We lost another great one today.Lou Rawls - Scotch and Soda
Lou Rawls - Willow Weep For Me
Lou Rawls passed away today from lung cancer, he was in his early 70's (it seems his exact age is subject to debate). He was one of my favorite vocalists, I often described him to friends who hadn't heard of him as "The Black Sinatra". I meant this in with the utmost respect, because he was every bit the singer and entertainer that Frank Sinatra ever was. He could convincingly express a variety of moods and themes in the songs he chose. Rawls spent much of his career working with producer David Axelrod, whose material has been extensively sampled by Dr. Dre and DJ Shadow. Everything they did together just sounds timeless. 'Scotch and Soda' is one of my favorite Rawls tunes, it's a loungy masterpiece about how "high" Mr. Rawls gets around a particular ladyfriend of his. 'Willow Weep For Me' is another masterpiece of piano-bar/lounge music. He displays his vocal chops on this tune, and there's some killer piano work, too. It's cool jazz at it's most sublime.
Rest in peace, Lou.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment