Lou Rawls

smooth soul // vocal jazz // classic r&b

Mr. Frank Sinatra once said that Lou Rawls had “the classiest singing and silkiest chops in the singing game.” High praise, but well deserved. Rawls hailed from Chigago where he was high school buddies with soul giant Sam Cooke; they later collaborated on “Bring It On Home To Me” which you can grab at Soul Shower. (If you’re looking for a treat, you can hear Lou and Will Ferrell in a one-on-one scat attack on the Anchorman DVD commentary.) The track below, “In The Evening When The Sun Goes Down” is a live recording of a finger-snapping mix of great jazz-blues and conversational improv. First heard it on WICN and knew I had to share it – never thought Lou’s passing would be the final impetus. He will be missed.
Smooth, classy elegance with an charming vocal personality.

Lou Rawls – In The Evening When The Sun Goes Down (Live)
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10 Responses to “Lou Rawls”

  1. Anonymous :

    New comment system’s nice, but what happened to the flash player buttons? Rather liked those…

  2. Paul Irish :

    They should work now. I’m playing around in the code right now so things might be funky temporarily. :-]
    Cheers!

  3. E :

    The new system is awesome! now I can play a song and not accidentally stop it when I click the comments. Lou Rawls is great; his version of “Girl from Ipanema” is super cool.

  4. phoenix :

    Rest in peace, Lou. :(

  5. Anonymous :

    I’ll miss Lou.
    Thanks to my dad I can’t get through the Christmas season without hearing Lou’s Christmas Albumn(yes, vinyl – now mp3). I always feel “Christmas will really be Christmas” when I hear those songs.

  6. Anonymous :

    Hey great site for finding fresh music
    here’s a recommendation of a band i would love to see on your site so other people are exposed to them. or maybe you, being a gem finder yourself, have already written about them and i just can’t find the article.
    the band is “Strays don’t sleep”
    and one of their best songs is “For Blue Skies”.the band is a collaboration of a couple of artists, matthew ryan and neilson hubbard mainly.download it and give it a listen?
    anyway, youre doing a great job.

  7. Anonymous :

    Thank you for honoring Lou Rawls. He’s been part of my music history and I’m sorry to see him go. You can be sure he and Sam are making sweet music together. “Bring it it on home to me!” Mom

  8. Anonymous :

    my dad used to listen to his music and it was nice to be reminded of both lous silky voice but of the past. nice post. update soon!

  9. Kansas Gal :

    sorry about that Paul!

  10. Runman :

    I would never normaly have listened to a Lou Rawls track ,but if Paul’s posted it….
    Love the second half, I’m going to chop some of that up and use it in a mix methinks.
    Sacrilage?…not really.