporate spokesman for the Anheuser-Busch
Cos. breweries.

Rawls was diagnosed with lung cancer in December 2004 and brain
cancer in May 2005.

Besides his wife Nina, Rawls is survived by four children, Louanna
Rawls, Lou Rawls Jr., Kendra Smith and Aiden Rawls.

Funeral arrangements were incomplete, Shefrin said.

[John L]

I knew that he was very sick. But this still comes as a big shock.


What a class act and beautiful voice!


RIP

[hornplayer]

I got a chill when I read it this am. I, too, knew he was very ill, but this is still so sad.

Just imagine the list of folks who must've come for him! The Heavenly Choir just got another soloist.

Rest in Peace...

[Jazz Purist]

Originally Posted by Gentle Giant

Just started a thread on this in Speak Out, where it rightfully belongs. I trust Lois will merge.

You'll never find another voice like his.

Thank You, GG that's exactly where this thread belongs.

[bruce massey]

Alot of fine music came out of the man. Another tribute to how great radio once was. His style of music was heard and popular because the airwaves weren't so ridiculously formatted for target audiences.

Both he and free airwaves are missed.

[Jazz Purist]

We'll miss you Louis.

[kedoane]

Much sadden by this news.

[Valerie]

very sad, indeed. we have lost lou and ray within a short space of time. two voices that will never be replaced. two originals.


rip, lou.

[cookie]

What a voice! Sad to hear he's gone. Rest In Peace.

[Chris D]

Spotlight on Lou Rawls, y'all
Ah, don't he look tall, y'all
Singin' love's a hurtin' thing now
Oh yeah, oh, oh yeah

RIP, Lou

[Mingus]

honestly, he kinda creeped me out...

[Lois Gilbert]

Soul singer known for stunning voice, charitable endeavors

(CNN) -- Lou Rawls, whose mellifluous baritone was featured on hits ranging
from his own "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine" to Sam Cooke's
"Bring It on Home to Me," has died. He was 72.

Rawls died Friday morning at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles,
California, where he was hospitalized last month for treatment of lung and
brain cancer, said his publicist, Paul Shefrin. His wife, Nina, was at his
bedside when he died.

The singer was as well known for his charitable activities as he was for
his smooth four-octave range. He founded the Lou Rawls Parade of Stars
Telethon, which raised millions of dollars for the United Negro College Fund.

Rawls was born on December 1, 1933, in Chicago, Illinois. (Some sources say
1935.) A childhood friend of Sam Cooke -- and, like Cooke, trained in
gospel -- as a teenager he took Cooke's place in Cooke's gospel group, the
Highway QCs, and later supported Cooke on tour and in the studio.

He nearly died in an auto accident while traveling with Cooke in 1958,
spending several days in a coma, according to Allmusic.com.

Rawls sang in a variety of genres, from gospel to soul to standards.

"I've gone the full spectrum, from gospel to blues to jazz to soul to pop,"
Rawls once said on his Web site, according to The Associated Press. "And
the public has accepted what I've done through it all."

Rawls sang background on Cooke's "Bring It on Home to Me" -- that's him
doing the "yeah" responses and some harmonies -- and had his first big solo
hit with 1966's "Love Is a Hurtin' Thing," which earned him a mention in
Arthur Conley's "Sweet Soul Music."

He had his biggest hit in 1976 with "You'll Never Find Another Love Like
Mine," which topped the R&B charts and hit No. 2 on the pop charts. Other
hits include "Your Good Thing (Is About to End)," "A Natural Man" and "Lady
Love."

He won three Grammys and is reported to have sold more than 40 million albums.

Rawls also appeared in a variety of TV shows and movies, including the
films "Leaving Las Vegas" and "The Rugrats Movie" and the TV shows "The Big
Valley," "Mannix," "Fantasy Island" and "Baywatch," according to the
Internet Movie Database.

His voice also graced TV commercials, notably ads for Anheuser-Busch, the
beer company for which he was the corporate spokesman.

Rawls was diagnosed with lung cancer in December 2004 and brain cancer in
May 2005, according to the AP.

He is survived by his wife Nina, as well as his three adult children,
Louanna Rawls, Lou Rawls, Jr. and Kendra Smith, and his infant son, Aiden.

[Darryl G. Thomas]

An amazing voice. When he hit it big with Philly International in the '70s he sort of became a soundtrack for my life back then. In '76 and '77 I probably listened to him as much as I did Miles. And that's saying a lot.

So long my brother.

[jazzy mary]

I dug him. I knew he did telethons for the UNC, but had no idea he had raised $200 million. That's wonderful. He was a great person.

[John P. Cooper]

Originally Posted by Mingus

honestly, he kinda creeped me out...

......writes a guy with a clown face avatar?

Why did he creep you out? He seemed like a nice guy to me.

[Dr Dave]

"When you're raised on a dead-end street
You've gotta be tough and strong"

I was 17 when "Dead End Street" came out, and it just blew away everything else on the radio--which was saying something in 1967.

[Ron Thorne]

One-of-a-kind. Irreplaceable.



You'll be sorely missed, Lou.

Yeah buddy,

Ron

[hornplayer]

Originally Posted by Dr Dave

"When you're raised on a dead-end street
You've gotta be tough and strong"

I was 17 when "Dead End Street" came out, and it just blew away everything else on the radio--which was saying something in 1967.

That, and Pure Imagination are my two most favorite of his tunes...

nothing creepy about Lou... Mary, he WAS a nice person. When I lived in Chicago, I participated in the UNCF telethon, and he was friendly to everyone, not just the other celebs.

[Mingus]

Originally Posted by John P. Cooper

......writes a guy with a clown face avatar?

Why did he creep you out? He seemed like a nice guy to me.

That's Mingus, baby!

I don't know. maybe a combination of hearing that song ad nauseam on AM radio as a kid and his glassy-eyed baritoned pitches for Budweiser had something to do with it.

must have been my traumatic childhood......

[Pete C]

[Mingus]

Originally Posted by Pete C

upon further consideration, and the advice of counsel (the good Mr. C) I will suppress my childhood trauma and give this one a listen.

wish me luck.

[GoodSpeak]

Sorry to see you go, Lou.


I will miss that "Windy City" voice.



Rest in Peace.

[hornplayer]

Originally Posted by Mingus

upon further consideration, and the advice of counsel (the good Mr. C) I will suppress my childhood trauma and give this one a listen.

wish me luck.

don't think you'll be disappointed...

[John L]

Lou Rawls had the golden baritone of American music. It was both deeply soulful and highly sophisticated, smooth as silk and strongly rooted in blues and gospel. His pitch was impeccable. He could handle a very diverse variety of material, and articulated lyrics in an exceptionally clear manner. Lou Rawls could really deliver a song, and make you think about the message as much as the music.

I love to sing, myself, and have a baritone voice. But listening to Lou Rawls always makes me want to limit my performances to the bathroom shower.

RIP