Lou Rawls Biography, Photos and Posters

Lou Rawls

Biography

Born: December 1, 1933
City and Country of Origin: Chicago, Illinois
Music Training: sang in his Baptist church choir starting at age 7
Awards: 1982 Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame; Grammy 1977 Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male, Unmistakably Lou; 1971 Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male, A Natural Man; 1967 Best R&B Solo Vocal Performance, Male, Dead End Street
Top Recordings: "Love Is a Hurtin' Thing," "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine," "Lady Love,"
Lou Rawls Biography: Frank Sinatra once said that Lou Rawls had "the classiest singing and silkiest chops in the singing game." During his career he released over 70 albums and sold over 40 million records. Louis Allen Rawls was raised on the south side of Chicago by his grandmother. He became interested in music as a teenager attending shows at the Regal Theater. Lou was a high school classmate of 50s and 60s singing sensation Sam Cooke, singing together in the 50s gospel group the Teenage Kings of Harmony.After Rawls graduated from Chicago's Dunbar Vocational Career Academy, Rawls enlisted in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division.

After his military service he hooked up with the The Pilgrim Travelers with whom he toured the South along with Sam Cooke in 1958. While on tour Lou was in a serious car accident which left him in a coma for 5 and a 1/2 days. He had actually been pronounced dead at one point before arriving at the hospital. It took him several months to recuperate from this life changing ordeal and for Lou to regain his memory. In 1959 he performed at the Hollywood Bowl with emcee Dick Clark. He signed a recording contract with Capitol Records in 1962 the same year he sang the soulful background vocals on the Sam Cooke recording of "Bring it on Home to Me."

Lou's first effort for Capitol would be a jazz album called Stormy Monday. On August 21, 1966, Rawls opened for The Beatles at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Although his 1966 album Live! went gold he still had not produced a star making hit single. It wasn't until later that year that the appropriately named soul album Soulin' was released containing the R&B hit single "Love Is a Hurtin' Thing."

In 1971 Lou left Capitol to sign with MGM Records at which time he released his Grammy winning single "Natural Man." His 1976 album All Things in Time contained his most successful single the R&B chart topper "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine." Other 70s albums included When You've Heard Lou, You've Heard It All and the classic album Sit Down And Talk To Me.
Died: January 6, 2006

Search Site by Artist:

Create search engine for website.