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Sadly, the world has lost what the great Frank Sinatra once dubbed "the silkiest chops in the singing game." Entertainer and humanitarian Lou Rawls passed away today from lung and brain cancer at the age of 72, ending a lengthy, amazingly multitalented career in soul, blues, jazz, acting, and even dancing. Although it is more likely that history will remember him for his musical contributions, he preferred to be remembered for his work with underprivileged teens through the United Negro College Fund and other community organizations.

I saw him in an interview with FOX News only 3 months ago, and he looked and sounded great, and was extremely upbeat. I don't recall that he ever mentioned he was fighting cancer, or if he did, he only referred to it in passing, saying he was being treated for it and he was going to be fine. The main thing he was focusing on was working with Outkast's Andre 3000 on Andre's upcoming Prohibition-era movie My Life in Idlewild, scheduled for release in 2006, the soundtrack for which was composed by Outkast and basically creates a whole new genre called swing-hop that fuses 30s and 40s swing with hip-hop. To the best of my recollection, Rawls said he was dancing and helping out with the choreography, and I've been trying to look it up on the Internet to confirm this but have found no information on his involvement.

Rest in peace, Lou.