Lou Rawls -

Lou Rawls (Dec. 1, 1933 — Jan. 6, 2006) was an American soul singer from Chicago who began in gospel groups in the early 1950s. He released numerous albums on Capitol during the 1960s, scoring hits with “Love Is a Hurtin’ Thing,” “Dead End Street,” “Show Business,” and “Your Good Thing (Is About to End).” This was followed by a five-album run on MGM, marked by the 1971 hit “A Natural Man.”

During the mid-1970s, Rawls hosted a series of albums for the Naval Recruiting Command. Between 1976 and 1982, he issued a string of soul-pop albums on Philadelphia International Records, charting with “You’ll Never Find Another Love like Mine” and “Lady Love.” He then signed to Epic for a sting of 1982–86 titles and continued sporadically for his final two decades.

Background

He was born Louis Allen Rawls on December 1, 1933, in Chicago, where he was raised by his grandmother. He first sang at age seven in the Greater Mount Olive Baptist Church choir. In his late teens, he sang in the gospel group Teenage Kings of Harmony, which featured a young Sam Cooke. After a stint in the Holy Wonders, Rawls replaced Cooke in a sequence of gospel groups (Highway QC’s, The Soul Stirrers) and headed west for a stint in the Pilgrim Travelers.

In 1955, Rawls enlisted in the US Army, where he attained the rank of sergeant and made 26 skydives in the B Co 2/505th Parachute Infantry. After his discharge, he rejoined the Travelers. During a 1958 southern tour with the Travelers and Cooke, he was in a car crash and pronounced dead by first responders. He was in a coma for the next six days and spent the subsequent year in recovery.

Rawls made his vinyl debut with the 1959 Shar-Dee single “Love, Love, Love” (b/w “My Heart Belongs to You”), recorded with the Gaynel Hodge Singers. Over the next two years, he issued singles on Candix and Capitol, his label for the ensuing decade. In January 1962, he recorded the jazz album Stormy Monday in collaboration with Les McCann Ltd. His first two solo albums, Black and Blue and Tobacco Road, appeared on Capitol in 1963.

Stormy Monday (w/ Les McCann Ltd.)

Lou Rawls debuted with Stormy Monday, a collaborative album with Les McCann Ltd., released in June 1962 on Capitol.

Rawls’ baritone sits at the center of the set, working through blues and jazz standards with the spare, attentive support of the Les McCann Trio. Pianist Les McCann draws extended solo space throughout, his lines active and unhurried beneath the vocal. Leroy Vinnegar anchors the low end with steady, tempered pulse, while Ron Jefferson keeps the kit unobtrusive, giving the sessions an intimate, after-hours weight.

The opening title track moves between a cool, swinging stride and a harder push, Rawls stretching the phrasing against McCann’s counterpoint. “God Bless the Child” takes the Billie Holiday standard at a measured pace, the piano contained and supportive rather than assertive. “See See Rider” carries a firmer, more direct energy, while “Willow Weep for Me” settles into a long, unhurried arc weighted with quiet melancholy. “I’m Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town” closes the first side with loose, playful phrasing, Rawls pulling syllables wide against a limber rhythm. On the second side, “In the Evening (When the Sun Goes Down)” leans on McCann and Vinnegar for its momentum, and “‘Tain’t Nobody’s Biz-Ness If I Do” holds closer to restraint than declaration. “I’d Rather Drink Muddy Water” delivers a more blunt, outward energy before “Sweet Lover” closes with brightness and drive.

A1. “(They Call It) Stormy Monday” (3:45) — T-Bone Walker
A2. “God Bless the Child” (4:30) — Arthur Herzog, Billie Holiday
A3. “See See Rider” (3:11) — Ma Rainey
A4. “Willow Weep for Me” (5:57) — Ann Ronell
A5. “I’m Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town” (4:00) — Andy Razaf, “Casey Bill” Weldon

B1. “In the Evening (When the Sun Goes Down)” (3:28) — Leroy Carr, Don Raye
B2. “‘Tain’t Nobody’s Biz-Ness If I Do” (2:45) — Percy Grainger, Robert Prince, Clarence Williams B3. “Lost and Lookin'” (3:12) — James Alexander, Lowell Jordan
B4. “I’d Rather Drink Muddy Water” (3:55) — Eddie Miller
B5. “Sweet Lover” (3:08) — John Leslie McFarland, Sid Wyche

Rawls recorded Stormy Monday at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles across two sessions in February 1962 with producer Nick Venet.

Black and Blue

Lou Rawls released his first solo album, Black and Blue, in January 1963 on Capitol.

Black and Blue places Rawls across a program of blues and jazz standards arranged and conducted by Onzy Matthews. The set holds to a consistent weight throughout — Rawls’ baritone, built on years of gospel work, pushes into the material with directness and power. Matthews’ arrangements provide a firm orchestral frame without crowding the vocal.

A1. “Roll ‘Em Pete” (1:51) — Joe Turner, Pete Johnson
A2. “I’d Rather Drink Muddy Water” (3:04) — Eddie Miller
A3. “How Long, How Long Blues” (3:19) — Leroy Carr
A4. “Every Day I Have the Blues” (2:34) — Peter Chatman
A5. “St. James Infirmary” (4:12) — Joe Primrose
A6. “(What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue” (3:05) — Razaf, Waller, Brooks

B1. “Kansas City” (2:10) — Mike Stoller, Jerry Leiber
B2. “Goin’ to Chicago Blues” (2:54) — Count Basie
B3. “Trouble in Mind” (2:49) — Richard M. Jones
B4. “World of Trouble” (3:12) — Oscar Brown Jr.
B5. “Six Cold Feet of Ground” (3:02) — Leroy Carr
B6. “Strange Fruit” (3:33) — Louis Allan

Rawls recorded Black and Blue with producer Nick Venet.

Tobacco Road

Lou Rawls released his second solo album, Tobacco Road, in 1964 on Capitol.

Tobacco Road moves Rawls across a broader range of American song than his earlier records, mixing blues, standards, and popular material under the direction of Onzy Matthews, who arranged and conducted the full session. Rawls commands both the outward, rousing numbers and the measured ballads with equal conviction, his baritone pulling the varied material into a consistent whole.

A1. “Tobacco Road” (4:06) — John D. Loudermilk
A2. “Cotton Fields” (2:08) — Huddie Ledbetter
A3. “Rockin’ Chair” (1:55) — Hoagy Carmichael
A4. “Stormy Weather” (3:01) — Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler
A5. “Ol’ Man River” (3:49) — Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II

B1. “Blues for a Four String Guitar” (3:27) — Elmer Bernstein, Mack David
B2. “St. Louis Blues” (2:27) — W.C. Handy
B3. “Georgia on My Mind” (3:19) — Hoagy Carmichael, Stuart Gorrell
B4. “Sentimental Journey” (3:18) — Ben Homer, Bud Green, Les Brown
B5. “Summertime” (2:49) — George Gershwin

Rawls recorded Tobacco Road with producer Nick Venet, arranged and conducted by Onzy Matthews.

Soulin’

Lou Rawls released his sixth studio album, Soulin’, in 1966 on Capitol.

Soulin’ marks a turn toward harder soul material, with arranger and conductor H.B. Barnum building big-band frameworks that give Rawls’ gospel-trained voice considerable room to push. The arrangements lean toward brass weight and rhythmic directness on the uptempo tracks, while the ballad selections carry a more controlled orchestral color. Two spoken monologue pieces on the second side — “Old Man’s Memories” and the brief “Growing Old Gracefully” — break the musical sequence. Rawls co-wrote the closing track, “Breaking My Back (Instead of Using My Mind),” with John Anderson.

“Love Is a Hurtin’ Thing” drives hard and short, Barnum’s arrangement punching in tight behind the vocal. “A Whole Lotta Woman” and “You’re the One” carry a similar outward energy, the latter supported by brass and a prominent saxophone line. “So Hard to Laugh, So Easy to Cry” works at a more deliberate pace, the arrangement sitting closer and allowing more texture in the delivery. On the second side, “Memory Lane” strips back to bass and percussion, placing Rawls’ voice in an exposed, direct setting. “It Was a Very Good Year” returns to a fuller orchestral frame with a relaxed, jazz-inflected feel, and “Autumn Leaves” closes with expansive brass and an unhurried vocal arc.

A1. “A Whole Lotta Woman” (2:37) — J.W. Alexander, Lowell Jordan
A2. “Love Is a Hurtin’ Thing” (2:15) — Bob Raleigh, Dave Linden
A3. “So Hard to Laugh, So Easy to Cry” (3:16) — Cecil Carter, Rich Askam
A4. “You’re the One” (2:35) — Adolph Smith
A5. “Don’t Explain” (3:01) — Arthur Herzog Jr., Billie Holiday
A6. “What Now My Love” (3:56) — Carl Sigman, Becaud, Delanoe

B1. “Memory Lane” (2:16) — J.W. Alexander, Sam Cooke
B2. “Old Man’s Memories (Monologue)” (2:18)
B3. “It Was a Very Good Year” (2:51) — Ervin Drake
B4. “Growing Old Gracefully (Monologue)” (0:18)
B5. “Old Folks” (2:16) — Dedette Lee Hill, Willard Robison
B6. “Autumn Leaves” (2:37) — Prevert, Mercer, Kosma
B7. “On a Clear Day (You Can See Forever)” (2:36) — Alan Jay Lerner, Burton Lane
B8. “Breaking My Back (Instead of Using My Mind)” (2:23) — John Anderson, Lou Rawls Jr.

Rawls recorded Soulin’ with producer David Axelrod, arranged and conducted by H.B. Barnum.

The Way It Was, The Way It Is

Lou Rawls released his fourteenth album, The Way It Was, The Way It Is, in 1969 on Capitol.

The Way It Was, The Way It Is continues Rawls’ working partnership with producer David Axelrod, whose arrangements balance Rawls’ direct, authoritative delivery against carefully placed instrumental elements — guitar, organ, and orchestral color deployed with restraint and occasional surprise. The rhythm section and ensemble move in close support of the vocal without crowding it, and the arrangements leave calculated space for unexpected turns: a sudden orchestral swell, a rhythmic shift, a passage of denser texture that recedes as quickly as it arrived. Benny Golson provided the arrangement for “I Wonder.”

“Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa (Sad Song)” opens the album with a measured treatment of the Otis Redding number, Rawls working the phrasing with care. “Your Good Thing (Is About to End)” carries a long, building intensity across its four-and-a-half minutes. “When a Man Loves a Woman” holds steady and firm. “Season of the Witch” runs nearly six minutes on the second side, the Axelrod arrangement expanding the material beyond its folk-rock origin into something darker and more layered.

A1. “Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa (Sad Song)” (2:38) — Otis Redding, Steve Cropper
A2. “Trying Just as Hard as I Can” (2:36) — B. Doyle, K. Rogers, M. Post
A3. “Your Good Thing (Is About to End)” (4:30) — Isaac Hayes, David Porter
A4. “I Love You, Yes I Do” (4:03) — Seiler, Wood, Glover, Nix, Marcus
A5. “When a Man Loves a Woman” (3:40) — Wright, Lewis

B1. “Season of the Witch” (5:50) — D. Leitch
B2. “Gentle on My Mind” (2:49) — J. Hartford
B3. “I Wonder” (2:45) — Cecil Gant, Raymond Leveen
B4. “I Want to Be Loved (But Only by You)” (2:51) — Savannah Churchill
B5. “It’s You” (2:39) — Lou Rawls

Rawls recorded The Way It Was, The Way It Is with producer David Axelrod.

You’ve Made Me So Very Happy

Lou Rawls released his sixteenth album, You’ve Made Me So Very Happy, in 1970 on Capitol.

You’ve Made Me So Very Happy extends Rawls’ collaboration with producer David Axelrod into more rock-oriented terrain, with H.B. Barnum conducting and arranging across the set. The album draws on songs by Randy Newman, Dave Mason, and Carole King alongside two Rawls compositions and a co-write with Axelrod. Barnum’s arrangements give the material a broader, fuller texture than the earlier Axelrod-era records, with the ensemble shifts and orchestral elements that defined the partnership still present, deployed here in a more open, song-centered frame.

“Let’s Burn Down the Cornfield” and “Feelin’ Alright” move with energy and purpose, the latter building from a contained opening into a harder-edged drive. “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy” opens with rolling piano before the full arrangement arrives. “Mama Told Me Not to Come” stays tighter and more rhythmically direct. “How Can That Be,” co-written by Axelrod and Rawls, takes a quieter, more deliberate approach, the arrangement understated against the vocal.

A1. “All God’s Children” (3:50) — B.T. Jones, W. Bell
A2. “Let’s Burn Down the Cornfield” (3:00) — Randy Newman
A3. “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy” (4:23) — Gordy, Holloway, Wilson, Holloway
A4. “When Someone Comes Along” (1:11) — Lou Rawls
A5. “A Whole Lotta Sunlight” (2:46) — J. Woldin, R. Brittan
A6. “Feelin’ Alright” (2:59) — Dave Mason

B1. “Mama Told Me Not to Come” (2:25) — Randy Newman
B2. “Hurtin'” (3:40) — Ben Raleigh, H.B. Barnum
B3. “Yesterday’s Dreams” (2:54) — Shelly Fisher
B4. “How Can That Be” (3:09) — D. Axelrod, L. Rawls
B5. “Will Someone Carry the Ball” (2:26) — Bill Austin

Rawls recorded You’ve Made Me So Very Happy with producer David Axelrod and engineer Joe Polito, arranged and conducted by H.B. Barnum.

Silk & Soul

Lou Rawls released his nineteenth album, Silk & Soul, in February 1972 on MGM.

Silk & Soul pairs Rawls with producer Michael Lloyd and arranger Reg Powell in a set that moves between orchestrated soul and more jazz-inclined balladry. The arrangements carry a fuller, more polished weight than Rawls’ Capitol work, with Powell’s orchestral settings placing the vocal in a prominently framed context throughout. The material ranges from a movie-theme composition to Harrison, Lennon-McCartney, and American standard repertoire.

“Believe in Me,” written for the MGM film of the same name, opens at a mid-tempo with rich orchestration wrapped around the vocal. “Golden Slumbers” takes on a baroque, carefully detailed quality in Powell’s setting. “His Song Shall Be Sung” carries a gospel-inflected energy with a forceful brass chart, and “No More” moves at a bright, outward pace. “Here’s That Rainy Day” takes the standard at a spacious, low-lit tempo before the album closes with “Hallelujah for a Friend” and the driving “I’m Waiting.”

A1. “Believe in Me” (3:49) — F. Karlin, T. Kymry
A2. “Something” (2:50) — George Harrison
A3. “Watch What Happens” (3:42) — M. Legrand, N. Gimbel
A4. “Sophisticated Lady” (4:08) — Parrish, Ellington, Mills
A5. “Golden Slumbers” (3:33) — J. Lennon, P. McCartney

B1. “His Song Shall Be Sung” (3:45) — B. Hebb, S. Baron
B2. “No More” (3:20) — H. Laws, J. Hendricks
B3. “Here’s That Rainy Day” (5:46) — J. Burke, J. Van Heusen
B4. “Hallelujah for a Friend” (3:06) — F. Prout, T. Brown
B5. “I’m Waiting” (2:22) — Thelma Gates

Rawls recorded Silk & Soul at MGM Recording Studios in Hollywood, California, with producer Michael Lloyd and engineer Ed Greene. Jack Hunt engineered “Believe in Me.”

A Man of Value

Lou Rawls released his twentieth album, A Man of Value, in 1972 on MGM.

A Man of Value places Rawls across a set of largely singer-songwriter and soul-oriented material, with arrangements by Reg Powell and vocal arrangements by Tommy Oliver. The ensemble leans into harder, more rhythmically direct settings for much of the program, with social and political themes running through a number of the song choices. Powell’s arrangements shift register across the album — tight and percussive on the harder tracks, more open and textured on the ballads.

“The Politician” moves at a slow, heavy pace with a dark harmonic weight, Rawls’ delivery raspy and pointed. “A Song for You” takes Leon Russell’s composition at a restrained, unhurried tempo, the vocal carrying the full weight of the performance. “Goodbye’s a Long, Long Time” builds through a pop-soul framework into a Latin-funk close. “Learning Cup” and “Too Much Living to Do” carry the album’s most outward rhythmic energy. “Fire and Rain” opens close to James Taylor’s arrangement before the band pushes harder as the track develops, and “Evil” closes with a slow, gloomy orchestral setting that builds to a strained, high-register climax.

A1. “A Man of Value” (3:46) — Larry Weiss
A2. “The Politician” (3:13) — Mac Davis
A3. “Where the Wind Blows Free” (2:35) — Marvin Clark, Reg Powell
A4. “A Song for You” (3:36) — Leon Russell
A5. “Goodbye’s a Long, Long Time” (4:16) — Gerry Goffin, Mark James

B1. “Walk On In” (2:35) — Carole King
B2. “Learning Cup” (2:43) — Ralph Graham
B3. “Too Much Living to Do” (3:06) — Ralph Graham
B4. “Fire and Rain” (3:40) — James Taylor
B5. “Evil” (4:33) — Stevie Wonder, Yvonne Wright

Rawls recorded A Man of Value at MGM Recording Studios with producer Michael Lloyd and engineer Ed Greene, arranged by Reg Powell with vocal arrangements by Tommy Oliver.

All Things in Time

Lou Rawls released his 26th album, All Things in Time, on June 7, 1976, on PIR.

All Things in Time marks Rawls’ debut for Philadelphia International, with production handled across the set by Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, Bunny Sigler, Dexter Wansel, Jack Faith, and Bobby Martin. Martin arranged tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, and 9; Faith arranged track 3; Wansel arranged track 7; Richard Rome arranged track 6. The ensemble carries the full Sigma Sound infrastructure — layered strings, active horns, precise rhythm section — with Rawls’ baritone positioned as the fulcrum of each production.

“You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine” moves at a mid-tempo with subtle Latin percussion woven into the rhythm track, Rawls working the phrasing with a dry, knowing delivery. “You’re the One” opens the album with a more expansive treatment. “Time” sets Rawls against a quieter, more contained arrangement, the vocal precise and assured. “Groovy People” pushes with a brighter, uptempo energy. “Need You Forever” and “From Now On,” both produced by Sigler, pull toward a rougher, more direct soul approach. “Pure Imagination” draws on the Bricusse–Newley composition in a setting built around Wansel’s orchestral arrangement. “This Song Will Last Forever” extends past five minutes, and the album closes with “Let’s Fall in Love All Over Again,” Rawls’ measured, confident delivery anchoring a full orchestral production.

A1. “You’re the One” (5:20) — Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff
A2. “You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine” (4:28) — Gamble, Huff
A3. “Time” (2:55) — Jack Faith, Allan Felder
A4. “Groovy People” (3:20) — Gamble, Huff
A5. “Need You Forever” (4:38) — Bunny Sigler

B1. “From Now On” (4:57) — Bunny Sigler
B2. “Pure Imagination” (3:43) — Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley
B3. “This Song Will Last Forever” (5:08) — Gamble, Huff, Cary Gilbert
B4. “Let’s Fall in Love All Over Again” (4:02) — Bobby Martin

Rawls recorded All Things in Time at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia between November 1975 and March 1976, engineered by Joe Tarsia, Jim Gallagher, Carl Paroulo, and Jay Mark.

Philadelphia International issued “You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine” as a single on May 28, 1976, backed with “Let’s Fall in Love All Over Again.” The single reached number one on the Billboard R&B chart and the Adult Contemporary chart, number two on the Billboard Hot 100, and number ten on the UK Singles chart. The single was certified gold by the RIAA. The album reached number one on the Billboard R&B albums chart and number seven on the Billboard 200.

Unmistakably Lou

Lou Rawls released his 28th album, Unmistakably Lou, in 1977 on PIR.

Unmistakably Lou follows All Things in Time with a second full collaboration between Rawls and the Gamble-Huff enterprise, production across the set handled by Gamble, Huff, Dexter Wansel, Bobby Martin, and Jack Faith. The ensemble features Dennis Harris and Roland Chambers on guitars, Michael Foreman on bass, Charles Collins on drums, Larry Washington on bongos and congas, and MFSB on strings and horns. Where the preceding record placed the production on equal footing with the vocal, the arrangements here keep a somewhat lower profile, leaving Rawls more exposed at the center of the performances.

A1. “See You When I Git There” (4:43) — Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff
A2. “Spring Again” (4:29) — Gamble, Huff
A3. “Early Morning Love” (5:44) — Gamble, Huff
A4. “Some Folks Never Learn” (3:32) — Gamble, Huff
A5. “Someday You’ll Be Old” (3:43) — Gamble, Huff

B1. “Secret Tears” (4:08) — Jack Faith, Phillip Terry
B2. “We Understand Each Other” (4:19) — Gamble, Huff
B3. “It’s Our Anniversary Today” (3:42) — Dexter Wansel
B4. “All the Way” (2:44) — Jimmy Van Heusen, Sammy Cahn

Rawls recorded Unmistakably Lou at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia during 1976 and 1977.

Philadelphia International issued “See You When I Git There” as a single in the US; it reached number eight on the Billboard R&B chart and number 66 on the pop chart. The album reached number 14 on the Billboard R&B albums chart and number 41 on the Billboard 200. Rawls received the Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for the album in 1978.

Discography: