Bill Withers
| Bill Withers | |
|---|---|
Withers in 1976
|
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | William Harrison Withers, Jr. |
| Born | July 4, 1938 Slab Fork, West Virginia, United States |
| Genres | Soul, R&B, smooth soul, blues, funk |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer-songwriter, record producer |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, keyboards |
| Years active | 1963–1985 |
| Labels | Sussex Columbia |
| Associated acts | Grover Washington Jr. |
| Website | billwithers |
William Harrison "Bill" Withers, Jr. (born July 4, 1938) is an American singer-songwriter and musician who performed and recorded from 1970 until 1985.[1] He recorded several major hits, including "Lean on Me", "Ain't No Sunshine", "Use Me", "Just the Two of Us", "Lovely Day", and "Grandma's Hands". Withers won three Grammy Awards and was nominated for four more. His life was the subject of the 2009 documentary film Still Bill.[1] He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.[2]
Contents
Early life[edit]
Withers was born the youngest of six children in the small coal-mining town of Slab Fork, West Virginia.[3] He was born with a stutter and has said he had a hard time fitting in.[4] Raised in nearby Beckley, he was thirteen years old when his father died.[4] Withers enlisted with the United States Navy at the age of 18 and served for nine years, during which time he got over his stutter and became interested in singing and writing songs. Mr. Withers left the Navy in 1965. Using the $250 he received from selling his furniture to IBM co-worker Ron Sierra, he picked up and relocated to Los Angeles in 1967 for a musical career.[4][5] 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 from his job because of his belief that the music business was a fickle industry.[4]
Career[edit]
Sussex records[edit]
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.[4] Four three-hour recording sessions were planned for 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.[6] On the cover of the album, Withers is pictured at his job at Weber Aircraft in Burbank, California, holding his lunch pail.[3]
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 gold disc by the RIAA in September 1971.[7]
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.[7] 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.[7] 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 in Zaire four weeks prior to the historic Rumble in the Jungle fight between Foreman and Ali.[8] 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[edit]
After Sussex Records folded, Withers signed with Columbia Records in 1975. His first album 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 (1976), Menagerie (1977, containing the successful "Lovely Day"), "Bout Love" (1978) 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.[9]
Due to problems with Columbia and being unable to get songs approved for his album, he concentrated on joint projects from 1977 to 1985, including "Just the Two of Us", with jazz saxophonist Grover Washington, Jr., which was released during June 1980.[10] 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 1982, Withers was a featured vocalist on the album, "Dreams in Stone" by French singer Michel Berger. This record included one composition co-written and sung by Withers,[11] an upbeat disco song about New York City entitled "Apple Pie."[12] The album was not released in North America, although it contains several songs about America.
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. Withers stated in interviews that a lot of the songs approved for the album, in particular, two of the first three singles released, were the same songs which were rejected in 1982, hence contributing significantly to the eight-year hiatus between albums.[10] Withers also stated it was frustrating seeing his record label release an album for Mr. T, an actor, when they were preventing him, an actual singer, from releasing his own. He toured with Jennifer Holliday in 1985 to promote what would be his final studio album.[10]
His disdain for Columbia's A&R executives or "blaxperts", as he termed them, trying to exert control over how he should sound if he wanted to sell more albums, played a part in his making the decision to not record or re-sign to a record label after 1985, effectively ending his performing career, even though remixes of his previously recorded music were released after his 'retirement'.[4][13][14][15][16] Finding musical success later in life than most, at 32, he's said he was socialized as a 'regular guy' who had a life before the music, so he didn't feel an inherent need to keep recording once he fell out of love with the industry.[4] He's also stated that he doesn't miss touring and performing live and does not regret leaving music behind.[4][13] He seemingly no longer suffers from the speech impediment of stuttering that affected him during his recording career.[13]
Post-Columbia career[edit]
In 1988, a new version of "Lovely Day" from the 1977 Menagerie album, entitled "Lovely Day (Sunshine Mix)" 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.[17] In 2006, Sony gave back to Withers his previously unreleased tapes.
In 2007, "Lean on Me" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
On January 26, 2014, at the 56th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, Bill Withers: The Complete Sussex & Columbia Albums Collection, a nine-disc set featuring Withers's eight studio albums, as well as his live album Live at Carnegie Hall, received the "Best Historical" Grammy Award (in a tie with The Rolling Stones' "Charlie Is My Darling - Ireland 1965.") The award was presented to Leo Sacks, who produced the collection, and the mastering engineers Mark Wilder, Joseph M. Palmaccio and Tom Ruff.
On April 18, 2015, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Stevie Wonder. Withers was stunned when he learned he had been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year. "I see it as an award of attrition," he says. "What few songs I wrote during my brief career, there ain't a genre that somebody didn't record them in. I'm not a virtuoso, but I was able to write songs that people could identify with. I don't think I've done bad for a guy from Slab Fork, West Virginia."[2][18]
On October 1, 2015, there was a tribute concert at Carnegie Hall in his honor, featuring Aloe Blacc, Ed Sheeran, Dr. John, Michael McDonald and Anthony Hamilton recreating his 1973 concert album, Live at Carnegie Hall, along with other Withers material. Withers was in attendance and spoke briefly onstage.[19][20]
Personal life[edit]
Withers married actress Denise Nicholas in 1973, during her stint on the sitcom Room 222. The couple divorced the following year.[21] In 1976, Withers married Marcia Withers née Johnson and they had two children, Todd and Kori.[4] Marcia eventually assumed the direct management of his Beverly Hills-based publishing companies, in which his children also became involved as they became adults.[22]
Discography[edit]
Studio albums[edit]
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) |
Record label | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [23] |
US R&B [23] |
CAN [24] |
UK [25] |
||||
| 1971 | Just as I Am | 35 | 9 | 37 | — | — | Sussex |
| 1972 | Still Bill | 4 | 1 | 71 | — |
|
|
| 1974 | +'Justments | 67 | 7 | — | — | — | |
| 1975 | Making Music | 81 | 7 | — | — | — | Columbia |
| 1976 | Naked & Warm | 169 | 41 | — | — | — | |
| 1977 | Menagerie | 39 | 16 | 55 | 27 |
|
|
| 1978 | 'Bout Love | 134 | 50 | — | — | — | |
| 1985 | Watching You Watching Me | 143 | 42 | — | 60 | — | |
| "—" denotes the album failed to chart or was not certified | |||||||
Live albums[edit]
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | Record label | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [23] |
US R&B [23] |
||||
| 1973 | Live at Carnegie Hall | 63 | 6 | Sussex | |
| "—" denotes the album failed to chart | |||||
Compilation albums[edit]
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) |
Record label | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [23] |
US R&B [23] |
UK [25] |
||||
| 1975 | The Best of Bill Withers | 182 | 33 | — | — | Sussex |
| 1980 | The Best of Bill Withers, Just The Two of US & Soul Shadows | — | — | — | — | Columbia |
| 1981 | Greatest Hits | 183 | 58 | 90 |
|
|
| 1994 | Lean on Me: The Best of Bill Withers | 131 | — | — | — | Legacy |
| 2000 | The Best of Bill Withers: Lean on Me | — | — | — | — | |
| 2000 | The Ultimate Bill Withers Collection (2CD) | — | — | — | — | Sony Music |
| 2005 | Lovely Day: The Very Best of Bill Withers | — | — | 35 | — | |
| 2008 | Ain't No Sunshine: The Best of Bill Withers | — | — | — | — | Music Club Deluxe |
| 2009 | Playlist: The Very Best of Bill Withers | — | — | — | — | Sussex/Columbia/Legacy |
| 2013 | The Essential Bill Withers (2CD) | — | — | — | — | |
| "—" denotes the album failed to chart or was not certified | ||||||
Singles[edit]
| Year | Single (A-side, B-side) Both sides from same album except where indicated |
Peak chart positions | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [27] |
US R&B [27] |
US A/C [27] |
AUS [28] |
CAN [24] |
UK [25] |
|||
| 1967 | "Three Night and A Morning" b/w "What I'll Do" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album tracks |
| 1971 | "Harlem" b/w "Moanin' and Groanin'" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | Just As I Am |
| "Ain't No Sunshine" [A] b/w "Harlem" |
3 | 6 | 2 | 17 | 9 | 40 | ||
| "Grandma's Hands" b/w "Sweet Wanomi" |
42 | 18 | 16 | — | 37 | — | ||
| 1972 | "Lean On Me" b/w "Better Off Dead" (from Just As I Am) |
1 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 20 | 18 | Still Bill |
| "Use Me" b/w "Let Me In Your Life" |
2 | 2 | 14 | — | 33 | — | ||
| "Let Us Love" b/w "The Gift Of Giving" |
47 | 17 | 33 | — | 75 | — | Non-album tracks | |
| 1973 | "Kissing My Love" b/w "I Don't Know" |
31 | 12 | — | — | 65 | — | Still Bill |
| "Friend Of Mine" b/w "Lonely Town, Lonely Street" |
80 | 25 | — | — | — | — | Bill Withers Live At Carnegie Hall | |
| 1974 | "The Same Love That Made Me Laugh" b/w "Make A Smile For Me" |
50 | 10 | — | — | 39 | — | +'Justments |
| "You" b/w "Stories" |
— | 15 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Heartbreak Road" b/w "Ruby Lee" |
89 | 13 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1975 | "It's All Over Now" (with Bobby Womack) B-side by Bobby Womack: "Doing It My Way" |
— | 68 | — | — | — | — | Non-album track |
| "Harlem" b/w "Who Is He (and What Is He To You)" (from Still Bill) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | Just As I Am | |
| "Make Love To Your Mind" b/w "I Love You Dawn" |
76 | 10 | — | — | — | — | Making Music | |
| 1976 | "I Wish You Well" b/w "She's Lonely" |
— | 54 | — | — | — | — | |
| "Hello Like Before" b/w "Family Table" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "If I Didn't Mean You Well" b/w "My Imagination" |
— | 74 | — | — | — | — | Naked & Warm | |
| 1977 | "Close To Me" b/w "I'll Be With You" |
— | 88 | — | — | — | — | |
| "Lovely Day" b/w "It Ain't Because Of Me Baby" |
30 | 6 | 25 | — | 23 | 7 | Menagerie | |
| 1978 | "Lovely Night For Dancing" b/w "I Want To Spend The Night" |
— | 75 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1979 | "Don't It Make It Better" b/w "Love Is" |
— | 30 | — | — | — | — | 'Bout Love |
| "You Got The Stuff" -- Part 1 b/w Part 2 |
— | 85 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1981 | "Just the Two of Us" (with Grover Washington, Jr.) B-side by Grover Washington Jr.: "Make Me A Memory" |
2 | 3 | 2 | 31 | 10 | 34 | Bill Withers' Greatest Hits |
| "I Want To Spend The Night" b/w "Memories Are That Way" (from 'Bout Love) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | Menagerie | |
| "U.S.A." b/w "Paint Your Pretty Picture" (from Making Music) |
— | 83 | — | — | — | — | Non-album track | |
| 1984 | "In The Name Of Love" (with Ralph MacDonald) B-side by Ralph MacDonald: "Play Pen" |
58 | 13 | 6 | — | — | 95 | Non-album track |
| 1985 | "Oh Yeah!" b/w "Just Like The First Time" (Non-album track) |
106 | 22 | 40 | — | — | 60 | Watching You Watching Me |
| "Something That Turns You On" b/w "You Try To Find A Love" |
— | 46 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "We Could Be Sweet Lovers" b/w "You Just Can't Smile It Away" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987 | "Lovely Day" (re-release) b/w "Oh Yeah" (from Watching You Watching Me) |
— | — | — | — | — | 92 | Menagerie |
| 1988 | "Lovely Day" (Sunshine mix) b/w "Lovely Day" (Original version from Menagerie) |
— | — | — | — | — | 4 | Lovely Days (UK release only) |
| "Ain't No Sunshine" (The Total Eclipse mix) b/w "Ain't No Sunshine" (Original version from Just As I Am) |
— | — | — | — | — | 82 | ||
| 1990 | "Harlem" (Street mix) b/w "Harlem" (Original version from Just As I Am) |
— | — | — | — | — | 98 | |
| "—" denotes the release did not chart,/small> | ||||||||
Other appearances[edit]
| Year | Song | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | "Use Me" (live November 4, 1972) | The Best of Soul Train Live[29][30] |
- 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[edit]
| Year | Award | Result | Category | Song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Grammy Award | Win | Best Rhythm & Blues Song | "Ain't No Sunshine" |
| 1972 | Nominated | Grammy Award for Best New Artist | ||
| 1981 | Win | Best Rhythm & Blues Song | "Just the Two of Us" (Shared with songwriters Ralph MacDonald and William Salter) | |
| 1982 | Nominated | Grammy Award for Song of the Year | "Just the Two of Us" | |
| 1982 | Nominated | Grammy Award for Record of the Year | "Just the Two of Us" | |
| 1984 | Nominated | Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance | "In the Name of Love (feat. Ralph MacDonald)" | |
| 1987 | Win | Best Rhythm & Blues Song | "Lean on Me" (as covered by Club Nouveau) | |
| 1972 | NAACP Image Awards | Win | Male Singer of the Year |
|
Honors[edit]
- 2002: Honorary doctorate from Mountain State University
- 2005: Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee
- 2006: ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Heritage award[31]
- 2007: Inducted into West Virginia Music Hall of Fame[32]
- 2015: Inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame[33]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Hale, Mike (January 26, 2010). "Still Bill (2009) A Singer Who Stopped His Showing Off". The New York Times.
- ^ a b Greene, Andy (December 16, 2014). "Green Day, Lou Reed, Joan Jett, Ringo Starr Lead 2015 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
- ^ a b Ben Sisario, "Bill Withers: Still Himself, but He’ll Allow the Attention," New York Times, September 18, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Greene, Andy (April 14, 2015). "Bill Withers: The Soul Man Who Walked Away". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
- ^ "Biography, Awards and Credits". Billwithersmusic.com. July 8, 1972. Archived from the original on August 29, 2011. Retrieved January 12, 2011.
- ^ "Bill Withers biography". Billboard. Retrieved January 12, 2011.
- ^ a b c Murrells, Joseph (1974). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins. p. 306 & 322. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- ^ "Bill Withers' web site". Billwithersmusic.com. July 8, 1972. Retrieved January 12, 2011.
- ^ Michaels, Lorne (January 17, 1976). Saturday Night Live Season 1, Ep. 10 "Saturday Night Live (SNL) January 17, 1976 – Buck Henry / Bill Withers, Toni Basil" (Streaming video). Amazon.com. ASIN B000XJSL4K.
- ^ a b c "Bill Withers, `Lean On Me` Attitude Back The 47-year-old Singer, Whose Style And Delivery Fall Somewhere Between Lou Rawls And Marvin Gaye, Has Released A New Album And Embarked On A Concert Tour". Articles.sun-sentinel.com. October 27, 1985. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
- ^ "Michel Berger - Dreams In Stone (Vinyl, LP, Album)". Discogs.com. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
- ^ Steffen Hung. "Michel Berger - Apple Pie". lescharts.com. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
- ^ a b c "Bill Withers interview". Telegraph. August 10, 2010. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
- ^ "Still Bill: The Story of Bill Withers". Songfacts.com. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
- ^ "Songwriter Bill Withers And A Career Cut Short". NPR. February 7, 2007. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
- ^ "As Is". The New Yorker. March 8, 2010. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
- ^ Mitchell, Gail (October 14, 2005). "Withers In No Hurry To Make New Album". Billboard.
- ^ Smith, Troy L. (April 19, 2015). "Bill Withers, Stevie Wonder charm during their 2015 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame speeches". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
- ^ Ben Sisario, "A Tribute to Bill Withers at Carnegie Hall," New York Times, August 3, 2015.
- ^ Jon Pareles, "Review: A Bill Withers Tribute With His Soul Disciples," New York Times, October 2, 2015.
- ^ Jet, May 2, 1974, p. 15.
- ^ Elsworth, Catherine (October 8, 2006). "Still A Lovely Day". The Telegraph.
- ^ a b c d e f "US Albums Charts > Bill Withers". Billboard. Retrieved July 2, 2009.
- ^ a b "CAN Charts > Bill Withers". RPM. Retrieved January 19, 2012.
- ^ a b c "UK Charts > Bill Withers". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
- ^ a b c "US Certifications > Bill Withers". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved January 19, 2012.
- ^ a b c "US Singles Charts > Bill Withers". Billboard. Retrieved July 2, 2009.
- ^ David Kent (1993). Australian Charts Book 1970—1992. Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ '"The Best of Soul Train Live at AllMusic
- ^ The Best of Soul Train Live (booklet). Time Life. 2011.
- ^ Associated Press (June 2, 2006). "LL Cool J, Bill Withers to Be Honored"
- ^ Morris, Edward (November 12, 2007). "Little Jimmy Dickens Joins West Virginia Music Hall of Fame". cmt.com.
- ^ Ben Sisario (December 16, 2014). "Lou Reed, Green Day and Bill Withers to Join Rock Hall of Fame". The New York Times.
External links[edit]
- Official website
- Bill Withers at AllMusic
- "Bill Withers". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
- Bill Withers at the Internet Movie Database
- Biography at Soultracks.com
- Still Bill documentary
- 1938 births
- Living people
- African-American male singers
- African-American musicians
- African-American singer-songwriters
- American rhythm and blues musicians
- Grammy Award winners
- Musicians from West Virginia
- People from Raleigh County, West Virginia
- Columbia Records artists
- Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees
- United States Navy sailors
- Singers from West Virginia
- Military personnel from West Virginia
- American male singer-songwriters
- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees
- American rhythm and blues singers
- American soul singers
- American singer-songwriters
- American soul guitarists
- American rhythm and blues guitarists
- American soul keyboardists
- American rhythm and blues keyboardists
- American pianists
- American funk guitarists
- American funk singers
- American funk keyboardists
