R&B Singer/Songwriter

• 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.

• 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.

• “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” https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=tIdIqbv7SPo

• “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

• “Lean on Me” o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPoTGyWT0Cg o Narrative o Blues style focusing on bad times requiring
• “Just the Two of Us” o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEy6MGu3bIA o Love o Smooth Jazz style o Shows his musical
• “Lovely Day” o http://vimeo.com/9247222 o Vocal Harmonies o Not written by Withers o Holds a note for 18 seconds in “Chest Voice”
• “Use Me” o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVy5yOs0NSA o Powerful blues style pain and love working together

• 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

• Stopped recording and touring in 1985
• 8 Studio Albums
• 1 Live album
• 31 charting Singles

• Samples: o “Grandma’s Hands” sampled in “No diggity” by Dr Dre / Blackstreet
• No Diggity http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KL9mRus19o
• Grandma’s Hands http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxjNauWYFfc

• “Still Bill” – Documentary 2012
• “As is” by Sasha Frere-Jones, New Yorker o http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/musical/2010/03/08/100308crmu_ music_frerejones?currentPage=1
• “Bill Withers” – Wikipedia o http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Withers
• “BillWithers.com Biography” o http://www.billwithers.com/biography/