No way did Bill Withers fit the mold of your typical soul star. Avant signed Withers to a record deal and assigned former Stax Records stalwart Booker T. Jones to produce Withers' first album. He was the youngest lad of six siblings. Withers won three Grammy Awards and was nominated for six more. Bill Withers (born July 4, 1938 in Slab Fork, West Virginia, died March 30, 2020 in Los Angeles, California) was an American singer-songwriter who performed and recorded from the late 1960s until the mid 1980s. Bill Withers – Lean On Me … This was Withers' ninth Grammy nomination and third win. [11] His first album release with the label, Making Music, included the single "She's Lonely", which was featured in the film Looking for Mr. Goodbar along with "She Wants to (Get on Down)". [6] Withers enlisted in the United States Navy at the age of 17,[8] and served for nine years, during which time he became interested in singing and writing songs. He was gracious enough to let me sample him on ‘demons’. Stream Bill Withers' best songs via Spotify or Apple Music. On 4 July 1938, William Withers Jr. was born in Slab Fork, the United States in West Virginia. Picture: SuppliedSource:AP. Bill Withers Cause of Death. [8] Withers contributed two songs to Jimmy Buffett's 2004 release License to Chill. Her husband, Bill Withers, was born on July 4, 1938, in Slab Fork, West Virginia, United States. ", and ended Withers's business association with Columbia Records. A NOTE ABOUT RELEVANT ADVERTISING: We collect information about the content (including ads) you use across this site and use it to make both advertising and content more relevant to you on our network and other sites. Picture: AP/Paul A.HebertSource:AP. [29] In 2006, Sony gave back to Withers his previously unreleased tapes. Personal Life Relationship: Marital Status: Married. Bill's father died when he was thirteen. Johnson Is In Charge of Licensing Her Husband’s Music. He was 81 years old. His family described him in a statement as a “solitary man with a heart-driven to connect to the world”. I will follow my dreams wherever* They take me I will stand upon the mountain and look down upon the seashores But I'll always remember The “It has been a pleasure for Bill and I to be part of the SAY Family for 10 years.” Marcia Withers Age. [6] Marcia eventually assumed the direct management of his Beverly Hills–based publishing companies, in which his children also became involved as they became adults. 2. Bill Withers, former soul singer behind hits Ain’t No Sunshine and Lean On Me died on March 30, 2020, from heart complications aged 81. All times AEDT (GMT +11). Born in Slab Fork, West Virginia, Bill was the youngest of six children of William Harrison Withers Sr, a coal miner, and his wife, Mattie. [20], 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'. "[6][33] Later that year, a tribute concert in his honor was held at Carnegie Hall featuring Aloe Blacc, Ed Sheeran, Dr. John, Michael McDonald, and Anthony Hamilton. The track had already sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA in September 1971. He was born to a coal miner, William Withers Sr. and his mother was called Mattie Withers. Bill Withers Death. Withers’ 70s hits Ain’t No Sunshine and Lean on Me have been hailed as some of the greatest songs of all time, and his iconic tunes are often used on the big screen, including in The Hangover, American Beauty, Jerry Maguire and The Secret Life of Pets. "Bill Withers is the closest thing black people have to a Bruce Springsteen." The album features Stephen Stills playing lead guitar. [3] The former entered the Hot 100 chart through multiple versions, including Club Nouveau's 1987 cover, which made the Withers-penned composition one of nine songs to have led the chart via different acts. Birthplace: Slab Fork, West Virginia, United States. [15], During this time, he wrote and produced two songs on the Gladys Knight & the Pips album I Feel a Song, and in October 1974 performed in concert together with James Brown, Etta James, and B.B. Singer, songwriter and guitarist Bill Withers was born on July 4, 1938 in the small coal-mining town of Slab Fork, West Virginia and was raised in the nearby town of Beckley. The three-time Grammy Award winner, who withdrew from making music in the mid-1980s, died on Monday in Los Angeles, a family statement said. A solitary man with a heart driven to connect to the world at large, with his poetry and music, he spoke honestly to people and connected them to each other. [48][49] They divorced in 1974. And Bill seemed to understand, intrinsically and instinctively, how to do that,” Sting said in Still Bill, a 2010 documentary of Withers. “The hardest thing in songwriting is to be simple and yet profound. Bill Withers has died from heart complications, his family revealed in a sad statement. Bill Withers Dead. [9], He left the Navy in 1965, relocating to Los Angeles in 1967 to start a music career. Bill married first name Withers. [10], Withers worked as an assembler for several different companies, including Douglas Aircraft Corporation, IBM and Ford,[11] while recording demo tapes with his own money, shopping them around and performing in clubs at night. [6] His parents divorced when he was three, and he was raised by his mother's family in nearby Beckley, West Virginia. “A solitary man with a heart driven to connect to the world at large, with his poetry and music, he spoke honestly to people and connected them to each other. Bill was struggling with heart complications and his cause of death was heart Cardiovascular disease and no coronavirus infection reported at the moment. More Coverage Bill Withers, the singer-songwriter known for his soulful hits Lean on Me, Ain't No Sunshine and Lovely Day, has died at the age of 81, his family says. Few singers have possessed a baritone as rich and comforting as that of Bill Withers. [5], The album was a success, and Withers began touring with a band assembled from members of the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band. After his parents divorced when he was 3, Withers was raised by his mother’s family in nearby Beckley. Withers, the youngest of six children, was born in the small coal-mining town of Slab Fork, West Virginia, on July 4, 1938. [6] The couple made headlines following reports of domestic violence. Rest in power Bill Withers. My soul always has & always will be full of your music. Withers’ family told the AP Friday that he passed away in Los Angeles from heart complications. It read: "We are devastated by the loss of our beloved, devoted husband and father. PRS for Music Special International Award. Wither family announced death of Bill Weathers in a statement which indicates that he died on 30th March, 2020. But radio DJs flipped the disc and the song climbed to number 3 on the Billboard charts and spent a total of 16 weeks in the top 40. honorary doctorate. William Harrison "Bill" Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Todd. King in Zaire four weeks prior to the historic Rumble in the Jungle fight between George Foreman and Muhammad Ali. Family: Parents: Father: William Harrison Withers Sr. Bill had one sibling: Colleen Withers . [1] He had several hits over a relatively short career of 15 years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), "Use Me" (1972), "Lean on Me" (1972), "Lovely Day" (1977), and "Just the Two of Us" (1981). Bill Larry Withers was born circa 1935, at birth place, North Carolina, to William K Withers and Lillian Withers. news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site. The name Withers comes from the Old Norse personal name Vidarr, which means, wide messenger. Withers was in attendance and spoke briefly onstage. His parents divorced when he was three, and he was raised by his mother's family in nearby Beckley, West Virginia. 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