Last year,

David Sanborn and Joe Sample came to Peachtree City to perform a concert

during the summer concert series at the Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater.

It was such a success, drawing attention from people in the metro Atlanta

area who had never even heard of "The Fred" that the amphitheater

will launch their first-ever jazz series on Saturday night with a performance

from the legendary Lou Rawls. Audiences can expect to be wowed by one

of the greatest voices in the business.

Rawls began

singing at an early age. He joined his church's choir in Chicago and by

high school had started singing with classmate Sam Cooke in the group

known as The Teenage Kings of Harmony. After high school, Rawls headed

to Los Angeles and was recruited by The Chosen Gospel Singers and then

joined The Pilgrim Travelers. In 1955, Rawls left singing for a few years

when he enlisted in the Army and served as a paratrooper for the Army's

82nd Airborne Division. In 1958, Sgt. Rawls left the Army and rejoined

The Pilgrim Travelers.

Rawls continued

to perform in shows at clubs and cafes as well and in 1959 a producer

from Capitol Records caught one of his sets and brought him in to record

an audition tape. It was Rawls' big break and soon he was signed to Capitol

Records. In 1962 he released his debut solo album, "I'd Rather Drink

Muddy Water" and found moderate success with the song, "Stormy

Monday." His first big hit came in 1966 with the song "Love

is a Hurtin' Thing," which garnered two Grammy nominations and landed

13th on the pop charts and number one on the R&B charts.

Rawls continued

to find success on the charts as well as with critics. He was nominated

for Grammys with each new album and won Grammys for Best R&B Vocal

performance in 1967 and 1977. He also got a Grammy nomination in the Pop

category, for "You'll Never Find (Another Love Like Mine),"

which landed at number two on the pop charts and number one on the R&B

charts.

While Rawls

was a successful singer, he was also a pioneer. Many people think that

the monologues that Rawls would include in his live performances and would

eventually find their way on to his albums was a predecessor to rap. The

monologues began as a way to get the audiences attention in noisy clubs

but became so popular that they found their way into most sets and several

songs on albums including "Tobacco Road" and "World of

Trouble."

Rawls also

had a one man show on Broadway and in 1976 became the corporate spokesman

of the Anheuser Busch company. Rawls' partnership with Anheuser Busch

paved the way for two events that were very near to his heart. First,

Anheuser Busch sponsored a series of concerts for U.S. military personnel

all over the world and secondly Rawls' began hosting the Lou Rawls Parade

of Stars Telethon, which have raised $100 million for historically black

colleges.

In addition

to his singing career and the events that he helped bring about, Rawls

has appeared in television and movies. He was a series regular on "Baywatch

Nights" and has also appeared on the programs "Early Edition,"

"Martin," and "Dream On." Rawls' roles on the silver

screen have included performances in the films "Leaving Las Vegas,"

and "Blues Brothers 2000," as well as many others. Rawls also

provided the singing voice for Garfield in a number of animated specials.

This paved the way for yet another Grammy nomination in yet another category.

Rawls eventually

left Capitol Records and went to several other labels, including Philadelphia

International, before ending up on the jazz label, Blue Note Records.

Blue Note re-released his debut album but titled it "Stormy Monday."

It was with Blue Note that Rawls got his latest Grammy nomination and

has been nominated in the categories of Children's, Jazz, Pop and R&B.

Another tidbit of Rawls trivia is that he recorded "Wind Beneath

My Wings" years before Bette Midler and the film "Beaches"

put it on karaoke machines around the world. In fact, the first black

astronaut in space, Lt. Col. Guion Bluford, brought a copy of the album

with him on his 1983 space shuttle voyage.

Rawls continues

to stay busy. Earlier this summer, he played the Monterey Blues Festival

and Rawls will play in Philadelphia on Friday before his concert Saturday

night. He also has a number of concerts planed on both coasts before the

year is out. Fans attending Saturday's show can expect to be entertained

thoroughly by a performer that was once hailed by Frank Sinatra as having

"the classiest singing and silkiest chops in the game."

Tickets for

Lou Rawls may be purchased in person at the Amphitheater's office located

at 201 McIntosh Trail, by telephone at 770-631-0630 or fax at 770-631-0430.

Individual tickets are $35 for stadium and lawn seats. There is a $3 handling

fee per order. For more information, phone 770-631-0630.

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