One for the Road: Lou Rawls

By Chuck Sudo in Arts & Entertainment on Nov 5, 2010 9:30PM

Had an itch last night for some Lou Rawls that needed scratching. The question was, however, which part of Rawls's career to dive into? The easy route would be to choose something from the Philadelphia International years and those Gamble and Huff productions like "Lady Love" or "(You'll Never Find) Another Love Like Mine." Or do I go way back to Rawls's Gospel days in Bronzeville, where he had the enviable task of replacing his good friend Sam Cooke in the Highway QC's?

I opted instead to look at Rawls's Capitol Records years. There are a couple of decent compilations available available that try to fit both his years at Capitol with the best of the Philly International years. Otherwise, Rawls's years at Capitol are used as part of that label's "Ultra Lounge" series, which always seems to come back in vogue every 7-8 years. Rawls could take the worst material and make something out of them. Rawls's Capitol labelmate Frank Sinatra said he had "the classiest singing and silkiest chops in the singing game." And the Chairman was right. It wasn't just the voice, though; Rawls had a sense of timing and dynamic that fit well with the jazz and pop tunes he was saddled with at Capitol. It's why I picked his take on "The Girl From Ipanema" for today's going home song. Listen in particular to the final bars of the song, where Rawls engages in a little bit of vocalese that could have made John Hendricks or Mark Murphy stand up and whisper, "damn."