Lou Rawls: a short look at his remarkable life
The singer, entertainer and actor Lou Rawls had a fascinating and far-reaching career
Last updated 30th Jul 2020
Singer, entertainer and actor Lou Rawls had a fascinating and far-reaching career, which spanned over five decades.
When was Lou Rawls born?
Louis "Lou" Rawls was born in and raised in the southern side of Chicago, Illinois, in 1933. Brought up by his grandmother, from early on his life Lou sang in his Baptist church choir.
How did Lou Rawls start his career?
Alongside his schoolmate and friend, Sam Cooke, Rawls began singing in several tight-harmony gospel groups as a teenager in the early 1950s. He had a brief career in the army, but returned to the music scene singing with Cooke at the Travelers - a decision which nearly killed him when he was in a horrendous car accident which took him months to recover from.
Upon recovering, Rawls moved to LA in the early 1960s in the hope to reach success. During this time, he picked up his first acting role before signing to Capitol Records. With Capitol records, he released his debut album in 1962 - Stormy Monday. Whilst, at this same time, he continued to work with Sam Cooke, providing backing vocals.
How did Lou Rawls become successful?
Crossing many different styles (jazz, blues, soul and pop), Rawls landed his first hits with a R&B record Soulin'. Ranking high in the charts in 1966, Soulin' earned him his first Grammy award for Best R&B Vocal Performance.
Rawls' next major success was once he left Capitol Records and switched to MGM and released Natural Man in 1971. The album, which had subtle racial messaging about black pride, led to his second Grammy award.
Through a few years of little success, he switched again to Philadelphia International, releasing All Things In Time in 1976. The album turned out to be his the best selling album of his career and producing his biggest hit 'You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine'.
What happened to Lou Rawls?
Following three more successful albums -Unmistakably Lou (1977), When You Hear Lou, You've Heard It All (1977) and Let Me Be Good to You (1979) - Rawls dipped his toes into presenting and television. This turned out to be a great career move, as he would go onto raise millions annually through the 'Parade of Stars' telethon, which raised money for the United Negro College Fund.
Rawls focussed mainly on his career as an entertainer and presenter during the 1980s. However, he found more musical success with his 1989 album At Last, which was released on Blue Note records and earned him one of his thirteen Grammy nominations.
The 1990s saw the artist mainly return to acting and voice acting, except for a few less successful releases. His final album, a tribute album to Frank Sinatra, was released in 2003 via Savoy jazz, three years before his death in 2006 following a diagnosis of cancer.