Lou Rawls
Louis Allen Rawls (born December 1, 1933 in Chicago , Illinois , † January 6, 2006 in Los Angeles ) was an American singer who wrote music history for decades with his characteristic, slightly smoky voice since the early 1960s. His best-known and most successful recordings include recordings that change between jazz , soul , blues , pop and disco , such as Love Is a Hurtin 'Thing (1966), Dead End Street (1967), Your Good Thing (Is About to End) (1969) , A Natural Man (1971), You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine (1976) and Lady Love (1977), for which Rawls received numerous awards.
Life
As a member of a Baptist church , Rawls began with gospel music . In the 1950s he went to Los Angeles and initially appeared with the "Chosen Gospel Singers", with whom he also recorded his first record. Then the "Pilgrim Travelers" followed before he served as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division (the so-called "All Americans") of the United States Army . As a sergeant, he left the Army three years later and went back to the "Travelers".
While on tour, he almost died in a serious traffic accident. Rawls was seriously injured, even pronounced dead for a short time on the way to the hospital. He fell into a coma , from which he awoke after five days with memory loss . It took him a year to recover. He regarded this experience as a godsend, a new life that was given to him.
In the 1970s he experienced a steep career and created many pieces of music that became classics and that expressed a special attitude towards life. Sinatra once said of Lou and herself that they were both saloon singers, just voices capable of reaching the heart and soul. 1998 Rawls album produced Seasons 4 U .
His voice is unmistakable. It is also described as "sweet as sugar, soft as velvet, strong as steel, smooth as butter". In over 40 years he has among other things achieved four gold and two platinum albums. He started out as a gospel singer with Sam Cooke , followed by the Dick Clark Show at the 1959 Hollywood Bowl , and even performed with the Beatles .
Lou Rawls described his music as follows: "... from blues to jazz to soul and pop " he made music and the audience was enthusiastic, "so I must have done something right". Over the years, his signature voice was something that didn't change. Even when the styles of his music changed, you always recognized him: "Maybe they don't know what I'm doing, but they hear that it is me."
In 1981 he played a country singer in the first episode of the television series A Colt just in case (Journey to Arizona). In Mike Figgis’s film Leaving Las Vegas (1995) he can be seen in a cameo as a taxi driver.
Grammy Awards
- 1968 Best Male Rhythm and Blues Solo Singing: Dead End Street .
- 1972 Best male rhythm and blues solo singer: A Natural Man .
- 1978 Best Male Rhythm and Blues Singing: Unmistakably Lou .
Discography
Studio albums
| year | Title music label |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, music label , placements, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 UK
|
 US
|
R&B
|
|||
| 1963 | Black and Blue Capitol 1824 |
- |
US130 (? Where) US |
- |
First published: 1963
Producer: Nick Venet |
| 1966 | Lou Rawls Soulin ' Capitol 2566 |
- |
US7th  (51 weeks)US |
R&B1 (44 weeks) R&B |
First published: August 1966
Producer: David Axelrod |
| 1967 | Lou Rawls Carryin 'On! Capitol 2632 |
- |
US20 (31 weeks) US |
R&B2 (28 weeks) R&B |
First published: January 1967
Producer: David Axelrod |
| Too Much! Capitol 2713 |
- |
US18 (22 weeks) US |
R&B2 (18 weeks) R&B |
First published: April 1967
Producer: David Axelrod |
|
| That's Lou Capitol 2756 |
- |
US29 (20 weeks) US |
R&B5 (11 weeks) R&B |
First published: August 1967
Producer: David Axelrod |
|
| 1968 | Feelin 'Good Capitol 2864 |
- |
US103 (22 weeks) US |
R&B10 (18 weeks) R&B |
First published: February 1968
Producer: David Axelrod |
| You're Good for Me Capitol 2927 |
- |
US165 (6 weeks) US |
R&B23 (5 weeks) R&B |
First published: July 1968
Producer: David Axelrod |
|
| 1969 | The Way It Was - The Way It Is Capitol 215 |
- |
US71 (23 weeks) US |
R&B6 (34 weeks) R&B |
First published: May 1969
Producer: David Axelrod |
| Your Good Thing Capitol 325 |
- |
US200 (2 weeks) US |
R&B24 (9 weeks) R&B |
First published: November 1969
Producer: David Axelrod |
|
| 1970 | You've Made Me so Very Happy Capitol 427 |
- |
US172 (3 weeks) US |
R&B47 (3 weeks) R&B |
First published: March 1970
Producer: David Axelrod |
| 1971 | Natural Man MGM 4771 |
- |
US68 (24 weeks) US |
R&B27 (19 weeks) R&B |
First published: August 1971
Producer: Michael Lloyd |
| 1972 | Silk & Soul MGM 4809 (2) |
- |
US186 (4 weeks) US |
R&B32 (4 weeks) R&B |
First published: February 1972
Producer: Michael Lloyd |
| 1975 | She's Gone Bell 1318 |
- | - |
R&B52 (5 weeks) R&B |
First published: January 1975
Producer: Norman Ratner |
| 1976 | All Things in Time Philadelphia I. 33957 |
- |
US7th  (35 weeks)US |
R&B1 (28 weeks) R&B |
|
| Naturally Polydor 6086 |
- | - |
R&B56 (3 weeks) R&B |
First published: November 1976
Producer: Michael Lloyd |
|
| 1977 | Unmistakably Lou Philadelphia I. 34488 |
- |
US41 (29 weeks)US |
R&B14 (21 weeks) R&B |
First published: April 1977
Grammy (R&B Male Vocal) Producers: Bobby Martin, Dexter Wansel, Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, Jack Faith |
| When You Hear Lou, You've Heard It All Philadelphia I. 35036 |
- |
US41 (34 weeks)US |
R&B13 (31 weeks) R&B |
First published: November 1977
Authors: Jack Faith, Bobby Martin, Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, Phil Terry |
|
| 1979 | Let Me Be Good to You Philadelphia I. 36006 |
- |
US49 (15 weeks) US |
R&B13 (18 weeks) R&B |
First published: May 1979
Producers: Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, Dexter Wansel, John R. Faith, Thom Bell |
| 1980 | Sit Down and Talk to Me Philadelphia I. 36304 |
- |
US81 (18 weeks) US |
R&B19 (25 weeks) R&B |
First published: December 1979
Producers: Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, Thom Bell Gene McFadden, John Whitehead, Dexter Wansel |
| 1981 | Shades of Blue Philadelphia I. 36774 |
- |
US110 (6 weeks) US |
R&B34 (11 weeks) R&B |
First published: December 1980
Producer: Joel Dorn |
| 1982 | Now Is the Time Epic 37488 |
- | - |
R&B45 (9 weeks) R&B |
|
| 1983 | When the Night Comes Epic 38553 |
- |
US163 (4 weeks) US |
- |
First published: May 1983
Producer: Ron Haffkine |
| 1988 | Family Reunion Gamble & Huff 100 |
- | - |
R&B73 (1 week) R&B |
First published: January 1988
Producers: Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff |
| 1989 | At Last Blue Note 91937 |
- | - |
R&B96 (4 weeks) R&B |
|
| 1990 | It's Supposed to Be Fun Blue Note 93841 |
- | - |
R&B92 (6 weeks) R&B |
|
| 1993 | Portrait of the Blues Capitol 2214 |
- | - | - |
First published: March 1993
Producers: Billy Vera, Michael Cuscuna |
| Christmas Is the Time Manhattan CDP 0777 7 89552 2 1 |
- | - | - |
First published: November 1993
Producer: Michael Lloyd |
|
| 2003 | Rawls Sings Sinatra Savoy Jazz 17284 |
- | - | - |
First published: September 2003
Producer: Billy Vera |
| 2006 | Lou Rawls Christmas Time Life Music 19257 |
- | - |
R&B70 (3 weeks) R&B |
First published: December 2006
Producer: Tor Hyams |
gray hatching : no chart data available for this year
literature
- Stambler, Irwin: The Encyclopedia of Pop, Rock and Soul . 3rd revised edition, New York City, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989, pp. 557f - ISBN 0-312-02573-4 .
swell
- ↑ Chart sources: Singles UK US
- ^ Joel Whitburn : Top R&B Albums 1965–1998, ISBN 0-89820-134-9 .
Web links
- Lou Rawls in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Lou Rawls at Discogs (English)
- Lou Rawls at Allmusic (English)
- Obituary in The Independent
- Official website of Lou Rawls
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Rawls, Lou |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Rawls, Louis Allen (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz / soul singer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 1, 1933 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Chicago , Illinois |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 6, 2006 |
| Place of death | los Angeles |