By JEFF WILSON
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Lou Rawls, the velvet-voiced singer who started as a church choir boy and went on to sell more than 40 million albums has died, his publicist said. He won three Grammy Awards in a career that spanned nearly five decades and a range of genres. He was 72.
Rawls died early Friday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he was hospitalized last month for treatment of lung and brain cancer, his publicist Paul Shefrin said. His wife Nina was at his bedside when he died, Shefrin said.
The family and Shefrin said Rawls was 72, although other records indicate he was 70.
Rawls' voice was his inimitable trademark.
Jazz historian Leonard Feather wrote in "The Encyclopedia of Jazz in the Sixties" that Rawls "has a vigorous, confident style, a strong affinity for the blues and a personal sound."
"I've gone the full spectrum, from gospel to blues to jazz to soul to pop," Rawls once said on his Web site. "And the public has accepted what I've done through it all."
Rawls' grandmother introduced him to gospel in his hometown of Chicago. The singer moved to Los Angeles in the mid-1950s to join a touring gospel group, the Pilgrim Travelers.
After a two-year stint in the Army, Rawls returned to Los Angeles and rejoined the Pilgrim Travelers, where he sang with Sam Cooke. Rawls performed with Dick Clark at the Hollywood Bowl in 1959, and two years later, he opened for The Beatles at Crosley Field in Cincinnati.
Rawls was playing small blues and R&B clubs in Los Angeles when his four-octave range caught the ear of a Capitol Records producer, who signed him to the label in 1962.
His debut effort, "Stormy Monday," recorded with the Les McCann Trio, was the first of 28 albums Rawls made with Capitol.
His 1966 hit, "Love Is a Hurtin' Thing," topped the charts and earned Rawls his first two Grammy nominations. He received 13 during his career.
Rawls, whose hits included "Dead End Street" and "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine," released his most recent album, "Seasons 4 U," in 1998 on his own label, Rawls & Brokaw Records.
The stalwart singer also appeared in 18 movies, including "Leaving Las Vegas" and "Blues Brothers 2000," and 16 television series, including "Fantasy Island" and "The Fall Guy."
A longtime community activist, Rawls visited schools, playgrounds and community centers in the 1960s, encouraging children to continue their studies and have confidence in their abilities. In the '80s, he helped the United Negro College Fund raise more than $200 million through telethons.
In 1976, Rawls became the corporate spokesman for the Anheuser-Busch Cos. breweries.
Rawls was diagnosed with lung cancer in December 2004 and brain cancer in May 2005.
Besides his wife Nina, Rawls is survived by four children, Louanna Rawls, Lou Rawls Jr., Kendra Smith and Aiden Rawls.
Funeral arrangements were incomplete, Shefrin said.
Rest in Peace Lou Rawls
Rest in Peace Lou Rawls
“We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” - Albert Einstein
"You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother" - Albert Einstein
"You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother" - Albert Einstein
He was the EmCee during a contest bash we did with Anheuser-Busch in 1984. I hadn't met him previously. In the afternoon as we were setting up the stage, a fellow walked up to me and asked what one had to do to win the contest. Given it was a talent event, I said one would have to work hard, practice long, and probably have to have some luck too. He said "Oh, I'd better get go pratice and find some luck then!". Only after he walked away I realized just who I'd been chatting to: Lou Rawls.
Later that night, Lou left me in the green room with a really friendly fellow whose name I didn't catch. He asked all kinds of questions about guitars, the company, and me- really a pleasant, personable guy. About a week later I was watching the Olympics opening ceremony and saw him again as he run up the steps and lit the big torch in the Coliseum: Rafer Johnson. And I didn't get a chance to ask anything about him.
0 for 2 that evening! We'll miss Lou.
Later that night, Lou left me in the green room with a really friendly fellow whose name I didn't catch. He asked all kinds of questions about guitars, the company, and me- really a pleasant, personable guy. About a week later I was watching the Olympics opening ceremony and saw him again as he run up the steps and lit the big torch in the Coliseum: Rafer Johnson. And I didn't get a chance to ask anything about him.
0 for 2 that evening! We'll miss Lou.
I met him at an Anheuser-Busch event in 1982 at the Shrine Auditorium when I worked as a stage manager. Asked him lots of questions about Sam Cooke and he was very nice. When we were done we caught the Angels playoffs on TV with OJ. Seems like the other day.
Leprosy is rare & scarce but nobody wants that!
Mike you and John were fortunate to meet such a talent. I never got to meet him unfortunately.
He was also very involved in charity work and by all accounts he was a very humble man. That's the mark he left behind in my mind.
He was also very involved in charity work and by all accounts he was a very humble man. That's the mark he left behind in my mind.
“We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” - Albert Einstein
"You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother" - Albert Einstein
"You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother" - Albert Einstein
