You'll Never Find Another Love Like Lou

Well 2006 has gotten off to a crummy start with the sad news that Lou Rawls has died of cancer at the age of 72. His warm and silky voice was one of the most inviting and pleasurable sounds in all of music, hearing him was like having your ears dipped in thick hot chocolate. There's no way I can sum up the life of the man in one post (there are excellent obits here and here) so let's just get to the music. It was damn hard to pick just one or two songs so I ended up with a range that shows his versatility, think of this as a mini-album called "The Many Sides of Lou Rawls."

Surprisingly for someone who started his singing career in gospel music (with his school friend Sam Cooke) his first solo albums on Capitol cast him in the mold of a smooth, tuxedo-wearing jazz crooner, but his blues and gospel roots were never far below the surface. "I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water" is a finger-snapping swinger from his classic 1966 album "Live!" Hard to imagine a singer like Lou breaking a sweat but he really gets down and gritty on this.

Lou's more soulful side is evident on "Love Is A Hurting Thing" which is probably my favourite recording of his and one of his biggest hits (sometimes sheer quality wins out over hipster obscurity when choosing music for this blog). He really soars on this gorgeous, emotional ballad from the album "Soulin'" which was the first of a series he made with cult producer David Axelrod. Lou really found his own niche on these albums which drew on the full range of his unique jazz/soul/pop chops with inspired production by Axelrod and arrangements by H. B. Barnum. For the hell of it I've thrown in the peculiar but strangely lovely "Down Here On The Ground" which shows if nothing else that Lou could sing sappy 60s psychedelic dreampop too. This Lalo Schifrin tune was used in the soundtrack of "Cool Hand Luke." The best of his brilliant Axelrod collaborations are collected on "I Can't Make It Alone: The Axelrod Years."

In the 70s Lou signed with Gamble & Huff's Philadelphia International and enjoyed a second career as an uptown soul man. Hits like the swish "See You When I Git There" from 1977 show how his voice was well-suited to the sophisticated sound of Philly Soul, with his masculine baritone he gave Teddy Pendergrass a run for his money in the soul loverman stakes. Who could resist that voice? I've not been able to find a really great compilation of his Philly recordings but you can get this on 'Love Songs."

RIP Lou. One classy dude.

[Download]
I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water - Lou Rawls
Love Is A Hurtin' Thing - Lou Rawls
Down Here On The Ground - Lou Rawls
See You When I Git There - Lou Rawls