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EFTA01197540 | EFTA01197563 His songs speak for themselves. "Lean On Me," became a breakout moment for The Voice's Nicholas David who performed it on the show in 2012 while Mary J. Bilge's version of "Lean on Me" echoed in Washington M's Lincoln Memorial at the "We Are One" pre-inaugural festivities for president Barack Obama, just as Withers' words had similarly honored president Bill Clinton. "Ain't No Sunshine" set the scene for a much talked about episode in the hit series Scandal in 2013. Commercial uses, including the Gap Khaki Soul campaign featuring "Lovely Day," match the music to new markets. The lead single of Jill Scott's The Original Jill Scott from the Vault, Vol. 1 is a cover of Withers' "Lovely Day" produced by DJ Jazzy Jeff; Willie Nelson and Mavis Staples' duet of "Grandma's Hands" is a striking rendition on his latest release To All The Girls; and at the unveiling of the Bill Russell Legacy Project in Boston in 2013, a newly-penned song "I Am My Father's Son" is performed by Johnny Mathis. Legacy Recordings' box set of all nine of Withers albums, The Complete Sussex and Columbia Albums, released in late 2012, won a Grammy for Best Historical Recording in 2014. Withers' riveting 1974 concert performance in Zaire preceding the fabled Muhammad Ali/George Foreman "Rumble in the Jungle" face-off is in the feature film, Soul Power and Withers himself is the subject of the documentary, Still Bill, that debuted at the SXSW Film Festival, is available on DVD. Origins "When you have a talent you know it when you'refive years old— it's just getting around to it." -B.w. Slab Fork, West Virginia, a town of about 200 residents, was Bill's place of birth. The youngest of six children, he was raised in nearby Beckley, in coal mining country. Withers' father, a miner, died when Withers was 13. At 17, enlistment in the Navy was Bill's ticket out. Withers arrived in Los Angeles in 1967. His self-financed demos on which Watts 103rd Street Band member Ray Jackson served as arranger and keyboardist, led Jackson to introduce him to Forrest Hamilton. Hamilton then introduced Withers to Clarence Avant of Sussex Records who tapped Booker T. Jones to produce Bill's debut album. This resulted in the album Just As I Am with the Grammywinning "Ain't No Sunshine" and the much-loved "Grandma's Hands." The pragmatic Withers — who was now able to leave his straight gig at an aircraft company — subsequently assembled the remaining members of the Watts 103rd Street Band for U.S. and international tours. The second album, Still Bill, lauded as "a stone-soul masterpiece" by Rolling Stone magazine, delivered soon-to-be standards "Lean on Me" and "Use Me." Bill Withers Live at Carnegie Hall followed. After the release of +Uustinents in 1974, Withers severed ties with Sussex to sign with Columbia (who subsequently re-released his back catalog.) 1975's Malting Music, Making Friends showcased more classics, "Hello Like Before" and "Make Love to Your Mind"; 1976's Naked & Warm, with the idyllic love song to his adopted home, "City of the Angels"; 1977's Menagerie, with the much-covered "Lovely Day" and 1979's 'Bout Love, and the single "Don't It Make It Better," a top 30 R&B single, continued the run of top-charting releases. EFTA01197563
May 13, 2026 at 4:01 AM