Lou Rawls, Requiescat in pace.

Lou Rawls, the velvet-voiced singer who started as a church choir boy and went on to sell more than 40 million albums has died at age 72. He won three Grammy Awards in a career that spanned nearly five decades and a range of genres. (Related audio: Listen to clips of Rawls' songs)

Rawls died early Friday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he was hospitalized last month for treatment of lung and brain cancer, his publicist Paul Shefrin said. His wife Nina was at his bedside when he died, Shefrin said.

The family and Shefrin said Rawls was 72, although other records indicate he was 70.

"Velvet-voiced" does not even come close. Mr Rawls was one of the all-time greats and will be sorely missed. If you're looking for a romantic mood setter, you can do a heck of a lot worse than a Lou Rawls record.