Bill Withers was an important singer with many famous songs and a long career in the music industry.
Bill Withers, who passed away today, was an important singer. Let’s find out more about him and his life!
- Withers was born on the Fourth of July, 1938.
- He was born in the town of Slab Fork, West Virginia.
- He was the youngest of a family with 6 children.
- He was born with a stutter and he struggled to fit in.
- His father died when he was only 13 years old.
- Later at the age of 18, he served in the U.S. navy.
- He was in the U.S. Navy for 9 years!
- His service helped him overcome his issues with the stutter.
- He left the U.S. Navy in 1965.
- He sold his furniture to IBM for 250$ and with this money, he moved to L.A in 1967.
- His goal was to start a music career in Los Angeles.
- At first, he was working as an assembler for many companies.
- He also worked in factories.
- While working as an assembler, he was paying to record his own demo tapes.
- He was also performing in night clubs.
- Despite the fact, his dream was to become a musician he didn’t have so much faith in the music industry.
- When he debuted with the later famous song “Ain’t No Sunshine”, he didn’t resign from his day job.
- In the early 70s Clarence Avant, owner os Sussex Records discovered Bill Withers.
- He was making toilet seats for Boeing 747’s in 1970 when he was introduced to Booker T. Jones.
- He signed a record deal about an album that was produced by the stalwart Booker T. Jones.
- This was his first music album.
- The album was recorded in 3 sessions.
- At first, it was planned to be recorded in 3 hours.
- His first album was named “Just as I Am”.
- In “Just As I Am” cover, Bill Withers appears in the factory where he was working.
- Actually, he’s holding his lunch pail.
- It was released in May 1971 and included the song that rose Bill Wither into fame such as “Ain’t No Sunshine”.
- Ain’t No Sunshine was ranked 280 in the Rolling Stones magazine’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
- Later on, this album was released again as a dual disc.
- Apparently, the album was his big break, and so after that, he began touring along with the band Watts 103rd Street Rhythm.
- On March 14, 1972, during the 14th annual Grammy Awards, he won his first Grammy.
- The Grammy was for the Best R&B Song for Ain’t No Sunshine since it sold over one million copies.
- The song was also awarded a gold disc.
- While touring he recorded his second album.
- The next album was named “Still Bill”.
- The album was released in May 1972.
- It was produced along with the music band he was touring with.
- In that album was featured the 2nd single “Lean on Me”.
- The song was on the top pf Billboard pop and R&B.
- It was his second gold single.
- Confirmed sales overcame 3 million!
- The album also includes the song use me.
- “Still Bill” is considered a classic album of 70s R&B music.
- The documentary about Bill Withers’ life was also called “Still Bill”.
- The documentary was released in October 2009.
- In 1973 Bill Withers got married with the actress Denise Nicholas, but they split one year later.
- In 1974 he performed a concert along with other music legends: James Brown, Etta James & B.B. King.
- The concert happened 4 weeks before the Foreman and Ali fight in the historic Rumble in the Jungle.
- You can watch footage of his performance in the 1996 documentary film When We Were Kings.
- Some others are included in the 2008 documentary film “Soul Power.”
- In 1976 Bill Withers left the Sussex Records for Columbia Records.
- He left Sussex Records due to a legal dispute with the company.
- The same year he also hot married Marcia Johnson, and together created a family with 2 children- Todd & Kori.
- Problems existed with the company due to his songs, that weren’t approved, so he participated in joint projects.
- This how we got “Just The Two of Us” with jazz saxophonist Grover Washington.
- The song won a Grammy- Bill Withers’ second Grammy.
- He left Columbia Records in 1985.
- This is considered the end of an era for his career.
- After leaving Columbia Records though got new versions for his songs.
- In 1987 received his 9th Grammy Award nomination.
- Next year he was awarded for the 3rd time for the Best Rhythm and Blues Song a songwriter for the re-recording of “Lean on Me”.
- In 2007 “Lean On Me” was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame.
- On April 2018, 2015 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Stevie Wonder.
- Also, a tribute concert in his honor happened at Carnegie Hall.
- He has also publicly spoken about the refugee crisis and the political climate in the U.S.A.
- Bill Withers owned Beverly Hills publishing companies.
- After getting married to Marcia Johnson, she took over the management of them.
- Their children were involved in the companies when they became adults.
- He passed away on Monday the 30th of March 2020.
- The cause of his death was a heart attack.
- His family confirmed his death a few days later, on April 3rd.
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