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Lou Rawls
Lou began the 1970's with MGM who produced his second Grammy winning piece – ‘Natural Man'. Then came the disco wave but Lou refused to ride and he paired up with Philadelphia International to take on something different. However, MGMs content seemed non-exciting to his tastes and he left MGM to team up with another independent label Bell Records. Without finding much success with them, he moved on to work with Philadelphia International. There, with the help of Gamble and Huff's, he re-positioned himself and in 1976, ‘All Things in Time', proved to be the biggest album of his career. It reached theTop Ten and went platinum. Rawls was back in spotlight again. In 1977 ‘Unmistakably Lou' won him a third Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance
He spent much of the 1980s preserving his recognition as an accomplished entertainer and it is in the latter part of 1990s he ventured back to do more of acting and also performing voice over work for cartoons. At the onset of the millennium, he returned to his roots by singing gospel again and succumbed to a battle with cancer in 2006!
Discography:
Rawls Sings Sinatra 2003
I'm Blessed 2001
Best of Lou Rawls - Volumes 1 & 2 2000
Seasons 4 U 1998
Christmas Is The Time 1993
Portrait of the Blues 1993
The Legendary Lou Rawls 1992
It's Suppose To Be Fun 1990
At Last 1989
Family Reunion 1987
Love All Your Blues Away 1983
When The Night Comes 1982
Close Company 1982
Now Is The Time 1981
Shades of Blue 1981
Classics 1980
Sit Down And Talk To Me 1979
Let Me Be Good To You 1979
Lou Rawls Live 1978
When You've Heard Lou, You've Heard It All 1978
Unmistakably Lou 1977
All Things In Time 1976
She's Gone 1974
Lou Rawls At Century Plaza 1973
A Man Of Value 1972
Silk & Soul 1972
Natural Man 1971
Down Here On The Ground 1971
Capitol Double Play 1971
Bring It On Home 1970
You Make Me So Very Happy 1970
Your Good Thing 1969
Close Up Lou Rawls 1969
The Way It Was, The Way It Is 1969
The Best Of Lou Rawls 1968
You're Good For Me 1968
Feelin' Good 1968
Merry Christmas, Ho, Ho, Ho 1967
That's Lou 1967
Too Much 1967
Carryin' On 1967
Soulin' 1966
Lou Rawls Live! 1966
Lou Rawls And Strings 1965
Nobody But Love 1965
Tobacco Road 1963
Black & Blue 1963
I'd Never Drink Muddy Water (aka Stormy Monday) 1962
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Artist Biography - Lou Rawls
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 Born in Chicago, in 1933, Lou Rawls went on to occupy a legendary status in the entertainment industry. In his extended career running for about 52 years, Lou saw some of the much-coveted awards and distinctions come his way as milestones. His tally of accolades includes 60-plus albums, three Grammy awards, 13 Grammy nominations, one platinum album, five gold albums and a gold single and a Star on the Hollywood Hall of Fame. He mastered the African-American vocal music arena, ranging from gospel to R &Bs, to soul and jazz, to blues and pop! He was gifted with a four-octave vocal range that earned him the versatility to thrive in the dynamic music industry where style and taste constantly change over and over.
Starting out in 1935, at which time he was merely seven and was living with his grand mother, he used to sing gospel for his Baptist church. His own interest and enthusiasm combined with the influence from his trips to The Regal Theatre, where he witnessed Billy Eckstine, Arthur Prysock, expanded his horizon in music. Lou paired up with school classmate – Sam Cooke (another giant musician) and joined the outfit ‘The Teenage Kings Of Harmony'. Later on, he was recruited for ‘The Chosen Gospel Singer' in 1953, and it is with them that Lou went ‘on record' officially for the first time. He later joined The Pilgrim Travelers and after some time enlisted himself as a paratrooper in the Army only to leave service and join The Travelers back in 1958.
A dramatic turn of events took place in his life when Lou ran into a near-fatal accident when touring the South with his mate Cooke. Lou miraculously escaped the same and slipped into a coma, suffered a memory loss and a whole year passed by before he recuperated to normalcy. Lou returned back with vigor and vengeance to LA to perform small R&B and pop in clubs. During this period, he also tasted acting as a profession by doing a small part on the hit detective series 77 Sunset Strip. In 1962, Nick Venet, a producer at Capital Records spotted his talent when he was performing in Pandora's Box Coffee Shop for $10 a night. He invited Lou and signed him up to release Stormy Monday (alternately known as I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water), his debut album. A few subsequent albums were released but what put Lou in the limelight is ‘Love Is A Hurtin' Thing', in 1966, resulting in two Grammy nominations. During this time Lou tried something different in the form of monologues lasting about 7 minutes, which was also termed pre-rap. In 1967, ‘Dead End Street' went big and stood number three at R&B charts and brought Rawls his first Grammy, for Best R&B Vocal Performance. Another big hit - "Your Good Thing (Is About to End)" followed in 1967 at which time he was a regular presence on variety shows on the Las Vegas circuit.
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For more information , enjoy the official homepage of Lou Rawls
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