Civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson will lead last rites Friday for Lou Rawls, the velvet-voiced singer of “You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine” and “Lady Love” who died of cancer last week.
The funeral will be held at the West Angeles Church of God in Christ in Los Angeles with Jackson officiating, Rawls family spokesman Paul Shefrin said Monday. Burial will be private.
On Thursday, a public viewing will be held at Angelus Funeral Home.
The family requested that instead of flowers, donations be made to the United Negro College Fund. A longtime activist, Rawls played a major role in UNCF telethons, which began as “Lou Rawls’ Parade of Stars” and have raised more than $200 million (165.5 million) through the years. He often visited and performed at black colleges.
Rawls died of lung cancer Jan. 6 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he was hospitalized last month for treatment of lung and brain cancer. Rawls’ family and Shefrin said the singer was 72, although other records indicate he was 70.
The entertainer’s last UNCF telethon, recorded in September, aired in the U.S. over the weekend.