Lou Rawls, who learned of gospel music through his grandmother in Chicago, became a successful singer, primarily from the 1950s through the 1980s. He was a high school classmate of music giant Sam Cooke, and they sang together in the Teenage Kings of Harmony, a '50s gospel group.
After graduating from Chicago's Dunbar Vocational High School, he sang briefly with Cooke in the Teenage Kings of Harmony, a local gospel group, and then with the Holy Wonders. In 1951, Rawls replaced Cooke in the Highway QC's after Cooke departed to join The Soul Stirrers in Los Angeles. Rawls was soon recruited by the Chosen Gospel Singers and himself moved to Los Angeles, where he subsequently joined the Pilgrim Travelers
After graduating from Chicago's Dunbar Vocational Career Academy, Rawls enlisted in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division. He left the "All-Americans" three years later as a sergeant, and hooked up with The Pilgrim Travelers as he traveled to Los Angeles. In 1958, while touring the South with the Travelers and Sam Cooke, Rawls was in a serious car crash. Rawls was pronounced dead before arriving at the hospital, where he stayed in a coma for five and a half days. It took him months to regain his memory, and a year to fully recuperate. Rawls considered the event to be life-changing.
Alongside Dick Clark as master of ceremonies, Rawls was recovered enough by 1959 to be able to perform at the Hollywood Bowl. He was signed to 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." Rawls himself charted with a cover of the song in 1970 (with the title shortened to "Bring It On Home").
Rawls' first Capitol solo release was Stormy Monday (a.k.a. I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water), a jazz album. On August 21, 1966, he opened for The Beatles at Crosley Field in Cincinnati.
Though his 1966 album Live! went gold, Rawls would not have a star-making hit until he made a proper soul album, appropriately named Soulin', later that same year. The album contained his first R&B #1 single, "Love Is a Hurtin' Thing". In 1967 Rawls won his first Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance, for the single "Dead End Street."
In 1969, the singer was co-host of NBC's summer replacement series for the Dean Martin Show along with Martin's daughter, singer Gail Martin.
After leaving Capitol in 1971, Rawls joined MGM, at which juncture he released his Grammy-winning single "Natural Man." He had a brief stint with Bell Records in 1974, where he recorded a cover of Hall & Oates' "She's Gone." In 1976, Rawls signed with Philadelphia International Records, where he had his greatest album success with the million-selling All Things in Time. The album produced his most successful single, "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine", which topped the R&B and Adult Contemporary charts and went to number two on the pop side, becoming Rawls' only certified million-selling single in the process.
Subsequent albums, such as 1977's When You've Heard Lou, You've Heard It All yielded such hit singles as "Lady Love". Other releases in the 1970s included the classic album Sit Down And Talk To Me.
In 1982, Rawls received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
On the night of September 29, 1977, Rawls performed the national anthem of the United States prior to the Earnie Shavers-Muhammad Ali title fight at Madison Square Garden. He would be requested to sing the anthem many times over the next 28 years, and his final performance of it came on October 23, 2005. The crowd at that performance may not have known that Rawls was extremely ill with cancer, but he reportedly delivered an electrifying performance to kick off Game Two of the 2005 World Series between the Chicago White Sox and Houston Astros.
In 1980, Rawls began the "Lou Rawls Parade of Stars Telethon" which benefits the United Negro College Fund. The annual event, known since 1998 as "An Evening of Stars: A Celebration of Educational Excellence", consists of stories of successful African-American students who have benefited from and/or graduated from one of the many historically black colleges and universities who receive support from the UNCF, along with musical performances from various recording artists in support of the UNCF's and Rawls' efforts. The event has raised over US$200 million in 27 shows for the fund through 2006.
In January 2004, Rawls was honored by the United Negro College Fund for his more than 25 years of charity work with the organization. Instead of hosting and performing as he usually did, Rawls was given the seat of honor and celebrated by his performing colleagues, including Stevie Wonder, The O'Jays, Gerald Levert, Ashanti, and many others. His final television performance occurred during the 2005-2006 edition of the telethon, honoring Stevie Wonder in September 2005, just months before entering the hospital and after having been diagnosed with cancer earlier in the year. This program, aired in January, 2006, contains his final public television performance, where he performed two classics, "You Are the Sunshine of My Life," and a final ode to Frank Sinatra with, "It Was A Very Good Year."
At the time of Rawls' death, news and UNCF figures noted the significance of Rawls' final performance, "It Was a Very Good Year." The song is a retrospective of one's life and its lyrics include, "When I was seventeen, it was a very good year. It was a very good year for small town girls and soft summer nights...And now those days grow short, it is the autumn of years, and now I think about life as vintage wine from fine old kegs, from the brim to the dregs, it pours sweet and clear, it was a very good year."
Rawls appeared in a segment of the first season of Sesame Street, to sing the alphabet. He dismissed the concept of using cue cards for the performance, but reversed such decision when he forgot the order of the letters.
Throughout Rawls' singing career, he had the opportunity to appear in many films, television shows, and commercials. He can be seen in such films as Leaving Las Vegas, Blues Brothers 2000, and Angel, Angel, Down We Go. He had a supporting role in the Baywatch spin-off, Baywatch Nights. He also appeared in the western television series, Big Valley, (starring legend Barbara Stanwyck, along with Lee Majors and Linda Evans) where he played a hired hand. Here, he delivered the memorial line: "Ain't a horse that can't be rode; ain't a man that can't be throwed".
Rawls lent his rich baritone voice to many cartoons, including Hey Arnold! as the voice of Harvey The Mailman, Garfield, and The Proud Family. For many of the Film Roman Garfield specials, Rawls would often compose songs for them, which he would then sing usually doing a duet with Desiree Goyette. He also was famously in American sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
For many years, he was a spokesperson for the Colonial Penn Life Insurance Company. He was also a spokesman for Budweiser, helping promote the brand on radio and TV to African-American markets much as Ed McMahon did for the white audience. Budweiser was a key sponsor for the Rawls telethon and UNCF.
Rawls was also a regular guest host on "Jazz Central", a program aired on the BET Jazz cable channel.
He appears as "Dr. Rawls" in a dream on an episode My Wife and Kids, where he breaks into a parody version of "You'll Never Find", which a frightened Damon Wayans is afraid of having a colonoscopy the following day. Rawls uses the scope as a microphone in the scene. Rawls appears as a commentator in the second half of the unrated commentary of Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.
Rawls was also a guest star during the second season of The Muppet Show. He also made a brief appearance on the series finale of Martin. (The show's character Tommy is excited to see Lou Rawls at Nipsey's and mentioned that his favorite song is "Natural Man." Lou replied that he received a letter from a female claiming that she and her boyfriend broke up because of the song. This eludes to the episode where Tommy and Pam decide to move in together, but winded up fighting and ultimately breaking up because Tommy played the song "Natural Man" so much that it drove Pam crazy.)
The following is a list of Lou Rawls singles that made the top 50 on the Billboard Hot 100. His first Hot 100 entry was "Three O'Clock in the Morning" in 1965, and his final was "Wind Beneath My Wings" in 1983. In addition to those two, nine other singles peaked at positions below the top 50 on the Hot 100, and additional singles reached the R&B, Adult Contemporary and Bubbling Under charts.
* "Love Is a Hurtin' Thing" - 1966, #13 (also #1 R&B)
* "Dead End Street" - 1967, #29
* "Show Business" - 1967, #45
* "Your Good Thing (Is About to End)" - 1969, #18
* "A Natural Man" - 1971, #17
* "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine" - 1976, #2 (also #1 R&B and #1 Adult Contemporary); certified Gold for sales of one million copies
* "Lady Love" - 1978, #24
Lady Love
Lou Rawls Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
LOU RAWLS
(V. Gray - S. Marshall)
Lady love, your love is peaceful
Like the summer's breeze
My lady love, with love that's tender
As a baby's touch
That I need so much
You're my world, lady love
Lady love, your love is cooling
Like the winter snow
My lady love, with love that's cozy
As a fire's glow
And I keep on needing you, girl
A little more and more
And I thank you, my lady love
You know, it's not easy to keep love flowing smooth
People are people and they all have their moods
But it's so nice just to have someone like you
Who wants a smooth and easy thing
And all the good times that it brings
My lady love, you've been with me
Through all of my ups and downs
My lady love, I once was lost
But now with you I'm found
You got the love I need
And I want to stay around
Heaven sent you down, my lady love
Let me tell you that it's not easy to keep love flowing smooth
You know, people are people, they all have their moods
But it's so nice just to have someone like you
Who wants a smooth and easy thing
And all the good times and the joy that it brings
My lady love, you've been with me
Through all of my ups and downs
And my crazy turn-arounds
My lady love, you got the love I need
So stay around
Heaven sent my lady love
Lady love, sweet lady love
You are so good
The lyrics to Lou Rawls's song Lady Love express his deep gratitude and appreciation for the unyielding devotion and unwavering support he receives from his lady love. He compares her love to various natural phenomena - the peaceful summer breeze, the cooling winter snow, the cozy fire's glow, and the gentle touch of a baby, to emphasize how her love nurtures and sustains him, like the life-giving forces of nature. He acknowledges that maintaining a smooth and easy relationship can be challenging, given the unpredictability of human emotions, but he is grateful to have found someone who shares his desire for a harmonious and joyous relationship. He describes his experience of being lost and then found, indicating that his lady love has given him a sense of direction and purpose in life. He ends the song by affirming that his lady love is heaven-sent and he wants her to stay around, as she has everything he needs.
Line by Line Meaning
Lady love, your love is peaceful
The love of my lady is like a serene and calm summer breeze
Like the summer's breeze
Her love is gentle and relaxing
My lady love, with love that's tender
Her love is so soft and caring, like that of a baby's touch
As a baby's touch
Her love is comforting and sweet like the way babies show affection
You give me all of the things
You provide me with everything I need - love, comfort, warmth, support
That I need so much
I really depend on you a lot for all the important things in life
You're my world, lady love
You are the most important thing in my life, my universe revolves around you
Lady love, your love is cooling
Your love is refreshing like the cool winter snow
Like the winter snow
Her love is comforting and cozy, like being wrapped up in a warm blanket near a fire
My lady love, with love that's cozy
Her love makes me feel warm and secure, like being inside on a cold day
As a fire's glow
It offers light, comfort and a sense of well-being
And I keep on needing you, girl
I depend on you a lot and I want more of your love every day
A little more and more
I always want more of her love and affection
And I thank you, my lady love
I am grateful to you for showing me love and making me happy
You know, it's not easy to keep love flowing smooth
It can be difficult to maintain a healthy relationship
People are people and they all have their moods
Our emotions are unpredictable, we all have good and bad days
But it's so nice just to have someone like you
Having someone who is supportive and loving makes everything easy to handle
Who wants a smooth and easy thing
It's nice to have someone who is committed and wants a relationship without drama or complications
And all the good times that it brings
Being with someone who wants a peaceful relationship leads to many happy memories
My lady love, you've been with me
You have been there for me, no matter what life throws at us
Through all of my ups and downs
You have been my unwavering support during all the highs and lows of my life
My lady love, I once was lost
Before I met you, I didn't know love or happiness
But now with you I'm found
But since coming into my life, you have helped me find love and purpose
You got the love I need
I need your love to feel complete and happy
So stay around
I want you to stick around for a long time
Heaven sent you down, my lady love
I believe that you were sent to me by a higher power, you are my soulmate
Lady love, sweet lady love
My lady love, the sweetest love
You are so good
You are everything good that I need in my life
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BALFOUR BAILEY, LYNFORD MARSHALL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@orange8167
Where have all the classy singers like Lou gone ? Come back 70's, we need you bad !
@davidmonroe6942
With auto tune, nobody’s searching for a voice like that.
@larryalbano5921
Omg I say the same thing please please take me back to the 1970s / disco era when the groups the hits and the outfits was so classy not like the shit today
@Venetiababy1
Brandy Carlisle is pretty darn good!
Listen to "The Joke." I love that song!
@davidrobinson315
It was Frank Sinatra himself who said "Lou Rawls has the smoothest voice in the business." Thanks to my parents and relatives, Lou's music was part of the sound track of our family picnics, beach parties and other events. Thank goodness for Lou and his Philly based producers, Gamble and Huff! A bygone era for sure!
@wyleangilyard7637
Love love lady ❤️ love my man I came in his life when he was down I dedicated this song ❤
@blest2478910
My mama had this album, and I found myself as a child addicted to it.
Beautiful Memories💗 Rest on Mr. Lou Rawls
@dimitrisspan276
THE MAGNIFICENT LOU RAWLS !!!
THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING...
@annbrown3556
I just love me some Lou Rawls. Still missing his deep sensuous voice. I cried like a baby when he died. We're so blessed to still have his music.
@carlettethomas4002
😢