Lou Rawls

Originally shot in September of 1979, this entry in the Prime Concerts series features soul-singer Lou Rawls performing several beloved standards. Lou Rawls: Prime Concerts - In Concert with Edmonton Symphony includes renditions of "It's Been a Long Time," "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine," and more.
From gospel and early R&B to soul and jazz to blues and straight-up pop, Lou Rawls was a consummate master of African-American vocal music whose versatility helped him adapt to the changing musical times over and over again while always remaining unmistakably himself.

Lou Rawls - Greatest Hits
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 362 MB | Full Artwork: 31 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Repertoire Rec. # REP 4244-WZ | Country/Year: Germany 1992
Genre: Jazz, Funk & Soul | Style: Smooth Jazz, Soul, Easy Listening

From gospel and early R&B to soul and jazz to blues and straight-up pop, Lou Rawls was a consummate master of African-American vocal music whose versatility helped him adapt to the changing musical times over and over again while always remaining unmistakably himself. Blessed with a four-octave vocal range, Rawls' smooth, classy elegance – sort of a cross between Sam Cooke and Nat King Cole – permeated nearly everything he sang, yet the fire of his early gospel days was never too far from the surface…

Lou Rawls - The Very Best of Lou Rawls - You'll Never Find Another
EMI | 2006 | MP3@320 Kbps | 90.5 & 73.3 MB
Genre: Vocal/Jazz-Pop

Review by Tim Sendra
Since the passing of Lou Rawls in early 2006, Capitol has been working overtime to document the singer's career. First was a collection of early jazz and blues recordings, then a two-fer containing two of Rawls' best mid-'60s recordings, and now something that Rawls fans have never had before: a best-of collection that contains the man's hits from the '60s with Capitol and his '70s hits with Philadelphia International. It isn't the definitive collection that listeners deserve, as it skips over his early jazz and blues sides, his late-'60s big-band sessions with Benny Carter, and his '80s recordings on Blue Note — but it is a start. All the big hits are here, like "Dead End Street," "Love Is a Hurtin' Thing," "Your Good Thing (Is About to End)," and his biggest, "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine." Also included is a wide range of tracks that show just how impressive Rawls' gift truly was. Whether he is singing funky gospel ("Trouble Here Below"), smooth soul with a message ("Natural Man"), uptown soul ("You Can Bring Me All Your Heartaches"), disco ("Lady Love"), or lush pop ("Down Here on the Ground"), he sounds definitive and natural, like he could have sung just about anything and made it all his. The Very Best of Lou Rawls: You'll Never Find Another is a very fine introduction to the casual fan and a reminder to everyone that Lou Rawls was a true vocal giant.

Lou Rawls - The Best of Lou Rawls, The Capitol Jazz & Blues Sessions
Blue Note | 2006 | MP3 @320 Kbps | All Covers | 81 & 74.6 MB
Genre: Vocal/Jazz-Pop-Soul

This document of Lou Rawls’ decade with Capitol in the ‘60s celebrates the beginnings of the recently departed artist, one of the rare male vocalists with a big, beautiful sound who could sing his butt off. His professional beginnings were with the gospel group The Singing Travelers, and their 1962 recording of “Motherless Child” opens the disc. The essential enrichment provided by Eddie Beal (piano) and Rene Hall and Cliff White (guitars) is much more than mere accompaniment. Partnership is the special joy of this collection, which finds this fine singer in mutually appreciative settings with a lineup of first-rank musicians.

Les McCann’s piano provides the most sympathetic of intros to “God Bless the Child,” with Leroy Vinnegar (bass) and Ron Jefferson (drums). Rawls himself is in peak voice, showcasing his rolling thunder baritone, which always radiates an innate optimism, no matter what he sings. On Benny Carter’s jumpin’ arrangement of “Nobody But Me,” Al Porcino and Bobby Bryant’s trumpets provide sunny brass for days as Rawls delivers a jubilant tribute to a “genuine Venus from her head to her feet.”

A live performance of “Goin’ To Chicago Blues” is typical of what became a signature style for Rawls: a talking intro to blues songs. Well, not merely "talking," exactly, because the rhythms of his poetically spoken beats could almost be heard as an a capella ancestor of hip-hop. As if the pot needed any sweetening, three previously unreleased 1963 tracks with Curtis Amy’s sextet are included; the swinging take on “Fine and Mellow” is particularly choice.-By Andrew Velez

One of Philadelphia International's most successful artists through the the '70s. His 1977 LP Unmistakably Lou won him a third Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and contained the R&B Top Ten hit "See You When I Git There"; later that year, he continued his artistic and commercial hot streak with When You Hear Lou, You've Heard It All and "Lady Love." The title track of 1979's Let Me Be Good to You was his last big hit with Philly International, reaching number 11 R&B. The following year, Rawls kicked off what would become a consuming passion for years to come: the Lou Rawls Parade of Stars Telethon, an annual event which eventually raised millions of dollars for the United Negro College Fund.