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Musician

Bill Withers

Bill Withers

born on 4/7/1938 in Slab Fork, WV, United States

died on 30/3/2020

Bill Withers

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

William Harrison 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]

Early life

Withers, the youngest of six children, was born 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 13 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 overcame his stutter and became interested in singing and writing songs.

He left the Navy in 1965. Using the $250 he received from selling his furniture to IBM co-worker Ron Sierra, he relocated to Los Angeles in 1967 to start 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 he believed the music business was a fickle industry.[4]

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.[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 box.[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

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 has said he was socialized as a 'regular guy' who had a life before the music, so he did not feel an inherent need to keep recording once he fell out of love with the industry.[4] He has also stated that he does not 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

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 1998 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. "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."[4][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]

On February 12, 2017, he made an appearance on MSNBC to talk about the refugee crisis, as well as the political climate in America.

Personal life

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 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

Studio albums

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

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

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 Columbia
1981 Bill Withers' 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

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

Other appearances

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

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

  • 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

  1. ^ a b Hale, Mike (January 26, 2010). "Still Bill (2009) A Singer Who Stopped His Showing Off". The New York Times. 
  2. ^ 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. 
  3. ^ a b Ben Sisario, "Bill Withers: Still Himself, but He’ll Allow the Attention," The New York Times, September 18, 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Greene, Andy (April 14, 2015). "Bill Withers: The Soul Man Who Walked Away". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 26, 2015. 
  5. ^ "Biography, Awards and Credits". Billwithersmusic.com. July 8, 1972. Archived from the original on August 29, 2011. Retrieved January 12, 2011. 
  6. ^ "Bill Withers biography". Billboard. Retrieved January 12, 2011. 
  7. ^ 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. 
  8. ^ "Bill Withers' web site". Billwithersmusic.com. July 8, 1972. Archived from the original on August 29, 2011. Retrieved January 12, 2011. 
  9. ^ 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. 
  10. ^ 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. 
  11. ^ "Michel Berger - Dreams In Stone (Vinyl, LP, Album)". Discogs.com. Retrieved August 26, 2015. 
  12. ^ Steffen Hung. "Michel Berger - Apple Pie". lescharts.com. Retrieved August 26, 2015. 
  13. ^ a b c "Bill Withers interview". The Daily Telegraph. London. August 10, 2010. Retrieved August 26, 2015. 
  14. ^ "Still Bill: The Story of Bill Withers". Songfacts.com. Retrieved August 26, 2015. 
  15. ^ "Songwriter Bill Withers And A Career Cut Short". NPR. February 7, 2007. Retrieved August 26, 2015. 
  16. ^ "As Is". The New Yorker. March 8, 2010. Retrieved August 26, 2015. 
  17. ^ Mitchell, Gail (October 14, 2005). "Withers In No Hurry To Make New Album". Billboard.
  18. ^ 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. 
  19. ^ Ben Sisario, "A Tribute to Bill Withers at Carnegie Hall," New York Times, August 3, 2015.
  20. ^ Jon Pareles, "Review: A Bill Withers Tribute With His Soul Disciples," New York Times, October 2, 2015.
  21. ^ Jet, May 2, 1974, p. 15.
  22. ^ Elsworth, Catherine (October 8, 2006). "Still A Lovely Day". The Telegraph.
  23. ^ a b c d e f "US Albums Charts > Bill Withers". Billboard. Retrieved July 2, 2009. 
  24. ^ a b "CAN Charts > Bill Withers". RPM. Retrieved January 19, 2012. 
  25. ^ a b c "UK Charts > Bill Withers". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 6, 2011. 
  26. ^ a b c "US Certifications > Bill Withers". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved January 19, 2012. 
  27. ^ a b c "US Singles Charts > Bill Withers". Billboard. Retrieved July 2, 2009. 
  28. ^ David Kent (1993). Australian Charts Book 1970—1992. Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd., Turramurra, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. 
  29. ^ '"The Best of Soul Train Live at AllMusic
  30. ^ The Best of Soul Train Live (booklet). Time Life. 2011. 
  31. ^ Associated Press (June 2, 2006). "LL Cool J, Bill Withers to Be Honored"
  32. ^ Morris, Edward (November 12, 2007). "Little Jimmy Dickens Joins West Virginia Music Hall of Fame". cmt.com. 
  33. ^ Ben Sisario (December 16, 2014). "Lou Reed, Green Day and Bill Withers to Join Rock Hall of Fame". The New York Times. 

External links

This page was last modified 22.06.2018 15:13:50

This article uses material from the article Bill Withers from the free encyclopedia Wikipedia and it is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.