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Bill Withers
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Bill Withers (born July 4 1938 in Slab Fork, West Virginia) is an American singer-songwriter who performed and recorded from the late 1960s until the mid 1980s. Withers' father died when he was thirteen. He joined the United States Navy at seventeen, and stayed there for nine years, before he moved to Los Angeles in 1967. While in Los Angeles, he worked in a Ford assembly plant in the day and performed in the jook joints during the night. When he debuted on the music scene with "Ain't No Sun...Read More >
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Following the twin peaks of Still Bill and Live at Carnegie Hall in the early '70s, Bill Withers had a little trouble sustaining his peak of creativity, along with his chart positions. He still made good music and had hits, but had trouble delivering a consistent album that brought him back to the heights of his Sussex work. Finally, in 1977, he delivered Menagerie, an assured return to form by one of soul's greatest singer/songwriters of the '70s. If Menagerie doesn't have the earth[ read more ]
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Between 1971 and 1981, Bill Withers achieved 6 major Billboard Top 40 pop hits. During that time, he racked up consecutive Billboard R&B hits. Songs like "Aint No Sunshine" (his first Top 10 pop hit), "Lean On Me" (his only #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart), "Use Me," "Kissing My Love," "Lovely Day" (later updated in 1991 by the SOUL SYSTEM Featuring Michelle Visage), and "Just the Two of Us" (reworked in 1998 by Will Smith), were among the numerous hits that this talented singer/songwriter/guitarist, scored during his hit-producing years.
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Bill Withers came into his own on his third album, Still Bill. Released in 1972, the record is a remarkable summation of a number of contemporary styles: the smooth soul coming out of Philly, smoky, late-night funk via Bobby Womack, bluesy Southern soul, and '70s singer/songwriterism. It's rich, subtly layered music, but its best attribute is that it comes on easy, never sounding labored or overworked. In fact, it takes several spins of the album to realize just how versatile Withers is on Still Bill, to hear how he makes intricate, funky rhythms sound as effortless and simple as the album's best-known song, the gospel-tinged inspirational anthem "Lean on Me." That's the genius behind Withers' music: it's warm and easily accessible, but it has a depth and complexity that reveals itself over numerous plays -- and, given the sound and feel of the music, from the lush arrangements to his comforting voice, it's easy to want to play this again and again. Then there's the quality of the songwriting, which is as assured on the grooving "Lonely Town, Lonely Street" as it is on the suspicious, paranoid "Who Is He (And What Is He to You)?" or "Use Me," where he happily submits to being used by his object of affection. This high level of songwriting is sustained throughout the record, making this the greatest testament to his considerable gifts.
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Bill Withers was born the youngest of nine children in the small coal-mining town of Slab Fork, West Virginia. Raised in nearby Beckley, West Virginia, he was thirteen when his father died. He joined the United States Navy at seventeen and served for nine years, during which time he became interested in singing. He began writing songs to fill a need for lyrics that expressed what he felt. Following his discharge from the Navy in 1965, he moved to Los Angeles in 1967 to pursue a career in music.[1]
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Bill Withers perd son père à l'âge de 13 ans. À 17 ans, il s'engage dans l'United States Navy, y passe neuf ans, puis s'installe à Los Angeles en 1967. Il y travaille le jour dans une usine Ford et joue la nuit dans des jook joints . Quand il fit ses débuts dans le monde de la musique avec Ain't No Sunshine il garda son travail chez Ford convaincu que le show business était imprévisible et qu'il n'était qu'un novice comparé à d'autres artistes noirs tels que The Temptations ou Sammy Davis Jr.
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Bill Withers