By the second half of 1966, the smoothy soulful Chicago stylist Lou Rawls was 5 years into his contract with Capitol Records, and significantly in want of a success single.
The former member of gospel group the Pilgrim Travelers had not too long ago managed a few weeks within the Top 40 of the R&B chart with a model of “The Shadow Of Your Smile.” But his Capitol years had yielded exactly one week on the Hot 100, with “Three O’Clock In The Morning” the 12 months earlier than, and three on the Billboard LP itemizing, with 1963’s Black and Blue. There had been murmurs that the label could have been considering of dropping him.
But then Rawls’ profession turned dramatically in the fitting course. His status as an on-stage entertainer introduced the discharge of Lou Rawls Live!, which grew to become a sensational hit, topping the R&B chart and reaching a No.4 pop album peak, with 74 weeks on the bestsellers and gold certification. Then, to make life even higher, got here a bona fide hit 45.
The music in query was the plaintive mid-tempo “Love Is A Hurtin’ Thing,” written by Dave Linden and Ben Raleigh. It was an ideal match for Rawls’ resonant baritone, particularly with the manufacturing, at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles, of the esteemed David Axelrod. The session featured such studio A-listers as Barney Kessel on guitar and Earl Palmer on drums.
Lou unseats the Four Tops
On Billboard’s Top Selling R&B Singles chart of 12 November 1966, Rawls’ single accomplished its climb to No. 1, unseating the Four Tops’ “Reach Out I’ll Be There,” no much less. It additionally reached No.13 on the Hot 100, and immediately, the singer was set truthful. Soulin’, the album containing “Hurtin’ Thing,” additionally went gold, because the music attracted covers by Big Maybelle, J.J. Jackson, and in a duet model by Chuck Jackson and Maxine Brown. In 1969, the Temptations’ rendition was on their Cloud Nine album.
Listen to the Greatest Soul 45s playlist.
Meanwhile, Rawls moved into the highest division of vocal expertise, newly in a position to command $5,000 a live performance and with many extra hit singles and albums to return – each at Capitol, the place he stayed for the remainder of the last decade, and later with notably joyful stays at each Philadelphia International and Blue Note.
Buy or stream “Love Is A Hurtin’ Thing” on the compilation Brotherman! Lou Rawls Sings The Hits.