Lou Rawls

Lou Rawls, the Grammy winning singer and longtime community activist who started as a choir boy and went on to record such classic tunes as "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine," died Friday of cancer. He was 72.

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

Rawls was diagnosed with lung cancer in December 2004 and brain cancer in May 2005. Rawls told Shefrin he quit smoking 35 to 40 years ago. Asked about reports Rawls tried to treat his cancer holistically, Shefrin said: "He did try alternative methods. He used traditional and alternative methods."

Rawls played a major role in the United Negro College Fund, helping to raise more than $200 million.

Along with his wife, Rawls is survived by four children: Louanna Rawls, Lou Rawls Jr., Kendra Smith and Aiden Rawls.