Lou Rawls, the smooth-voiced, enduring singing star whose career traced a line from gospel to jazz & pop, died two years ago today, January 6, 2006 of lung cancer. Lou Rawls was in the recording business for forty years, & his voice is as distinctive & instantly recognizable as any in music Born Louis Allen Rawls on Dec. 1,1933? or 1935? (both dates are cited by many divergent sources, even 1936 by one biographer) in Chicago, Illinois, Lou was raised in Chicago by his paternal grandmother. He began singing gospel at age 7 in the choir of [...]
Here's my second attempt at convincing you that the Avett Brothers' new album is something really special. Previously I posted a video of them performing this song ( please watch it if you haven't), but here's an mp3 to take with you and hug on your own time. Will you love me still when we awake and the sanity is gone from my eyes? The Avett Brothers - Paranoia In B♭ Major from the monumental Emotionalism ( insound / amazon [...]
A brief post from me today too. The Mills Brothers: I'll Be Home for Christmas As if this song could get any sadder. Lou Rawls: Merry Christmas Baby I can see JV dancing to this, snapping his suspenders to the beat. Gilian Welch: Winter's Come and Gone Well, it hasn't, and I don't want it to, but this is a great tune so deal. Nat King Cole: Caroling, Caroling & O Tannenbaum I haven't
One of my all time favorite Read-Along books as a kid was the story of E.T. No, not the creepy version read by Michael Jackson , but the cute one read by young Drew Barrymore . As a kid I just thought she was cute and cool, as an adult I realized that the part where she gets shoved in the closet...well, it sounds like a stint in rehab, doesn't it? Drew Barrymore sees goblins in rehab Get this album and many more at Read-Along Adventures (which also [...]
For the next few weeks, I'll be posting songs for a break-up mix. The blues seemed like a natural place to start. And who better to sing a soft, velvety blues song than the one and only, Lou Rawls. The Lou Rawls Live! album is a hidden gem in Rawls' long, and sometimes overly sentimental, career. It is a flawless record, with highlights that include Rawls' impromptu monologues and stirring, souful performances. One reviewer writes, "When Rawls sings, everybody wants to absorb the lyrics." But I wouldn't stop there. I want to become the [...]
Some more songs tangentially related to the Body Snatchers stories, and more about the stories (with spoilers) below that: Jimmy Bo Horne -- Get Happy There's something here that reminds me of much of George McCrae's work, probably in the simple composition and the repetition, but also in the reliance on a sweet hook and an energetic horn section in a poppy R&B track with high-flying vocals. Another happy song, appropriately enough. [ The Legendary Henry Stone Presents: Jimmy Bo Horne @ emusic [...]
I once sat next to Posdnuos and his lady at a performance of Topdog/Underdog starring Mos Def and Jeffrey Wright. In the middle of the first act, a voice came on the loudspeaker and calmly told us we all had to leave, not to panic, and that yes, there was a fire in the building. Once outside, I bummed Mos a light for his Dunhill through the window of his Navigator, and he told me not to worry- that we would all get rain checks for the next week; to which I responded that, [...]
Nothin' Sez Somethin'
Hello Vegetables
77 Santas
WFMU's Beware of the Blog
Spinning in Air
I AM FUEL, YOU ARE FRIENDS
Eggs for Becky
Tuwa's Shanty
Palms Out Sounds
I’ll Just Leave This Here #161
BAND OF HORSES – The Funeral (Sound Remedy Remix)
Angger Dimas – Ribon Dooh (Preview)
K-Holes - "Frozen Stiff"
