Blue Lou

I did a deep dive to add to my Lou Rawls collection and it was well worth the time. The man had one of the most soulfully silky voices ever - a voice that one critic proclaimed was “sweet as sugar, soft as velvet, strong as steel, smooth as butter.”

We came very close to never having this great body of work. In 1958 while touring The South with Sam Cooke, Lou Rawls was in a serious car accident that killed one of the other passengers. Lou, himself, was initially pronounced dead but woke from a coma five days later and fully recovered a year later.

He was also a very charitable man. Over the years his "Lou Rawls Parade of Stars Telethon" raised more than $200 million for the United Negro College Fund which benefited historically African American colleges and universities.

This cloudcast celebrates the bluesy side of Lou Rawl's music. All of the tunes I've chosen showcase the consistently high production values that are a trademark of the Lou Rawls style.