The legendary singer-songwriter Bill Withers has died at 81
Bill Withers, a singer-songwriter of '70s hits who have stood the test of time such as "Lean on Me," "Lovely Day" and "Ain't No Sunshine," has died of heart complications, his family said in a statement sent to The Associated Press. He was 81 years old.
The three-time Grammy-winning artist, who retired from music in the mid-1980s, died on Monday, March 30 in Los Angeles, the statement said. His death comes at a time when the public has turned to his music for inspiration during the coronavirus pandemic, with health professionals, choirs, singers and others publishing their own versions of "Lean on Me" to help pass these times. difficult.
“We are devastated by the loss of our beloved and dedicated husband and father. He was a lonely man with a heart determined to connect the entire world with his poetry and music, who spoke honestly to people and connected one to another, "says the letter. “As private as his life was with his family and close friends, his music belongs to the world forever. In these difficult times, we pray that your music will bring you comfort and entertainment as fans cling tightly to their loved ones. ”
The songs Withers released during his brief career have been part of the soundtrack to countless engagements, weddings, and parties. They have powerful melodies and perfect rhythms combined with a soft voice that conveys honesty and complex emotions without resorting to vocal stunts.Bill Withers - Ain't no sunshinepic.twitter.com/gJ9LXcBtcG— Caio César (@geocaio) April 3, 2020
"Lean on Me," an ode to friendship, was performed at the inauguration ceremonies for Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. “Ain’t No Sunshine” and “Lean on Me” are included in Rolling Stone's list of the 500 best songs of all time.
"He is the last common African-American man," musician Questlove told Rolling Stone in 2015. "Bill Withers is the closest thing black people have to Bruce Springsteen."
His death sparked a wave of messages of appreciation on social media including from former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, who said Withers' music had been a precious part of her life. "It added to my joy in good times, and also gave me comfort and inspiration when I needed it most," he tweeted. Singer José James said that "now more than ever we need your message of union" and Billy Dee Williams tweeted that "his music made my heart happy and my soul calmed" .
"Today we lost a songwriting giant," ASCAP President and CEO Paul Williams said in a statement. "Bill Withers' songs are among the deepest and most treasured of the American songbook - universal in the way that they touched people across the world, transcending genres and generations. He was a beautiful man with an extraordinary sense of humor and a gift for the truth. "
Withers, who overcame his childhood stuttering, was the last of six children in a family in the mining town of Slab Fork, West Virginia. His parents divorced when he was 3 years old, and he was then raised by his mother's family in nearby Beckley.
He joined the Navy at age 17 and served nine years as an aviation mechanic installing toilets. After he was decommissioned, he moved to Los Angeles and worked at an airplane parts factory, but bought a guitar at a pawn shop and recorded demos of his songs in hopes of landing a record deal.
In 1971 he signed with Sussex Records and released his first album, "Just As I Am", with the great Booker T. Jones at the helm. The album included the hits “Grandma’s Hands” and “Ain’t No Sunshine”, inspired by the Jack Lemmon movie “Days of Wine and Roses”.
"Ain’t No Sunshine" was originally released as the B-side song for their first single, "Harlem." But radio DJs turned the record around and the song hit No. 3 on the Billboard popularity charts and stayed in the Top 40 for 16 weeks.
Withers generated more hits the following year with the inspiring "Lean on Me", the menacing "Who Is He (and What Is He to You)" and the tight "Use Me" on their second album, "Still Bill".
Later he released the remarkable "Lovely Day", co-written by Skip Scarborough and in which he held the word "day" for almost 19 seconds, and "Just the Two Of Us", co-written by Ralph MacDonald and William Salter. Their 1973 album "Live at Carnegie Hall" was listed on Rolling Stone's list of the 50 Best Live Albums of All Time.
“The most difficult thing to compose is to be simple and profound at the same time. And Bill seemed to understand, intrinsically and instinctively, how to do it, "Sting said in" Still Bill, "a 2010 documentary about Withers.
But Withers' career stopped when Sussex Records went bankrupt and became part of Columbia Records. He was no longer in full control of his music on that record label and was irritated when they suggested that he record an Elvis song. Executives at his new home found it difficult.
None of his Columbia albums made it to the Top 40 except for 1977's "Menagerie," which included "Lovely Day." (He recorded his successful duet with Grover Washington Jr. "Just the Two of Us" on the Washington label.) His last album was "Watching You Watching Me" from 1985.
Although he often sang about relationships, he also wrote social songs like "Better Off Dead", about the suicide of an alcoholic, and "I Can't Write Left-Handed", about an injured veteran of the Vietnam War.
He received Grammy Awards as a composer of "Ain't No Sunshine" in 1971 and for "Just the Two Of Us" in 1981. In 1987, he received his ninth nomination and third gramophone as composer of the 1972 hit "Lean on Me", rerecorded by Club Nouveau.
In 2015, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in a ceremony in which he thanked his wife and the R&B pioneers who helped him in his career, such as Ray Jackson, Al Bell and Booker T. Jones, and it gave the recording industry a pang by saying that A&R (Artists and Repertoire) _ the division of a record label responsible for discovering and developing talents _ was short for "Antagonist and Redundant." He was also inducted into the Composers Hall of Fame in 2005.
Multiple stars have recorded versions of their songs, including Barbra Streisand, Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Tom Jones, Linda Ronstadt, Paul McCartney, Sting, Johnny Mathis, Aaron Neville, Al Jarreau, Mick Jagger, Nancy Wilson and Diana Ross. His music has been sampled in BlackStreet's "No Diggity," Will Smith's version of "Just the Two Of Us," "Bridging the Gap" by the Black Eyed Peas, and "Sunshine" by Twista. The song "Lean on Me" gave its title to a 1989 film starring Morgan Freeman ("Lean on me" in Spanish).
Their songs have been used in "The Hangover" ("What happened yesterday?"), "28 Days" ("28 days"), "American Beauty" ("American Beauty"), "Jerry Maguire", "Crooklyn" , “Flight”, “Beauty Shop”, “The Secret Life of Pets” and other movies.
“I am not a virtuoso, but I was able to write songs that people could identify with. I think it didn't go too bad for me to be a Slab Fork, West Virginia guy, ”Withers told Rolling Stone in 2015.
He was living with his wife, Marcia, and his children Todd and Kori.
إرسال تعليق