Scribbler's Throwback of the Week: The Nutty Professor Quartet Grand Finale

 

If you've been following this portion of my "Throwback of the Week" series, then you already know what time it is: "Lillo, Peabo, Lou Rawls, Teddy Pendergrass...TEDDY P!"  The late, great Philly soul singer rounds out my aptly-named quartet, but I'm throwing y'all a curve ball: I'm not featuring "Close the Door"...kinda.  I know, don't be so disappointed, but what person that calls themselves an R&B fan doesn't know that song?  Besides, we do things a little different 'round here, slim.  So I started thinking about Teddy P songs sampled in hip-hop songs, and I had quite a few choices.  "Love TKO" is too easy and so is "Come Go With Me".  Almost rolled with "Can't We Try", which was sampled in Ghostface Killah's "Camay".  However, I dug a little more for a record that not everybody knows about but is still one of his better songs: "Easy, Easy, Got To Take It Easy".

Scribbler's Throwback of the Week: The Nutty Professor Quartet, Part 3

So now that we've covered Lillo Thomas and Peabo Bryson, it's time for the third member of "The Nutty Professor Quartet": the late, great Lou Rawls.  As a kid, I remember his annual "Parade of Stars" (started back in 1980) in which proceeds from the telethon went to the United Negro College Fund (UNCF).  Unfortunately, I didn't--and still don't--hear that many of his songs on the radio.  He's one of those artists that unless you grew up during his era, you probably one only know like one or two songs of his.  While he's not quite as unsung as Lillo, he's probably not as widely recognized or celebrated as a singer like Teddy P or Peabo in the R&B world--although he has such a uniquely silky smooth voice.