Bill Withers, pseudonym of William Harrison Withers Jr., was an American singer and musician born in Slab Fork (West Virginia) on July 4, 1938. William was the youngest of six children, his mother Mattie was a maid while his father William he was a miner. William Jr. was born a stutterer and his parents divorced when he was three years old. Raised by his maternal grandparents in Beckley, West Virginia, he lost his father at the age of 13. At 17 he enlisted in the United States Navy where he served for nine years. He left the Navy in 1965 and moved to Los Angeles in 1967 to pursue a music career. In that same year he released his first single entitled "Three Nights And A Morning". In 1971, William released his debut album "Just As I Am". The album achieved a resounding success thanks above all to the single "Ain't No Sunshine". Withers won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song for "Ain't No Sunshine" at the 1972 Grammy Awards. The song sold over a million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA in September 1971. In July 1972, the single "Lean on Me" reached number one on the charts and was Withers' second gold single with confirmed sales in excess of three million. "Use Me", released in August 1972, became his third major hit with the RIAA Gold Record award taking place on October 12, 1972. After the closure of Sussex Records, Withers signed with Columbia Records in 1975. Her first album released on the label, Making Music, included the hit single "She's Lonely". On October 29, 1977, the album "Menagerie" was released and the lead single "Lovely Day" became one of Withers' most successful songs. “Menagerie” was Withers' best selling album in the UK. The following year he released the album "Bout Love" and the single "You Got The Stuff" will become one of the most loved and used songs by funk music DJs (instrumental part starting from minute 3'30" of the disco mix). In 1973, the song "Ain't No Sunshine" was sung by the Brazilian singer "Sivuca" and in 1984 an extended dance version in disco mix was released. In 1988, a new version of "Lovely Day" from the 1977 album "Menagerie" was released, titled "Lovely Day (Sunshine Mix)" and remixed by Ben Liebrand. The original version had reached number seven in the UK in early 1978 and the re-release reached number four. Withers died of heart complications in a Los Angeles hospital on March 30, 2020, at the age of 81.
Album
1971 - Just As I Am
1972 - Still Bill
1973 - Bill Withers Live Carnegie Hall
1974 - +'Justments
1975 - Making Music
1976 - Naked & Warm
1977 - Menagerie
1978 - 'Bout Love
1985 - Watching You Watching Me
Singles
1967 - Three Nights And A Morning
1971 - Ain't No Sunshine
1971 - Grandma's Hands /Sweet Wanomi
1971 - Harlem
1971 - Everybody's Talkin'
1972 - Kissing My Love / Lean On Me
1972 - Use Me
1972 - The Gift Of Giving / Let Us Love
1972 - Apoyate En Mi
1973 - Friend Of Mine
1973 - Still Bill
1974 - Ruby Lee / Heartbreak Road
1974 - The Same Love That Made Me Laugh
1974 - You
1975 - Make Love To Your Mind / I Love You Dawn
1975 - It's All Over Now
1975 - Who Is He
1976 - Family Table
1976 - If I Didn't Mean You Well
1976 - Hello Like Before
1976 - Close To Me
1977 - Lovely Night For Dancing
1977 - Lovely Day
1977 - I Want To Spend The Night
1978 - Don't It Make It Better
1978 - You Got The Stuff / Look To Each Other For Love
1981 - U.S.A.
1985 - Oh Yeah !
1985 - We Could Be Sweet Lovers
1985 - Something That Turns You On
1988 - Lovely Day (Sunshine Mix)
1988 - Ain't No Sunshine (Total Eclipse Mix)
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