The Life and Music of Bill Withers
Complex and deeply-rooted emotional and sentimental forces, were the heart of one of our greatest songwriters Bill Withers.
Today April 3rd, 2020, he passed away at the age of 81. His family released the following statement;
“We are devastated by the loss of our beloved, devoted husband and father. 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,” the family statement read. “As private a life as he lived close to intimate family and friends, his music forever belongs to the world. In this difficult time, we pray his music offers comfort and entertainment as fans hold tight to loved ones.”
The profound honesty and sensitivity found in his timeless music made Bill Withers one of America’s premier singer/songwriters. Combining soulful warmth, a genuine and folksy feel with his immediately recognizable voice, Withers has sung his way into the hearts of millions worldwide. His ability to say what so many feel is uncanny.
Simple yet sophisticated, Withers’ music and lyrics have phenomenal accessibility and universal appeal. This, says Withers, comes from his own duality – he enjoyed a rural childhood and blossomed as an adult in an urban-international environment.
The youngest of 13 children, Withers was born in the small coal-mining town of Slabfork, West Virginia. Raised by his mother in nearby Beckley, West Virginia, Withers’ father, a coal miner and treasurer of the local miner’s union, died when Withers was just 13.
At the age of thirteen, Withers quit school to work at odd jobs to help out his mother who was a domestic. Even though small for his age, he was a gifted athlete. At the age of fifteen having grown six inches over a summer, he joined the professional baseball Negro League, and traveled throughout the South. Outside of sports, Withers’ musical appetite was whet in gospel quartets in the small churches of Beckley.
At 17, he joined the Navy. During a nine-year term in the Navy, which carried him throughout the Far East, Withers was inspired to try his hand at singing. Songwriting came as a result of futile searches for original songs that expressed what he felt.
After his discharge from the Navy in 1965, he stayed in San Jose, California and then moved to Los Angeles in 1967 to pursue a career in music. While working full-time for McDonnell Douglas, he recorded demos of his tunes in hopes of landing a recording contract. Despite his heavy investment in the demo tapes, not one record company or publisher expressed any interest. In early 1970, his music landed on the desk of Clarence Avant of Sussex Records who introduced Withers to Booker T. Jones of the M.G.’s.
The Albums
JUST AS I AM by BILL WITHERS (originally issued 1971, as Sussex 7006) Selections: Harlem • Ain’t No Sunshine (1st single, Hot 100 #3, R&B #6) • Grandma’s Hands (2nd single, Hot 100 #42, R&B #18)
STILL BILL by BILL WITHERS (originally issued 1972, as Sussex 7014) Selections: Use Me (2nd single, Hot 100 #2, R&B #2) • Lean On Me (1st, single, Hot 100 #1, R&B #1) • Kissing My Love (3rd single, #12 R&B, #31 Pop)
BILL WITHERS LIVE AT CARNEGIE HALL (originally issued 1973, as double-LP Sussex 7025) Selections: Friend Of Mine (2nd single, Hot 100 #80, R&B #25) • Ain’t No Sunshine • Let Us Love (1st single, Hot 100 #47, R&B #17)
+’JUSTMENTS by BILL WITHERS (originally issued 1974, as Sussex 8032) Selections: You (2nd single, R&B #15) • The Same Love That Made Me Laugh (1st single, Hot 100 #50, R&B #10) • Heartbreak Road (3rd single, Hot 100 #89, R&B #13)
MAKING MUSIC by BILL WITHERS (originally issued 1975, as Columbia 33704) Selections: I Wish You Well (2nd single, R&B #54) • Make Love To Your Mind (1st single, Hot 100 #76, R&B #10)
NAKED & WARM by BILL WITHERS (originally issued 1976, as Columbia 33704) Selections: Close To Me (2nd single, R&B #88) • If I Didn’t Mean You Well (1st single, R&B #74)
MENAGERIE by BILL WITHERS (originally issued 1977, as Columbia 34903) Selections: 1. Lovely Day (1st single, Hot 100 #30, R&B #6) • Lovely Night For Dancing (2nd single, R&B #75)
‘BOUT LOVE by BILL WITHERS (originally issued 1979, as Columbia 35596) Selections: Don’t It Make It Better (1st single, R&B #30) • You Got The Stuff (2nd single, R&B #85)
WATCHING YOU WATCHING ME by BILL WITHERS (originally issued 1985, as Columbia 39887) Selections: Oh Yeah! (1st single, Hot 100 #106, R&B #22) • Something That Turns You On (2nd single, R&B #46)
Having signed to Sussex Records, Withers’ talent was evidenced by all with the 1971 release of his debut album Just As I Am. Music critics immediately praised the album as a sure classic in the making. Just As I Am unfolded with its acoustic guitar-driven soul, highlighted by Withers’ earthy vocal delivery and largely autobiographical tales. This album produced such memorable hits as “Ain’t No Sunshine” and “Grandma’s Hands.” Withers was awarded his first Grammy award as a songwriter for “Ain’t No Sunshine,” in 1971.
Before even putting a band together, the record exploded and Withers found himself touring to which music lovers instantly connected. Withers and his new band, which included drummer James Gadson, guitarist Bernoce Blackmon, keyboardist Ray Jackson, and bassist Melvin Dunlap Bill toured extensively, both in the United States and abroad. They even played the world-famous Apollo Theater, the landmark showcase for black talent.
During a short break in touring, Withers recorded his second album, Still Bill. From this album came the classics “Lean On Me” and “Use Me.” “Lean On Me” went to #1 the week of July 8, 1972, but did not garner a Grammy award until 1987 when it was re-recorded by Club Nouveau.
On a rainy night in early 1973, Withers performed at Carnegie Hall, which he remembers as “one of the most exciting times of my life.” Producer and performer of this house-rocking treasure, Bill Withers Live at Carnegie Hall included the Vietnam War commentary “I Can’t Write Left Handed” and the warm “Friend of Mine.”
Released in 1974, +JUSTMENTS contained the unforgettable “The Same Love That Made Me Laugh” that Withers had actually written in 1968. Unfortunately, Withers got entangled in an untimely legal dispute with the Sussex label and was unable to record after +JUSTMENTS. He did however go on to write and produce two songs on the Gladys Knight & the Pips record I Feel A Song. In the summer of 1974, Bill Withers performed in concert along with James Brown, Etta James, and BB King as part of the historical Ali/Foreman fight in Zaire. His performance was captured on the soundtrack of the movie “When We Were Kings”, a recently released documentary on the fight. Parting ways with Sussex Records, Withers signed with Columbia Records in 1975. Withers made his debut for the label with Making Music, Making Friends, the LP featured the popular “Make Love To Your Mind,” the brilliant “Hello Like Before” which has been covered by many jazz artists, “Paint Your Pretty Picture,” and “She’s Lonely” which graced the “Looking For Mr. Goodbar” soundtrack.
He followed the CBS debut with Naked in War in 1976 whose songlist included the soulful “City Of The Angels,” a track about Withers’ vision of Los Angeles. During 1977 and 1978, Withers crafted Menagerie, which included the hit song “Lovely Day,” one of his best-loved songs and Bout Love, a collection of love songs co-written by gospel pianist Paul Smith. It featured the funk of bassist Keni Burke of the Five Stair Steps as well as the late Jerry Knight. Withers did not release another record until 1985.
During this time, he recorded the still-vibrant “Just the Two of Us” with Grover Washington, Jr. and “Soul Shadows” with the Crusaders. Withers was nominated for four Grammies for “Just The Two of Us” in 1981 and won the songwriting Grammy for it. He continued to do several other joint projects until he completed the remarkable, if underrated, Watching You, Watching Me with accompanying music video for the song “Oh Yeah!” written with David Foster and guitarist Larry Carlton. “Whatever Happens” and “You Just Can’t Smile It Away” are two of the untouchable ballads on the album.
In 1987, Withers received his ninth Grammy nomination and third Grammy as a songwriter for the re-recording of the 1972 hit “Lean On Me” by Club Nouveau. “Lean On Me” was re-recorded and performed at the 1992 Presidential Inauguration festivities by Michael Bolton.
Withers has the gift of combining sincere melodies with common sense lyrics to evoke a human value. As one critic put it, “If life is one of experiences, who better than Bill Withers could put both the elements of music and words together that all can relate to.”
For Withers it’s all quite simple. The late songwriter once said, “I write and sing about whatever I am able to understand and feel. I feel that it is healthier to look out at the world through a window than through a mirror. Otherwise, all you see is yourself and whatever is behind you.”
He will be missed and we at UB send his family, fans and friends our condolences!
