THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

322-Lou Rawls-You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine.

1976-Number 10 single.

Best Bit-At 2.13. Lou Rawls released around 60 Albums, he also had a substantial acting career, performing in 15 films, he was also a voice over in cartoons, and appeared in commercials endorsing products.In 1955 he enlisted in the United States Army as a paratrooper, where he made 26 jumps, he left the army three years later as a Sergeant. In 1980 he started the charity the ‘Lou Rawls Parade of Stars Telephon,’ an annual event which has raised to date over US$200 million.I don’t know what he did in his spare time though!

Louis Allen Rawls was born on December 1st, 1933, in Chicago, Illinois, United States, he died of cancer on January 6th, 2005, at the age of 72. He started singing Gospel at the age of seven, and after graduating from high school he briefly sang with Sam Cooke (see also best songs 156) in the ‘Teenage Kings of Harmony’ Gospel group, before moving to Los Angeles, where he joined another Gospel group, the ‘Pilgrim Travelers.’ Rawls would later sing again with Sam Cooke, as backing vocalist on Cooke’s 1962 single ‘Bring It On Home to Me,’ (Billboard Number 13 hit) and ‘That’s Where It’s At,’ in 1964.

In 1980 Rawls began the ‘Lou Rawls Parade of Stars Telephon’ which benefits the ‘United Negro College Fund’. It became an annual event, and in 1998 it became known as ‘An Evening of Stars: A Celebration of Educational Excellence.’ The event raised over $200 million in 27 shows for the charity, through until 2006.

‘You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine’ was co-written by the legendary songwriting team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff (see also best songs 1001-896-648-604-571 and 448.) In an attempt to lure Rawls to their record label ‘Philadelphia International,’ Gamble and Huff pacifically wrote this song for him. By 1976 Philadelphia International Records had taken over from Tamla Motown as the worlds number one producers of quality Soul music, and they were also now leading the way in the production of Disco music, with many of the labels artists, including this song, being backed by the labels in house studio band ‘M.F.S.B,’ In total ‘M.F.S.B.’ had 32 different members come and go between them forming in 1971, through until their disbanding in 1985. Due to a disagreement with Gamble and Huff shortly before the recording of this song over finances, several of the group members moved on to ‘Salsoul Records,’ where they became known as the ‘Salsoul Orchestra,’ other members began performing as ‘The Ritchie Family Orchestra.’ As for what ‘M.F.S.B.’ stood for, there are two explanations. The clean one is ‘Mother, Father, Sister, Brother,’ and the rude one is ‘Mother-F…in’, Son of-a-Bitch,’ an expression which was used among the musicians to compliment a person’s musical prowess.

‘You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine’ was taken from the Album ‘All Things in Time,’ and provided Lou Rawls with his first Billboard hit in seven years. In total Rawls had five Billboard top 40 hits with this being the most successful when making Number 2, while in the UK this song was his only top 40 single. The song is a warning to the girl that if she let’s the guy go, she will spend the rest of her life looking for someone just like him. The song was written around the time that Kenny Gamble was going through a divorce from the singer Dee Dee Sharp (see also best songs 1001.)

‘You’ll never find, it’ll take the end of all time, someone to understand you like I do. You’ll never find the rhythm the rhyme, all the magic we shared just us two.’