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
Pure Imagination
Lou Rawls Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Now count to three
Come with me and you'll be
In a world of pure imagination
Take a look and you'll see
Into your imagination
We'll begin with a spin
What we'll see will defy explanation
If you want to view paradise
Simply look around and view it
Anything you want we'll do it
You want to change the world
There's nothing to it
There is no life I know
To compare with pure imagination
Living there, you'll be free
If you truly want to be
Come on c'mon go with me
You want to see some bunny
Have a lot of fun -- c'mon let's go
Let's try our own imagination
See what we can go away from today
alright? Hey
Take me by the hand
Let us run from the little
little little
Little, little little funny land
Come on c'mon
c'mon let's go to the little land
The lyrics of Lou Rawls's "Pure Imagination" describe an invitation to the listener to let go of reality and take a journey into the realm of imagination. The opening lines, "Hold your breath, make a wish, now count to three," are reminiscent of the instructions given to children when blowing out the candles on a birthday cake. The lyrics suggest that the listener will experience a new world full of creativity and wonder, where anything is possible. Rawls invites us to explore this magical realm with him and see what he has created.
As the song continues, we are given more clues about the nature of this world: "We'll begin with a spin, traveling in a world of my creation. What we'll see will defy explanation." Rawls sets the stage for the listener to expect the unexpected and to open their minds to the limitless possibilities of the imagination. The chorus reinforces this theme with the line "If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it," suggesting that the magic of this world is not created through some kind of external force but rather within our own perception.
Overall, the song is an ode to the boundless potential of the imagination and encourages the listener to embrace their inner child and explore the wonders of the world around them.
Line by Line Meaning
Hold your breath, make a wish
Take a moment to dream, close your eyes and imagine
Now count to three
Take a deep breath and slowly exhale, then count to three to create a sense of anticipation
Come with me and you'll be
Join me on a journey of incredible possibilities
In a world of pure imagination
This world is not realistic, it's born purely out of the imagination
Take a look and you'll see
Observe your surroundings and visualize the impossible
Into your imagination
Let your mind run wild and explore every possibility
We'll begin with a spin
Our adventure starts with an exciting twist
Trav'lling in a world of my creation
We are stepping into a place I've created, unique and beyond anything you could ever imagine
What we'll see will defy explanation
The things we witness will be beyond any known description or comprehension
If you want to view paradise
To experience blissful euphoria
Simply look around and view it
Just take a look, there are miracles happening all around us that we can experience
Anything you want we'll do it
Any wish or desire, we can make it happen
You want to change the world
You have the power to change the world
There's nothing to it
It's easy and straightforward to make a difference
There is no life I know
As far as I know, there's no life that can compare with
To compare with pure imagination
The sheer joy and freedom of letting the imagination soar
Living there, you'll be free
When you let your imagination run free, you gain absolute freedom
If you truly want to be
If you desire to have that freedom of imagination, then you will have it
Come on c'mon go with me
Join me in this journey, come along with me
You want to see some bunny
I'll show you something funny to lighten the mood
Have a lot of fun-- c'mon let's go
Let's have fun and enjoy life to the fullest
Let's try our own imagination
We can build our own adventure through imagination
See what we can go away from today alright? Hey
Let's see what we can create and where our journey will take us
Take me by the hand
Take my hand and trust me
Let us run from the little little little, Little, little little funny land
Together, we will run from this silly and insignificant world
Come on c'mon c'mon let's go to the little land
Let's leave this place and venture to somewhere new
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Tratore, TARADAM MUSIC, INC., Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: Anthony Newley, Leslie Bricusse
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Winston Sabellona
OverviewLyricsOther recordingsListenVideos
Ladies and gentlemen
Boys and girls
The chocolate room
Hold your breath
Make a wish
Count to three
Come with me and you'll be
In a world of pure imagination
Take a look and you'll see
Into your imagination
We'll begin with a spin
Traveling in the world of my creation
What we'll see will defy
Explanation
If you want to view paradise
Simply look around and view it
Anything you want to, do it
Want to change the world?
There's nothing to it
There is no life I know
To compare with pure imagination
Living there, you'll be free
If you truly wish to be
If you want to view paradise
Simply look around and view it
Anything you want to, do it
Want to change the world?
There's nothing to it
There is no life I know
To compare with pure imagination
Living there, you'll be free
If you truly wish to be
Jaylen E. Turner
Written by
Anthony Newley
and
Leslie Bricusse
—————————
Lead Vocals:
Lou Rawls
—————————
Instrumentation:
Dexter Wansel,
MFSB,
Don Renaldo &
His Horns and
Strings
——————————-
Arranger,Conductor,
and Producer:
Dexter Wansel
—————————
Year:
1976
—————————-
Album:
All Things In Time
Rose
I love his songs they just put me in a good mood 💥❤💥❤💥❤💥❤
Muschikatze
Hi Rosi, mir geht es auch so 😉 einfach schöne Musik 😃👍
Lena Chavez
I agree!
Rose
@Muschikatze schöne grüsse aus wiesbaden
Muschikatze
@Rose 😉🖖Was für eine Musik die Menschen glücklich macht. So etwas heute zu finden ist echt schwer. MfG
Rose
@Muschikatze ich höre eigentlich nur ältere soulmusic erinnert mich am meine jungen jahre und bessere zeiten lg rosie
mona cannon
What a wonderful song! Sung so beautifully with the smooth velvety voice of Mr. Lou Rawls. I just love the way he delivered a song. You know a song is good when you don't mind listening to it over and over. Sing Lou!! 🎤🎶🎶 #MusicMagic #PhillySoul
Imani M
The best version, I never imagined this song could sound so beautiful 💖 Love Lou Rawls
Besorah Gospel
Real stuff here.. Everything about this song is Professional, great lyrics, music, singing. Love Lou Rauls he is one of the Best Singers for The Sounds Of Philadelphia.
Cidinha Miranda
Me too