iGuanaGaL's Blog

Lou Rawls: December 1, 1933 - January 6, 2006

I was so very sad to awaken to the news of Lou Rawls' death this morning.
Selfishly, I felt badly that his new releases would be no more.... and I thought of all the times over the years when I found a new Lou Rawls record or CD and anxiously took it home to see what magic Lou could work with my stereo.
And work magic, he did.
The first song I heard of his was I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water .... which was delivered by his belting baritone in such a manner that I was glad that the song was not intended for me!
Followed by Stormy Monday Blues, It Was A Very Good Year .. I listened to Lou over the years .... his songs and voice always fresh, always new. Every time I'd listen to one of his records, I'd always come away with some slight new little twist to one of the songs, something I had not heard on a previous listen, almost like watching a favorite movie over and over and seeing a new little nuance each time.
I was always in complete awe of Lou. Not just for his seemingly elastic rich voice ... but also for his ability to switch styles without a second thought and to make each song he sang not only totally believable, but uniquely his own. Once Lou sang a song, you'd never hear it the same way again. I always thought that instead of commercials for Colonial Penn Insurance and Budweiser Beer, someone should have given him a contract doing commercials for a rich strong coffee brand ... something like Cafe Bustelo ... dark, robust, deep and rich ... Lou's baritone was all these things and more.... and hearing him sing awoke my listening taste buds in a way they'd never been awakened before - just like a hot cup of Cuban "Cafe Bustelo" coffee they steamed to perfection in my hometown of Miami.
Lou's musical journey was long and varied. I remember being rather bitterly disappointed when he came out with what was essentially a disco song entitled "Lady Love". Seemed as if everyone back then was selling out to the craze and I thought Lou had, too... that is, until I saw him come out on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and perform it live with Doc Severinsen and his band. Lou's smooth and sexy performance had me riveted.... how could this be? I didn't even like the song! But something about Lou's live delivery with the Tonight Show band made the whole song believable ... and I was won over with his smooth vocals and his trademark jumbo sized gleaming white smile at the end of his performance.
Taking his seat next to Johnny's desk, he talked about the various things he was doing with his career, and Johnny engaged him in a discussion of how he dealt with fending off his legions of amorous female fans.
Flashing that smile again, he leaned back casually, and told Carson that he often tried to leave his house incognito, so that he could just run down to the corner store to pick up a small item. In order to avoid being mobbed, he often went out wearing a hat and dark glasses which, he discovered worked quite well. Until, that is, he made the mistake of opening his mouth and saying "thank you" or "you're welcome" to a store clerk.
He said that all would be going along well as he finished his anonymous shopping, but as soon as he spoke in that famous Lou Rawls voice... heads turned, people looked up and "my cover was blown" ! That one small shopping trip turned into an impromptu media debacle for which he was totally unprepared.... and he and Johnny got a good hearty laugh out of the whole story.
Fast forward about 25 years to 1993 and I came across Lou's release on Blue Note titled "Portrait of the Blues". Hmmm.... looks like fun.... let's see.... looks like classic "Blue Lou" stuff... sigh.... these ought to sound great on Compact Disc.... and inserted the CD into the player....
Wow, great sound! Love the first song with Phoebe Snow and... wait a minute ! What's this? Funky bass riff ... kick-ass blues .... Lou singing "I just wanna make love to you..." HUH? The song I'd previously only heard by the rock band Foghat? Awwww.... c'mon .... holy crap! This is awesome ! And Lou is laughing in between the lines ... an evil, sexy bad boy laugh perfectly in time with the grooving rhythm section .... the normal simmering seductiveness in his voice giving way to a full-blown fiery passion.
It was one of those rare musical moments in my life- hearing an old song in a completely new way....and my soul singing along at full volume with the now cranked-up stereo .... I must have played that song about 20 times that night... just Lou and I in a world all our own. His smoky voice filled my living room, and I closed my eyes and swayed back and forth to the music filling in all the empty spaces in my house and in my heart...it was a truly magical experience, one that caught me by surprise and was always a memory upon which I could look back and smile.... just a little secret only Lou and I shared.
Well, Lou... you didn't know our little secret back then, but I'd like to believe that wherever you are now that you can read these words and share that secret with me now.
Yeah Lou, you were Groovy People. Groovy People in a Fine Brown Frame.
See You When I Get There....

-- K.M. Samet