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January 10, 2006
Goodbye, Lou
Unfortunately, there are some musicians that I don’t really think about much until they are gone. Lou Rawls was one of those.
He existed on the periphery of my mind. I had certainly heard of him: I knew who he was.
Like most people I knew him best for his big 1976 single “You’ll Never Find a Love Like Mine.” It is significant that this became one of my teenage daughter’s favorite songs, and she made sure to include it in her personal mix CDs that she put together for herself.
I remember hearing that song when it was all over the radio in 1976. It was of course an early disco song, but Rawls sang it with grace and grandeur.
The disco arrangement may be a bit dated (which actually makes it all the more charming), but the vocal is timeless.
It’s no wonder that Frank Sinatra, an ardent Rawls fan, reportedly said that Rawls had “the silkiest chops in the singing game.” That’s a “hep cat” way of saying, “He was really good.”
I remember upon first hearing “You’ll Never Find…” being greatly impressed by the warmth and richness of his voice.
And that range! He started on a low A and ended up hitting a high A at the climax of the song. No small feat!
Next time you hear the song, (especially if you’re a male) try singing along and see how well you keep up.
I personally wanted to do this song for years when I was in the Len Turner Band, but to be able to hit the high notes I would have had to lower the key, and then I couldn’t hit the opening low notes.
As I thought more about Lou Rawls, I began to recall other things- I remember hearing some of his later work on a radio station out here that used to play standards and big band music. The man could swing with the best.
I also remembered the work he did on behalf of the United Negro College Fund with his annual Parade of Stars Telethon (the last of which was broadcast posthumously).
He also was known for traveling to U.S. military bases around the world to entertain American Troops.
I also remember his voice from beer commercials for Anheuser-Busch, and his stint as the singing voice for Garfield the Cat.
His career stretched from the late 50’s to his last album in 2003, and was characterized by elegance and dignity.
One article I read about him stated, “He was the type of pop singer who’s increasingly rare these days. His entire reputation was built on the quality of his voice and how he used it.”
There’s a lesson for us all. Let’s seek to build our reputations on the quality of our work, no matter what it is we do.
Good-bye, Lou.
Posted by leon at January 10, 2006 03:18 PM