Contents.Early life Bill Withers was born in the small coal-mining town of. He was born with a stutter and has said he had a hard time fitting in. Raised in nearby, he was 13 years old when his father died. Withers enlisted with the at the age of 18 and served for nine years, during which time he overcame his stutter and became interested in singing and writing songs.He left the Navy in 1965. Using the $250 he received from selling his furniture to IBM co-worker Ron Sierra, he relocated to Los Angeles in 1967 to start a musical career. Withers worked as an assembler for several different companies, including, while recording with his own money, shopping them around and performing in at night.

1. Lean On Me Bill Withers

When he debuted with the song ', he refused to resign from his job because he believed the music business was a fickle industry. Career Sussex records During early 1970, Withers's demonstration tape was auditioned favorably by, owner of. Avant signed Withers to a record deal and assigned former Stax Records stalwart to produce Withers' first album. Four three-hour were planned for the album, but funding caused the album to be recorded in three sessions with a six-month break between the second and final sessions. Was released in 1971 with the tracks, ' and ' as singles. The album features playing lead guitar. On the cover of the album, Withers is pictured at his job at in, holding his lunch box.The album was a success, and Withers began touring with a band assembled from members of the: drummer, guitarist Benorce Blackmon, keyboardist Ray Jackson, and bassist Melvin Dunlap.At the 14th annual, on Tuesday, March 14, 1972, Withers won a for '.

The track had already sold over one million copies and was awarded a by the in September 1971.During a hiatus from touring, Withers recorded his second album,. The single, ' went to number one the week of July 8, 1972. It was Withers’s second gold single with confirmed sales in excess of three million. His follow-up, ' released in August 1972, became his third million seller, with the R.I.A.A. Gold disc award taking place on October 12, 1972. His performance at Carnegie Hall on October 6, 1972, was recorded, and released as the live album Bill Withers, Live at Carnegie Hall on November 30, 1972.

In 1974, Withers recorded the album +'Justments. Due to a legal dispute with the Sussex company, Withers was unable to record for some time thereafter. 'Withers sang for a that didn't yet understand how precarious its status was. Warm, raunchy, secular, common, he never strove for -style sophistication, which hardly rendered him immune to the temptations of —cross-class attraction is what gives ' its kick. He didn't accept that there had to be winners and losers, that fellowship was a luxury the newly successful couldn't afford.

Soon sudden wealth took its toll on him while economic took its toll on his social context.' —During this time, he wrote and produced two songs on the record, and in October 1974 performed in concert together with, and in four weeks prior to the historic fight between.

Footage of his performance was included in the 1996 documentary film, and he is heard on the accompanying soundtrack. Other footage of his performance is included in the 2008 documentary film, which is based on archival footage of the 1974 Zaire concert.Columbia Records After Sussex Records folded, Withers signed with in 1975. His first album release with the label, Making Music, Making Friends, included the single 'She's Lonely', which was featured in the film. During the next three years he released an album each year with Naked & Warm (1976), (1977, containing the successful '), 'Bout Love' (1978) and 'Get on Down'; the latter song also included on the soundtrack.In 1976, Withers performed 'Ain't No Sunshine' on.Due to problems with Columbia and being unable to get songs approved for his album, he concentrated on joint projects from 1977 to 1985, including ', with saxophonist, which was released during June 1980.

It won a Grammy on February 24, 1982. Withers next did 'Soul Shadows' with, and 'In the Name of Love' with, the latter being nominated for a Grammy for vocal performance.In 1982, Withers was a featured vocalist on the album, 'Dreams in Stone' by French singer. This record included one composition co-written and sung by Withers, an upbeat disco song about New York City entitled 'Apple Pie.'

The album was not released in North America, although it contains several songs about America.In 1985 came Watching You Watching Me, which featured the -rated single 'Oh Yeah', and ended Withers’s business association with Columbia Records. Withers stated in interviews that a lot of the songs approved for the album, in particular, two of the first three singles released, were the same songs which were rejected in 1982, hence contributing significantly to the eight-year hiatus between albums. Withers also stated it was frustrating seeing his record label release an album for, an actor, when they were preventing him, an actual singer, from releasing his own. He toured with in 1985 to promote what would be his final studio album.His disdain for Columbia's A&R executives or 'blaxperts', as he termed them, trying to exert control over how he should sound if he wanted to sell more albums, played a part in his decision to not record or re-sign to a record label after 1985, effectively ending his performing career, even though remixes of his previously recorded music were released well after his 'retirement'. Finding musical success later in life than most, at 32, he has said he was socialized as a 'regular guy' who had a life before the music, so he did not feel an inherent need to keep recording once he fell out of love with the industry.

He has also stated that he does not miss touring and performing live and does not regret leaving music behind. He seemingly no longer suffers from the of that affected him during his recording career. Post-Columbia career In 1988, a new version of 'Lovely Day' from the 1977 Menagerie album, entitled 'Lovely Day (Sunshine Mix)' and by, reached the in the United Kingdom, leading to Withers' performance on the long-running that year. The original release had reached #7 in the UK in early 1978, and the re-release climbed higher to #4.In 1987, he received his ninth Grammy Award nomination and on March 2, 1988, his third Grammy for Best Rhythm and Blues Song as songwriter for the re-recording of 'Lean on Me' by on their debut album Life, Love and Pain, released in 1986 on.In 1996, a portion of his song 'Grandma's Hands' was sampled in the song ' by, featuring. The single went to Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and sold 1.6 million copies and won a Grammy in 1998 for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.Withers contributed two songs to 's 2004 release. Following the reissues of Still Bill on January 28, 2003, and Just As I Am on March 8, 2005, there was speculation of previously unreleased material being issued as a new album.

In 2006, Sony gave back to Withers his previously unreleased tapes.In 2007, 'Lean on Me' was inducted into the.On January 26, 2014, at the 56th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, Bill Withers: The Complete Sussex & Columbia Albums Collection, a nine-disc set featuring Withers's eight studio albums, as well as his live album, received the 'Best Historical' Grammy Award (in a tie with The Rolling Stones' 'Charlie Is My Darling - Ireland 1965.' ) The award was presented to Leo Sacks, who produced the collection, and the mastering engineers Mark Wilder, Joseph M. Palmaccio and Tom Ruff.On April 18, 2015, he was inducted into the. Withers was stunned when he learned he had been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 'I see it as an award of attrition,' he says. 'What few songs I wrote during my brief career, there ain't a genre that somebody didn't record them in.

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.' On October 1, 2015, there was a tribute concert at in his honor, featuring, and recreating his 1973 concert album, Live at Carnegie Hall, along with other Withers material. Withers was in attendance and spoke briefly onstage.On February 12, 2017, he made an appearance on MSNBC to talk about the refugee crisis, as well as the political climate in America.

Personal life Withers married actress in 1973, during her stint on the sitcom. The couple divorced in 1974.

In 1976, Withers married Marcia Johnson, and they had two children, Todd and Kori. Marcia eventually assumed the direct management of his Beverly Hills-based publishing companies, in which his children also became involved as they became adults. Retrieved July 13, 2018. ^ Hale, Mike (January 26, 2010). Greene, Andy (December 16, 2014). Retrieved December 16, 2014. ^ Ben Sisario, The New York Times, September 18, 2015.

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Lean On Me Bill Withers

May 2, 1974. Elsworth, Catherine (October 8, 2006). The Telegraph. ^. Retrieved July 2, 2009. ^.

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'Lean on Me'byfrom the album'Better Off Dead'ReleasedApril 21, 1972Recorded1972Length4: 17 (Album Version)3:45 (Single Version)SussexBill WithersBill Witherssingles chronology'(1971)' Lean on Me'(1972)'(1972)Audioon' Lean on Me' is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter. It was released in April 1972 as the first single from his second album,. It was his first and only number one single on both the soul singles and the. Billboard ranked it as the No.

7 song of 1972. It is ranked number 208 on 's list of '. Numerous other versions have been recorded, and it is one of only nine songs to have reached No. 1 in the with versions recorded by two different artists.

Contents.Background and writing Bill Withers' childhood in the coal mining town of, was the inspiration for 'Lean on Me', which he wrote after he had moved to Los Angeles and found himself missing the strong community ethic of his hometown. He lived in a decrepit house in the poor section of town.Withers recalled to the original inspiration for the song:'I bought a little piano and I was sitting there just running my fingers up and down the piano. In the course of doing the music, that phrase crossed my mind, so then you go back and say, 'OK, I like the way that phrase, Lean On Me, sounds with this song.' 'Several members of the were used for the recording session in 1972. A string section was also included as well.Withers' version is noted for its bridge section: ('Just call on me, brother'), as well as the coda section, where the words ”call me” are repeated a total of 14 times, before the song ends on a cadenza on the strings. Several radio stations, as well as the single version, fade out during the repeated coda, due to time limits as well as the repetition of the lyrics. Some radio versions cut the number of 'Call Me's' to six times before the song's end.Personnel.

Bill Withers – piano, vocals. Benorce Blackmon – guitar. Raymond Jackson –, string arrangement. Melvin Dunlap – bass. – drumsTrack listings 7' single.

Lean on Me 3:45. Better Off Dead 2:13Charts. Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research.

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Archived from on April 27, 2017. Retrieved March 21, 2018. Archived from on September 28, 2018. Retrieved March 21, 2018. Retrieved November 9, 2018.

Select singles in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Lean on Me in the 'Search BPI Awards' field and then press Enter. Retrieved November 9, 2018. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. Retrieved March 21, 2018. ^.

Billboard Music Charts. Retrieved June 6, 2009. Pp. 8th Paragraph, Last Sentence. Archived from on August 29, 2011. Retrieved June 6, 2009. (1993).

Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. The Kent Report chart was licensed by between mid 1983 and June 19, 1988. ' (in German). ' (in Dutch).

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