Bill Withers R&B Singer/Songwriter

Personal History Born July 4 th, 1938 Slab City, West Virginia Youngest of 13 children, only 6 lived Raised by Grandmother Slab City was a Coal Mining community Served in the Navy for 9 years, only Withers boy to avoid working in the mines Started music career at age 32 in 1970, stopping recording in 1985 at 47.

Singer/Song Writer Self taught musician o Guitar/Vocals Freeform blues style o Songs aren’t arranged in traditional stanzas o Lyrics focus around love, loss, and hardship o Strong Narrative emphasis in his songs o Often accompanied by bass guitar, drums o Later songs included synthesizer Played “easy listening R&B” later in his career Musically influenced by his Grandmother’s church which sang “Spirituals” and had freeform services. o “I liked my grandmothers church, it was spontaneous singing, there was no program singing.” (Still Bill – Documentary) o This same freeform style would be echoed in his music throughout his career.

First Album/First Hit “Ain’t No Sunshine” – classic blues story of the wreckage left after a man and woman have a relationship. Free form blues o 2 Minutes Song o Only 3 verses o Bridge that repeats the same phrase 26 times o Has no chorus o Solo singing, backed by small band. Album Produced by Booker T. Jones, famous R&B producer. Wrote “Green Onions” watch?v=tIdIqbv7SPo

Simplicity “The hardest thing in songwriting is to be simple and yet profound. And Bill seemed to understand, intrinsically and instinctively, how to do that.” - Sting “Withers likes to form guitar chords that he can simply move up and down the neck without altering the position of his fingers. This simple approach leaves room for his baritone voice to map out subtle, articulate melodies.” Sasha Frere- Jones “I was feeling what I said” – Bill Withers

Hits “Lean on Me” o o Narrative o Blues style focusing on bad times requiring “Just the Two of Us” o o Love o Smooth Jazz style o Shows his musical “Lovely Day” o o Vocal Harmonies o Not written by Withers o Holds a note for 18 seconds in “Chest Voice” “Use Me” o o Powerful blues style pain and love working together

Struggle to Stay True Bill Strugged to stay true to himself and his music while being pressured to perform by Record Labels “Blacksperts” pressured him to change his music to be more commercially viable and typical of the current era’s R&B artists. “Still Bill” – Documentary 12:13

Legacy Stopped recording and touring in Studio Albums 1 Live album 31 charting Singles

Legacy Samples: o “Grandma’s Hands” sampled in “No diggity” by Dr Dre / Blackstreet No Diggity Grandma’s Hands

Bibliography “Still Bill” – Documentary 2012 “As is” by Sasha Frere-Jones, New Yorker o music_frerejones?currentPage=1 music_frerejones?currentPage=1 “Bill Withers” – Wikipedia o “BillWithers.com Biography” o