united negro college fund

Grammy-winning singer Lou Rawls, whose velvety voice earned him legions of fans, died today of cancer at the age of 72. Rawls was born in Chicago and raised by his grandmother. He started honing his voice at age seven in a Baptist church choir.

 Rawls got his start as a gospel singer, then later transitioned to more secular music, selling over 40 million copies of his 60-plus albums and winning four Grammys . In addition to his long career as a singer, Rawls also appeared in over a dozen films and 16 television series, including Fantasy Island and Fall Guy, and voiceovers for children's cartoons (among other roles, he was the voice of Harvey on Hey, Arnold!) . Rawls was also a humanitarian; he was well known as a huge supporter of the United Negro College Fund, and performed at the fund's telethon last year.