William Harrison "Bill" Withers, Jr. is an American singer-songwriter and musician who
performed and recorded from 1970 until 1985. He recorded a number of major hits including
"Lean on Me", "Ain't No Sunshine", "Use Me", "Just the Two of Us", "Lovely Day", and "Grandma's
Hands". His life was the subject of the 2009 documentary film Still Bill.
Early life Withers was born the youngest of six children
in the small coal-mining town of Slab Fork, West Virginia. Raised in nearby Beckley, West
Virginia, he was thirteen years old when his father died. Withers enlisted with the United
States Navy at the age of eighteen and served for nine years, during which time he became
interested in singing and writing songs. Discharged from the Navy in 1965, he relocated to Los
Angeles in 1967 for a musical career. Withers worked as an assembler for several
different companies, including Douglas Aircraft Corporation, while recording demo tapes with
his own money, shopping them around and performing in clubs at night. When he debuted with the
song "Ain't No Sunshine" he refused to resign his job because of his belief that the music
business was a fickle industry and that he was still a novice compared to other acts.
Career Sussex Records
During early 1970, Withers' demonstration tape was auditioned favorably by Clarence
Avant, owner of Sussex Records. Avant signed Withers to a record deal and assigned former
Stax Records stalwart Booker T. Jones to produce Withers' first album. Four three-hour studio
sessions were planned to record the album, but funding caused the album to be recorded
in three sessions with a six-month break between the second and final sessions. Just as I Am
was released in 1971 with the tracks, "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Grandma's Hands" as singles.
The album features Stephen Stills playing lead guitar.
The album was a success and Withers began touring with a band assembled from members
of The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band: drummer James Gadson, guitarist Benorce Blackmon,
keyboardist Ray Jackson, and bassist Melvin Dunlap.
At the 14th annual Grammy Awards on Tuesday, March 14, 1972, Withers won a Grammy Award
for Best R&B Song for "Ain't No Sunshine." The track had already sold over one million
copies and was awarded a platinum disc by the R.I.A.A. in September 1971.
During a hiatus from touring, Withers recorded his second album, Still Bill. The single,
"Lean on Me" went to number one the week of July 8, 1972. It was Withers' second gold
single with confirmed sales in excess of three million. His follow-up, "Use Me" released
in August 1972, became his third million seller, with the R.I.A.A. gold disc award taking place
on October 12, 1972. His performance at Carnegie Hall on October 6, 1972, was recorded, and
released as the live album Bill Withers, Live at Carnegie Hall on November 30, 1972. In
1974, Withers recorded the album +'Justments. Due to a legal dispute with the Sussex company,
Withers was unable to record for some time thereafter.
During this time, he wrote and produced two songs on the Gladys Knight & the Pips record
I Feel a Song, and in October 1974 performed in concert together with James Brown, Etta
James, and B. B. King four weeks prior to the historic Rumble in the Jungle fight between
Foreman and Ali in Zaire. Footage of his performance was included in the 1996 documentary film
When We Were Kings, and he is heard on the accompanying soundtrack. Other footage of
his performance is included in the 2008 documentary film Soul Power which is based on archival
footage of the 1974 Zaire concert. Columbia Records
After Sussex Records folded, Withers signed with Columbia Records in 1975. His first release
with the label, Making Music, Making Friends, included the single "She's Lonely", which
was featured in the film Looking for Mr. Goodbar. During the next three years he released an
album each year with Naked & Warm, Menagerie, "Bout Love" and "Get On Down"; the latter
song also included on the Looking for Mr. Goodbar soundtrack.
In 1976, Withers performed "Ain't No Sunshine" on Saturday Night Live.
Due to problems with Columbia, he concentrated on joint projects between 1977 and 1985, including
the successful "Just the Two of Us", with jazz saxophonist Grover Washington, Jr., which
was released during June 1980. It won a Grammy on February 24, 1982. Withers next did "Soul
Shadows" with The Crusaders, and "In the Name of Love" with Ralph MacDonald, the latter
being nominated for a Grammy for vocal performance. In 1985 came Watching You Watching Me, which
featured the Top 40-rated R&B single "Oh Yeah", and ended Withers' business association with
Columbia Records. Post-Columbia career
In 1988, a new version of "Lovely Day" from the 1977 Menagerie album, entitled "Lovely
Day" and remixed by Ben Liebrand, reached the Top 10 in the United Kingdom, leading
to Withers' performance on the long-running Top of the Pops that year. The original release
had reached #7 in the UK in early 1978, and the re-release climbed higher to #4.
In 1987, he received his ninth Grammy Award nomination and on March 2, 1988, his third
Grammy for Best Rhythm and Blues Song as songwriter for the re-recording of "Lean On Me" by Club
Nouveau on their debut album Life, Love and Pain, released in 1986 on Warner Bros. Records.
In 1996, a portion of his song "Grandma's Hands" was sampled in the song "No Diggity"
by BLACKstreet, featuring Dr. Dre. The single went to Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100
chart and sold 1.6 million copies and won a Grammy in 1999 for Best R&B Performance
by a Duo or Group with Vocals. Withers contributed two songs to Jimmy Buffett's
2004 release License to Chill. Following the reissues of Still Bill on January 28, 2003,
and Just As I Am on March 8, 2005, there was speculation of previously unreleased material
being issued as a new album. In 2006, Sony gave back to Withers his previously unreleased
tapes. In 2007, "Lean On Me" was inducted into the
Grammy Hall of Fame. Personal life
Withers married actress Denise Nicholas in 1973, during her stint on the sitcom Room
222. The couple divorced the following year. In 1976, Withers married Marcia Johnson and
they had two children, Todd and Kori. Marcia eventually assumed the direct management of
his Beverly Hills-based publishing companies, in which his children also became involved
as they became adults. Discography
Studio albums Live albums
Compilation albums Singles
A The original version of "Ain't No Sunshine" did not chart on the UK Singles Chart until
2009, 38 years after its release. Awards
Honors 2002: Honorary doctorate from Mountain State
University 2005: Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee
2006: ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Heritage award 2007: Inducted into West Virginia Music Hall
of Fame References
External links
Official website Bill Withers at AllMusic
Bill Withers at the Internet Movie Database Biography at Soultracks.com
Bill Withers Biography with photos Still Bill documentary
Extensive 2009 audio interview with Withers on public radio program The Sound of Young