None of his Columbia albums reached the Top 40 except for 1977’s “Menagerie,” which produced “Lovely Day.” (His hit duet with Grover Washington Jr. “Just the Two of Us”
was on Washington’s label). Withers’ last album was 1985′s “Watching You Watching Me.”
Though his songs often dealt with relationships, Withers also wrote ones with social commentary, including “Better Off Dead” about an alcoholic’s suicide, and “I Can’t
Write Left-Handed,” about an injured Vietnam War veteran.
He was awarded Grammys as a songwriter for “Ain’t No Sunshine” in 1971 and for
“Just The Two Of Us” in 1981. In 1987, Bill received his ninth Grammy nomination
and third Grammy as a songwriter for the re-recording of the 1972 hit
He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015 by Stevie Wonder.
Withers thanked his wife as well as the R&B pioneers who helped his career like Ray
Jackson, Al Bell and Booker T. Jones. He also got in a few jabs at the record
industry, saying A&R stood for “antagonistic and redundant.”
His music has been sampled and covered by such artists as BlackStreet’s
“No Diggity,” Will Smith’s version of “ Just The Two Of Us, ” Black Eyed Peas’ “Bridging The Gap” and Twista’s “Sunshine.” The song “Lean on Me” was the title theme of a 1989 movie starring Morgan Freeman.
His songs are often used on the big screen, including “The Hangover,” “28 Days,” “American Beauty,” “Jerry Maguire,” “Crooklyn,” “Flight,” “Beauty Shop,” “The Secret Life of Pets” and “Flight.”
“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,” Withers told Rolling Stone in 2015.
Sole Sisters:Joy and pains, roads to travel, paths to cross, strangers to friends, freaks in the night, bumps in the roads. once a snake always a snake indeed, save for when it's rooting out a fecal fouled toilet .
Joy and pains, roads to travel, paths to cross, strangers to friends, freaks in the night, bumps in the roads. once a snake always a snake indeed, save for when it's rooting out a fecal fouled toilet .The Rolling Stones - Winners, Losers, Learners, Rats To Roaches, Walks Of Fame.
Bill Withers Dead at 81 - A Tribute to Lean on Me and Ain't No Sunshine ...The Rolling Stones - Winners, Losers, Learners, Rats To Roaches, Walks Of Fame.Travelers Walks:Black Girls Spice Girls :
The three-time Grammy Award winner, who withdrew from making music in the mid-1980s, died on Monday in Los Angeles, the statement said. His death comes as the public has drawn inspiration from his music during the coronavirus pandemic, with health care workers, choirs, artists and more posting their own renditions on “Lean on Me” to help get through the difficult times.
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