RIP: Lou Rawls

I'd like to give a shout out to legendary singer Lou Rawls who died today after a battle with cancer. Lou had an amazing voice that will live on through his recordings. You might remember his voice, as Rawls' trademark was his smooth, four-octave voice, which Frank Sinatra once called the "silkiest chops in the singing game."


Memorable moments of Lou Rawls:

• Pitchman for Anheuser-Busch Cos. breweries, his was the familiar voice that said, "When you've said Budweiser, you've said it all."
  
• Lou Rawls was a survivor. Rawls and Sam Cooke (Rawls' High School Classmate) were in a car crash that nearly ended Rawls' life. Cooke was slightly hurt, but another passenger was killed and Rawls was declared dead on the way to the hospital, according to Shefrin. Rawls was in a coma for 5 1/2 days and suffered memory loss, but was completely recovered a year later.
  
• The album "Stormy Monday," recorded in 1962 with the Les McCann Trio, was the first of Rawls' 52 albums.
  
• In 1966, Rawls' "Love Is a Hurtin' Thing" topped the charts and earned his first two Grammy nominations.
  
• Rap in the '60's? During that period, Rawls began delivering hip monologues about life and love on the songs "World of Trouble" and "Tobacco Road," each more than seven minutes long. Some called them "pre-rap."
  
• The singer won three Grammys in a career that also included the hits "Your Good Thing (Is About to End)" and "Natural Man."
  
• And last but not least, since we are all a fan of cinema: Rawls also appeared in 18 movies, including "Leaving Las Vegas" and "Blues Brothers 2000," and 16 television series, including "Fantasy Island" and "The Fall Guy."