The second album, Still Bill, lauded as “a stone-soul masterpiece” by Rolling Stone magazine, delivered soon-to-be standards “Lean on Me” and “Use Me.” Bill Withers Live at Carnegie Hall followed. This resulted in the album Just As I Am with the Grammy-winning “Ain’t No Sunshine” and the much-loved “Grandma’s Hands.” The pragmatic Withers - who was now able to leave his straight gig at an aircraft company - subsequently assembled the remaining members of the Watts 103rd Street Band for U.S. Hamilton then introduced Withers to Clarence Avant of Sussex Records who tapped Booker T. His self-financed demos on which Watts 103rd Street Band member Ray Jackson served as arranger and keyboardist, led Jackson to introduce him to Forrest Hamilton. At 17, enlistment in the Navy was Bill’s ticket out. Withers’ father, a miner, died when Withers was 13. The youngest of six children, he was raised in nearby Beckley, in coal mining country. Slab Fork, West Virginia, a town of about 200 residents, was Bill’s place of birth. “When you have a talent you know it when you’re five years old– it’s just getting around to it.” ~B.W. Withers’ riveting 1974 concert performance in Zaire preceding the fabled Muhammad Ali/George Foreman “Rumble in the Jungle” face-off is in the feature film, Soul Power and Withers himself is the subject of the documentary, Still Bill, that debuted at the SXSW Film Festival, is available on DVD. Alternative Rock group Alt-J brings a new interpretation to “Lovely Day” while Justin Timberlake performs a mash-up of the song at the Oscars in 2018 Willie Nelson and Mavis Staples’ duet of “Grandma’s Hands” is a striking rendition on his latest release To All The Girls and at the unveiling of the Bill Russell Legacy Project in Boston, a newly-penned song “I Am My Father’s Son” is performed by Johnny MathisLegacy Recordings’ box set of all nine of Withers albums, The Complete Sussex and Columbia Albums, released in late 2012, won a Grammy for Best Historical Recording in 2014. Commercial uses, including the Amazon Prime’s campaign featuring “Lovely Day,” match the music to new markets.
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“Ain’t No Sunshine” set the scene for a much talked about episode in the hit series Scandal in 2013. Blige‘s version of “Lean on Me” echoed in Washington D.C.’s Lincoln Memorial at the “We Are One” pre-inaugural festivities for president Barack Obama, just as Withers’ words had similarly honored president Bill Clinton. In that same Rolling Stone interview, Questlove sang the praises of his simple, timeless instrumentation: “Bill Withers is the closest thing black people have to a Bruce Springsteen.”Īfter the singer’s family confirmed his death, an outpouring of mourning came through on social media from musicians, composers, and celebrities like John Legend, Flying Lotus, and Jeffrey Wright.Īlicia Keys shared a video of herself singing “Lean On Me” accompanied by her son on the piano, while many shared clips of the singer in old studio sessions or stage performances.His songs speak for themselves. I don’t think I’ve done bad for a guy from Slab Fork, West Virginia,” Withers said, shortly after hearing the news of his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.ĭespite only having a decade-long music career, Withers maintained a massive influence and presence in black culture.
I’m not a virtuoso, but I was able to write songs that people could identify with. “What few songs I wrote during my brief career, there ain’t a genre that somebody didn’t record them in. Withers was the subject of 2009 documentary Still Bill and profiled by Rolling Stone in 2015. Known for ’70s soul hits like “Ain’t No Sunshine,” “Grandma’s Hands,” “Use Me,” “Lean on Me,” “Lovely Day,” and “Just the Two of Us,” the singer-songwriter took a step back from his music career about 10 years after it started, but his best-known singles have remained, soundtracking commercials, parties and weddings seemingly everywhere.īarack Obama played “Lean on Me” at his inauguration, and the song had recently become something of a social distancing anthem, played and sung by quarantined residents of various cities on lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic, promoting togetherness in a time of crisis. A solitary man with a heart driven to connect to the world at large, with his poetry and music, he spoke honestly to people and connected them to each other,” his family said in an official statement. “We are devastated by the loss of our beloved, devoted husband and father. It was confirmed by his family that he died on Monday of heart complications.
Bill Withers, a musical legend of the soul genre, died at 81 years old.
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