Louis Allen Rawls (December 1, 1933 – January 6, 2006) was an American record producer, singer, composer and actor. Rawls released more than 60 albums, sold more than 40 million records, and had numerous charting singles, most notably his song " You'll Never Find Another Love like Mine". He worked as a film, television, and voice actor. He was also a three-time Grammy-winner, all for

Best Male R&B Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance was awarded between 1968 and 2011. The award has had several minor name changes: *In 1968 it was awarded as Best R&B Solo Vocal Performance, Male *From 1969 to 1994 it was awarded as Best R&B ...

Early life

Rawls was born in Chicago on December 1, 1933, and raised by his grandmother in the Ida B. Wells projects on the city's South Side. He began singing in the Greater Mount Olive Baptist Church choir at the age of seven and later sang with local groups through which he met Sam Cooke, who was nearly three years older, and Curtis Mayfield.

Career

After graduating from

Dunbar Vocational High School Dunbar Vocational High School (also known as Dunbar Vocational Career Academy, or DVCA) is a state school, public 4–year vocational school, vocational high school located in the Douglas, Chicago, Bronzeville neighborhood on the south side of Chica ...

, he sang briefly with Cooke in the Teenage Kings of Harmony, a gospel group, and then with the Holy Wonders. In 1951, he replaced Cooke in the Highway QC's after Cooke departed to join The Soul Stirrers in Los Angeles. Rawls was hired by the Chosen Gospel Singers and moved to Los Angeles, where he joined the Pilgrim Travelers. In 1955, Rawls enlisted in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

as a paratrooper in the

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an airborne infantry division of the United States Army specializing in parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops Magazine'', 25 November 2012. Archived from tho ...

. He served in B Co 2/505th Parachute Infantry and made 26 jumps. He left the Army three years later as a Sergeant and rejoined the Pilgrim Travelers (then known as the Travelers). In 1958, while touring the South with the Travelers and Sam Cooke, Rawls was in a car crash. He was pronounced dead before arriving at the hospital, where he stayed in a coma for five and a half days. He spent a year recuperating and it was several months before his memory returned. He considered the crash a life-changing event. With

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting '' American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 19 ...

as master of ceremonies, Rawls was able to perform at the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...

in 1959. His first two singles were "Love, Love, Love" and "Walkin' (For Miles)" for Shar-Dee Records, a label owned by Herb Alpert. "In My Little Black Book" and "80 Ways" were released a year later by Candix Records. In 1962 he signed a contract with Capitol Records and sang backing vocals on " Bring It On Home to Me" and " That's Where It's At", both written by Cooke. Rawls charted with a

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of copy ...

of "Bring It On Home to Me" in 1970 (with the title shortened to "Bring It On Home"). '' Stormy Monday'', a jazz album with Les McCann, was released in 1962. The next two Capitol albums (''Black and Blue'', ''Tobacco Road'') sold well and employed Onzy Matthews as musical director and a 17-piece

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...

. Both albums reached the ''Billboard'' magazine charts and propelled his career. Although his 1966 album ''Live!'' was certified

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

, Rawls would not have a star-making hit until he made a soul album, named ''Soulin' '', later that year. The album contained " Love Is a Hurtin' Thing", his first R&B No.1 single. In 1967, he won a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for Best R&B Vocal Performance for the single "Dead End Street". In 1967, he performed at the first evening of the

Monterey International Pop Music Festival The Monterey International Pop Festival was a three-day music festival held June 16 to 18, 1967, at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California. The festival is remembered for the first major American appearances by the Jimi Hendrix ...

In 1969, Rawls was co-host of NBC's summer replacement series for the ''

Dean Martin Show ''The Dean Martin Show'', not to be confused with the ''Dean Martin Variety Show'' (1959–1960), is a TV variety-comedy series that ran from 1965 to 1974 for 264 episodes. It was broadcast by NBC and hosted by Dean Martin. The theme song to the s ...

'' with Martin's daughter, singer Gail Martin. After leaving Capitol in 1971, he signed with MGM and released the single "Natural Man" written for him by comedian Sandy Baron and singer

Bobby Hebb Robert Von Hebb (July 26, 1938 – August 3, 2010) was an American R&B and soul singer, musician, songwriter, recording artist, and performer known for his 1966 hit entitled " Sunny". Biography Hebb was born in Nashville, Tennessee. His par ...

. For Bell Records in 1974 he recorded a cover version of " She's Gone" by Hall & Oates. Two years later with his new manager Martin Pichinson, he signed with Philadelphia International and recorded '' All Things in Time'', which sold a million copies. " You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine" became his biggest selling single, selling a million copies, topping the R&B and Adult Contemporary charts, and reaching No. 2 on the pop chart. The hit single " Lady Love" followed, from the 1977 album ''

When You Hear Lou, You've Heard It All ''When You Hear Lou, You've Heard It All'' is a 1977 album by American R&B singer Lou Rawls, released on the Philadelphia International Records label. On this album, only four tracks were produced by Gamble & Huff with the remainder shared amo ...

''.

Charity

In 1980, Rawls began the ''Lou Rawls Parade of Stars Telethon'' which benefits the

United Negro College Fund UNCF, the United Negro College Fund, also known as the United Fund, is an American philanthropic organization that funds scholarships for black students and general scholarship funds for 37 private historically black colleges and universitie ...

. The annual event, known since 1998 as "An Evening of Stars: A Celebration of Educational Excellence", consists of stories of successful black students who have benefited from and/or graduated from one of the many

historically black colleges and universities Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. ...

who receive support from the UNCF, along with musical performances from various recording artists in support of the UNCF's and Rawls' efforts. The event raised over US$250 million for the fund at the time of Rawls' death in 2006.

Television and film

Rawls appeared in a segment aired during the first season of ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000 ...

'' to sing the alphabet. He dismissed the suggestion to use cue cards for the performance but reversed his decision when he forgot the order of the letters. He was a guest during the second season of ''

The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and featuring the Muppets. The series originated as two pilot episodes produced by Henson for ABC in 1974 and 1975. While neither episode was moved forward as ...

''. His first acting credit was in the Western television series '' The Big Valley'' (starring Barbara Stanwyck, along with Lee Majors and Linda Evans). He was also in the season 5 episode "Lifeline" of the television show '' Mannix'' and the season 6 episode "Return to the Cotton Club" of the show ''

Fantasy Island ''Fantasy Island'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Gene Levitt. It aired on ABC from 1977 to 1984. The series starred Ricardo Montalbán as the mysterious Mr. Roarke and Hervé Villechaize as his assistant, Tatto ...

''. He appeared in the films ''

Leaving Las Vegas ''Leaving Las Vegas'' is a 1995 American drama film written and directed by Mike Figgis, and based on the semi-autobiographical 1990 novel of the same name by John O'Brien. Nicolas Cage stars as a suicidal alcoholic in Los Angeles who, ha ...

'', ''

Blues Brothers 2000 ''Blues Brothers 2000'' is a 1998 American musical comedy film directed by John Landis from a screenplay written by Landis and Dan Aykroyd, both of whom were also producers. The film, starring Aykroyd and John Goodman, is a sequel to the 1980 fi ...

'', and ''Angel, Angel, Down We Go''. He had a role and sang in ''

Lookin' Italian Lookin' Italian is a 1994 American crime film directed by Guy Magar and starring Jay Acovone and Matt LeBlanc. Synopsis Vinny Pallazzo (Jay Acovone) is a retired gangster who has left the mafia after a disastrous incident. Now working as a c ...

'' (1994), an independent film about the mafia. He had a supporting role in '' Baywatch Nights''. He was a guest host on ''Jazz Central'', a television program that was broadcast on the BET channel. For many years, he was a spokesperson for the Colonial Penn Life Insurance Company. First appearing in television and radio commercials in the mid-to-late 1960s for Spur Malt Liquor, a

Rainier Brewing Company The Rainier Brewing Company was an American brewery based in Seattle, Washington. It brewed Rainier Beer, a popular brand in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Although Rainier was founded in 1884, the Seattle site had been brewing beer ...

product in Seattle. He appeared in a number of Budweiser advertisements. Budweiser was a sponsor for the Rawls telethon and UNCF. There was no attempt to avoid the similarity between the title of the 1977 album ''When You've Heard Lou, You've Heard It All'' and his corporate sponsor's slogan "When You Say Bud, You've Said It All". A track on the 1978 album ''Lou Rawls Live'' features him singing the commercial slogan.

Anheuser-Busch Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC is an American brewing company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Since 2008, it has been wholly owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV ( AB InBev), now the world's largest brewing company, which owns multiple ...

, the brewers of Budweiser, suggested his telethon work to him. Rawls lent his rich baritone to cartoons, including '' Hey Arnold!'', '' Garfield'', '' Captain Planet and the Planeteers'' and '' The Proud Family''. For many of the Film Roman ''Garfield'' specials, Rawls would often compose songs, which he would then sing usually doing a duet with Desiree Goyette, as well as the singing voice of the title character himself. In the season 2 episode of ''

My Wife and Kids ''My Wife and Kids'' is an American sitcom that ran on ABC from March 28, 2001, to May 17, 2005. The series was produced by Touchstone Television. It starred Damon Wayans as Michael Kyle, the patriarch of an African-American family. Wayans and ve ...

'' entitled "Michael's Garden", Lou Rawls himself sings " You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine" to Michael Kyle (

Damon Wayans Damon Kyle Wayans Sr. (; born September 4, 1960) is an American actor, comedian, producer, and writer. Wayans performed as a comedian and actor throughout the 1980s, including a year long stint on the sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live.' ...

) during a colonoscopy.

Personal life

Rawls was married three times. His third wife, Nina, a former flight attendant, managed his career during his last two years. They had one son, Aiden Rawls. Rawls was also survived by another son, Lou Rawls Jr.; two daughters, Louanna Rawls of Los Angeles and Kendra Smith of Los Angeles; and four grandchildren.

Death

In December 2005, it was announced that Rawls was being treated for lung cancer that metastasized to his brain. He died from this illness on January 6, 2006, at

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a nonprofit, tertiary, 886-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over ...

in Los Angeles, California. He is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills). Lou Rawls's final television performance occurred during the 2005–2006 edition of the telethon, honoring

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, s ...

in September 2005, months before entering the hospital and after having been diagnosed with cancer earlier in the year. He performed "

You Are the Sunshine of My Life "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" is a 1973 single released by Stevie Wonder. The song became Wonder's third number-one single on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and his first number-one on the Easy Listening chart. It won Wonder a Grammy Award f ...

" and " It Was A Very Good Year" as a tribute to Frank Sinatra.

Awards and honors

On the night of September 29, 1977, Rawls performed the

national anthem of the United States "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the b ...

before the Earnie Shavers- Muhammad Ali title fight at Madison Square Garden. He was invited to sing the anthem many times over the next 28 years. His final performance was in his hometown of Chicago when he was asked to sing the national anthem before the second game of the

2005 World Series The 2005 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2005 season. The 101st edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Chicago White Sox and the National ...

between the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

and

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...

at U.S. Cellular Field. Rawls won the AMA for Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist in 1979, tied with singer Teddy Pendergrass. In 1982, Rawls received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. On January 19, 1985, he sang "

Wind Beneath My Wings "Wind Beneath My Wings" (sometimes titled "The Wind Beneath My Wings" and "Hero") is a song written in 1982 by Jeff Silbar and Larry Henley. The song was first recorded by Kamahl in 1982 for a country and western album he was recording. Kamahl tal ...

" at the nationally televised 50th Presidential Inaugural Gala the day before the second inauguration of Ronald Reagan. In 2021, Rawls was posthumously inducted into the Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame inductees.

Grammy Awards

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, , - !scope="row", 1972 , "A Natural Man" , ,

, , - !scope="row", 1976 , " You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine" ,

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance was a Grammy Award recognizing superior vocal performance by a male in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. It was discontinued after the 2011 Grammy season. The award wen ...

, , - !scope="row", 1978 , ''Unmistakably Lou'' , ,

Legacy

Guion Bluford, the first black astronaut, brought the Lou Rawls album ''When the Night Comes'' (Epic, 1983) into space with him. It contained the song "Wind Beneath My Wings". In 1989, he performed vocals for "The Music and Heroes of America" segment in the animated television miniseries '' This Is America, Charlie Brown''. In January 2004, Rawls was honored by the United Negro College Fund for his more than 25 years of charity work with the organization. Instead of hosting and performing as he usually did, Rawls was given the seat of honor and celebrated by his performing colleagues, including

, The O'Jays,

Gerald Levert Gerald Edward Levert (July 13, 1966 – November 10, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and producer. Levert was best known for singing with his brother, Sean Levert, and friend Marc Gordon of the vocal group LeVert. Levert was also a ...

, and Ashanti. In 2009, Pathway Entertainment announced its intention to produce a biopic about Rawls's life, tentatively titled ''Love Is a Hurtin' Thing: The Lou Rawls Story'',"Lou Rawls biopic in the works"
ABC News, March 26, 2009. with Rawls' son, Lou Rawls Jr., writing the

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, f ...

and

Isaiah Washington Isaiah Washington IV is an American actor and media personality. Following a series of film appearances, he came to prominence for portraying Dr. Preston Burke in the first three seasons of the series ''Grey's Anatomy'' from 2005 to 2007. Wash ...

reportedly playing Rawls.

Discography

Albums

* '' Stormy Monday'' with Les McCann (Capitol, 1962) * ''Black and Blue'' (Capitol, 1963) * ''Tobacco Road'' (Capitol, 1964) * ''Nobody But Lou'' (Capitol, 1965) * ''Lou Rawls and Strings'' (Capitol, 1965) * ''Live!'' (Capitol, 1966) * ''Soulin (Capitol, 1966) * ''Carryin' On!'' (Capitol, 1966) * ''Too Much!'' (Capitol, 1967) * ''That's Lou'' (Capitol, 1967) * ''Merry Christmas Ho! Ho! Ho!'' (Capitol, 1967) * ''Feelin' Good'' (Capitol, 1968) * ''You're Good for Me'' (Capitol, 1968) * ''Central Park Music Festival'' with Ramsey Lewis, Maxine Brown (Music Images, 1968) * ''Come On in, Mister Blues'' (Pickwick, 1968) * '' The Way It Was, The Way It Is'' (Capitol, 1969) * ''Your Good Thing'' (Capitol, 1969) * ''You've Made Me So Very Happy'' (Capitol, 1970) * ''Bring It On Home...and Other Great Sam Cooke Hits'' (Capitol, 1970) * ''Natural Man'' (MGM, 1971) * ''Silk & Soul'' (MGM, 1972) * ''A Man of Value'' (MGM, 1972) * ''The Soul of Nigger Charley'' with Don Costa (MGM, 1973) * ''Live at the Century Plaza'' (MGM, 1973) * ''She's Gone'' (Bell, 1974) * ''Lou Rawls with Host Sam Riddle'' (Sounds Like The Navy, 1974) * '' All Things in Time'' (Philadelphia International, 1976) * ''Naturally'' (Polydor, 1976) * '' Unmistakably Lou'' (Philadelphia International, 1977) * ''

'' (Philadelphia International, 1977) * ''Live'' (Philadelphia International, 1978) * '' Let Me Be Good to You'' (Philadelphia International, 1979) * '' Sit Down and Talk to Me'' (Philadelphia International, 1980) * ''Shades of Blue'' (Philadelphia International, 1981) * ''Live On Stage'' (Philadelphia International, 1981) * ''Here Comes Garfield'' (Epic, 1982) * ''Now Is the Time'' (Epic, 1982) * ''When the Night Comes'' (Epic, 1983) * ''Close Company'' (Epic, 1984) * ''Trying As Hard As I Can'' (Allegiance, 1984) * ''Holiday Cheer'' with Lena Horne (Capitol, 1985) * ''Love All Your Blues Away'' (Epic, 1986) * ''Family Reunion'' (Gamble and Huff 1987) * ''At Last'' (Blue Note, 1989) * ''It's Supposed to Be Fun'' (Blue Note, 1990) * ''Greatest Hits'' (Curb, 1990) * '' Portrait of the Blues'' (Manhattan, 1993) * ''Christmas Is the Time'' (Manhattan, 1993) * ''Tonight: Lou Rawls Live'' (ABCD Music, 1993) * ''In Concert'' (Skyline, 1995) * ''Seasons 4 U'' (Rawls & Brokaw, 1998) * ''Classic Soul'' (TKO Magnum Music, 1999) * ''Swingin' Christmas'' (EMI-Capitol, 2000) * ''I'm Blessed'' (Malaco, 2001) * ''Oh Happy Day'' (601 Music/Malaco, 2002) * ''Rawls Sings Sinatra'' (Savoy, 2003) * ''Amen'' (Prism Platinum 2005) * ''Live in Concert 1992/1995'' (ABC Entertainment 2006) * ''Merry Christmas, Baby'' (Capitol, 2006) * ''Christmas'' (Time Life 2006)

Billboard Top 50 hit singles

The following is a list of Rawls singles that made the top 50 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. His first Hot 100 entry was "Three O'Clock in the Morning" in 1965, and his final was "

" in 1983. In addition to those two, nine other singles peaked at positions above the top 50 on the Hot 100, and additional singles reached the R&B,

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

and Bubbling Under charts. * " Love Is a Hurtin' Thing" - 1966, No. 13 (also No. 1 R&B) * "Dead End Street" - 1967, No. 29 * "Show Business" - 1967, No. 45 * " Your Good Thing (Is About to End)" - 1969, No. 18 (sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc) * "A Natural Man" - 1971, No. 17 * " You'll Never Find Another Love like Mine" - 1976, No. 2 (also No. 1 R&B and No. 1 Easy Listening); certified gold for sales of one million copies * " Lady Love" - 1978, No. 24

Chart singles

Filmography

* 1969: ''

Angel, Angel, Down We Go ''Angel, Angel, Down We Go'', also known as ''Cult of the Damned'', is a 1969 American film directed by playwright and screenwriter Robert Thom, his sole directorial credit. Thom based his screenplay on an unproduced stage play of the same title ...

'' as Joe * 1969: "Joshua Watson" The Big Valley * 1972: "Mannix" Lifeline Episode as Vance Logan * 1995: ''

'' as Concerned Cab Driver *1996-2004: ''Hey Arnold'' as Harvey the Mailman (18 episodes) Only in America (Don King HBO Movie) * 1997: “Still Breathing” as The Tree Man * 1998: '' The Secret Files of the Spy Dogs'' (voice of Anubis) * 1998: '' The Rugrats Movie'' as a newborn baby singer * 1999: '' Kablam'' as himself * 2000: ''Jazz Channel Presents Lou Rawls'' (Image) * 2001: ''

'' Episode: "Michael's Garden" (himself) * 2002: '' The Proud Family'' Episode The Party * 2003: ''In Concert'' (BMG/Image) * 2005: ''Prime Concerts: In Concert with Edmonton Symphony'' (Amalgamated) * 2005: '' South Park'' as

Tolkien Black Tolkien Black (originally known as Token Williams and Token Black) is a fictional character in the adult animated television series ''South Park''. He was originally voiced by Trey Parker, later changed to series art director, storyboard artist ...

(singing voice; archival synthase recording) Episode: "

Wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is e ...

" * 2006: ''The Lou Rawls Show: With Duke Ellington & Freda Payne'' * 2007: ''Live in Concert: North Sea Jazz. 1992-1995'' (E-M-S)

References

External links

* *
All Together - Navy recruiting video
("Tell 'em Lou Rawls sent ya") * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rawls, Lou 1933 births 2006 deaths African-American male actors American blues singers American jazz singers American male voice actors American baritones American rhythm and blues singers American soul musicians Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Capitol Records artists Deaths from brain cancer in the United States Deaths from lung cancer in California Dunbar Vocational High School alumni American former Scientologists Grammy Award winners MGM Records artists Philadelphia International Records artists Singers from Chicago United States Army soldiers Jazz musicians from Illinois Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania American male jazz musicians 20th-century African-American male singers