Bill Withers

Bill Withers - Call me (1973)
Taken from Save The Children. Born 4 July 1938, Slab Fork, West Virginia, USA. Having moved to California in 1967 after nine years in the US Navy, Withers began hawking his original songs around several west coast companies.

He was eventually signed to Sussex Records in 1970, at the age of 32, and secured an immediate hit with his debut single, "Ain't No Sunshine".

Produced by Booker T. Jones, with Stephen Stills amongst the guest musicians, this sparse but compulsive performance was a million-seller, a feat emulated in 1972 by two more excellent releases, "Lean On Me" and "Use Me".Withers maintained a similarly high standard on his first three albums, but after the disappointing Live At Carnegie Hall the artist found that his record company were in financial trouble and via an auction he moved to Columbia Records, a decision that he would now seem to regret.

Withers' brand of gentle folk soul continued to serve him well on the singles chart, with the singer enjoying further hits with "Make Love To Your Mind" (1975), the sublime "Lovely Day" (1977), (a single revamped by a remix in 1988) and "Just The Two Of Us" (1981), his exhilarating duet with saxophonist Grover Washington Jnr., which earned the two artists a Grammy award in 1982 for the Best R&B performance. "Lovely Day" re-entered the UK pop charts in 1988 after exposure from a British television commercial, reaching the Top 5.Withers effectively removed himself from the music scene in the early 90s. He now lives a private life giving few interviews and he has a resigned bitterness towards the record business. A professional rather than charismatic performer, Withers remains a skilled songwriter. - music.us