Bill Withers
JANICE'S BLUES ALLEY PRESENTS
Bill Withers
 Bill Withers: Official Site |
| Wikipedia |
| Bill Withers: Official Site |
| Wikipedia |
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Songwriter/singer/guitarist Bill Withers is best remembered for the
classic "Lean on Me" and his other million-selling singles "Ain't No
Sunshine" and "Use Me," but he has a sizable cache of great songs
to his credit. Al Jarreau recorded an entire CD of Withers' songs
on Tribute to Bill Withers (Culture Press 1998). His popular
radio-aired LP track from Still Bill, "Who Is He? (And What Is
He to You?)," was a 1974 R&B hit for Creative Source.
Born July 4, 1938, in Slab Folk, WV, Withers was the youngest of six children. His father died when he was a child and he was raised by his mother and grandmother. After a nine-year stint in the Navy, Withers moved to Los Angeles to pursue a music career in 1967. He recorded demos at night while working at the Boeing aircraft company where he made toilet seats. His recording career began after being introduced to Clarence Avant, president of Sussex Records. Stax Records stalwart Booker T. Jones produced his debut album, Just As I Am (with some co-production by Al Jackson Jr.), which included his first charting single, "Ain't No Sunshine" that went gold and made it to number six R&B and number three pop in summer 1971 and won a Grammy as Best R&B Song. Its follow-up, "Grandma Hands," peaked at number 18 R&B in fall 1971. The song was later covered by the Staple Singers and received airplay as a track from their 1973 Stax LP Be What You Are. "Just As I Am" featured lead guitar by Stephen Stills and hit number five R&B in summer 1971. Withers wrote "Lean on Me" based on his experiences growing up in a West Virginia coal mining town. Times were hard and when a neighbor needed something beyond their means, the rest of the community would chip in and help. He came up with the chord progression while noodling around on his new Wurlitzer electric piano. The sound of the chords reminded Withers of the hymns that he heard at church while he was growing up. On the session for "Lean on Me," members of the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band ("Express Yourself," "Loveland") were used: drummer James Gadson, keyboardist Ray Jackson, guitarist Benorce Blackman (co-wrote with Withers "The Best You Can" from Making Music), and bassist Melvin Dunlop. His second gold single, "Lean on Me," landed at number one R&B and number one pop for three weeks on Billboard's charts in summer 1972. It was included on his Still Bill album which went gold, holding the number one R&B spot for six weeks and hitting number four pop in spring 1972. "Lean on Me" has became a standard with hit covers by U.K. rock band Mud and Club Nouveau. "Lean on Me" was also the title theme of a 1989 movie starring Morgan Freeman. Still Bill also included "Use Me" (gold, number two R&B for two weeks and number two pop for two weeks in fall 1972) . Withers' Sussex catalog also included Bill Withers Live at Carnegie Hall, 'Justments, and The Best of Bill Withers. Withers contributed "Better Days" to the soundtrack of the Bill Cosby 1971 western Man And Boy, released on Sussex. There was a duet single with Bobby Womack on United Artists, "It's All Over Now," from summer 1975. After a legal battle with Sussex, Withers signed with Columbia Records. Columbia later bought his Sussex masters when the label went out of business. Withers was briefly married actress Denise Nicholas (ABC-TV's Room 222 and the 1972 horror film Blacula) in the early '70s. His releases on Columbia were Making Music ("Make Love to Your Mind," number ten R&B), which hit number seven R&B in late 1975; Naked and Warm; Menagerie ("Lovely Day," a number six R&B hit), which went gold in 1977; and 'Bout Love from spring 1979. Teaming with Elektra Records artist Grover Washington Jr., Withers sang the crystalline ballad "Just the Two of Us," written by Withers, Ralph MacDonald, and William Salter. It went to number three R&B and held the number two pop spot for three weeks in early 1981. "Just the Two of Us" was redone with hilarious effect in the Mike Myers movie Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, released in summer 1999. Withers teamed with MacDonald for MacDonald's Polydor single "In the Name of Love" in summer 1984. Withers' last charting LP was Watching You, Watching Me in spring 1985. He occasionally did dates with Grover Washington Jr. during the '90s. His songs and recordings have been used as both the source of numerous covers (Aaron Neville's "Use Me") and sampled by a multitude of hip-hop/rap groups. -- Ed Hogan, All Music Guide Bill Withers passed away on March 30, 2020 at the age of 81. |
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1971 Man and Boy | |||
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01. Harlem 02. Ain't No Sunshine 03. Grandma's Hands 04. Sweet Wanomi 05. Everybody's Talkin' 06. Do It Good |
07. Hope She'll Be Happier 08. Let It Be 09. I'm Her Daddy 10. In My Heart 11. Moanin' And Groanin' 12. Better Off Dead | ||
1971 Just as I Am | |||
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01. Harlem 02. Ain't No Sunshine 03. Grandma's Hands 04. Sweet Wanomi 05. Everybody's Talking 06. Do It Good |
07. Hope We'll Be Happier 08. Let It Be 09. I'm Her Daddy 10. In My Heart 11. Moanin' And Groanin' 12. Better Off Dead | ||
1972 Still Bill | |||
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01. Lonely Town, Lonely Street 02. Let Me in Your Life 03. Who Is He (And What Is He to You)? 04. Use Me 05. Lean on Me |
06. Kissing My Love 07. I Don't Know 08. Another Day to Run 09. I Don't Want You on My Mind 10. Take It All in and Check It All Out | ||
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1973 Live at Carnegie Hall | |||
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01. Use Me 02. Friend of Mine 03. Ain't No Sunshine 04. Grandma's Hands 05. World Keeps Going Around 06. Let Me in Your Life 07. Better off Dead |
08. For My Friend 09. I Can't Write Left-Handed 10. Lean on Me 11. Lonely Town, Lonely Street 12. Hope She'll Be Happier 13. Let Us Love 14. Harlem/Cold Baloney | ||
1974 'Justments | |||
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01. You 02. The Same Love That Made Me Laugh 03. Stories 04. Green Grass 05. Ruby Lee |
06. Heartbreak Road 07. Can We Pretend 08. Liza 09. Make a Smile for Me 10. Railroad Man | ||
1975 Making Music | |||
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01. I Wish You Well 02. The Best You Can 03. Make Love to Your Mind 04. I Love You 05. Dawn 06. She's Lonely |
07. Sometimes a Song 08. Paint Your Pretty Picture 09. Family Table 10. Don't You Want Stay 11. Hello Like Before | ||
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1976 Naked & Warm | |||
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1. Close to Me 2. Naked and Warm 3. Oh Heaven 4. Where Are You? 5. Dreams |
6. If I Didn't Mean You Well 7. I'll Be With You 8. City of the Angels 9. My Imagination | ||
1977 Menagerie | |||
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1. Lovely Day 2. I Want to Spend the Night 3. Lovely Night for Dancing 4. Then You Smile at Me 5. She Wants to (Get on Down) |
6. It Ain't Because of Me, Baby 7. Tender Things 8. Wintertime 9. Let Me Be the One You Need | ||
1979 'Bout Love | |||
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1. All Because of You 2. Dedicated to You My Love 3. Don't Make It Better 4. You Got the Stuff |
5. Look to Each Other for Love 6. Love 7. Love Is 8. Memories Are That Way | ||
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1985 Watching You Watching Me | |||
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01. Oh Yeah 02. Something That Turns You On 03. Don't Make Me Wait 04. Heart in Your Life 05. Watching You Watching Me |
06. We Could Be Sweet Lovers 07. You Just Can't Smile It Away 08. Steppin' Right Along 09. Whatever Happens 10. You Try to Find a Love | ||
1997 Ain't No Sunshine | |||
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01. Ain't No Sunshine 02. Love Is 03. Heart in Your Life 04. Steppin' Right Along 05. Kissing My Love 06. Grandma's Hands 07. Who Is He (And What Is He to You)? 08. Lovely Day |
09. Hello Like Before 10. Watching You Watching Me 11. Then You Smile at Me 12. You Try to Find a Love 13. Whatever Happens 14. Let Me Be the One You Need 15. All Because of You | ||
1999 Top Bill | |||
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01. Lean on Me 02. Don't Make Me Wait 03. Harlem 04. Who Is He (And What Is He to You)? 05. Lonely Town, Lonely Street |
06. Ain't No Sunshine 07. Better off Dead 08. Another Day to Run 09. I'm Her Daddy 10. Watching You Watching Me | ||
2001 Super Hits | |||
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01. Ain't No Sunshine 02. Who Is He (And What Is He To You) 03. Use Me 04. Harlem 05. Lean On Me |
06. It Ain't Because Of My Baby 07. Steppin' Right Along 08. Heart In Your Life 09. Memories Are That Way 10. City Of Angels | ||
