Singer-songwriter Bill Withers, who wrote and sang the hits “Lean on Me,” “Ain’t No Sunshine,” “Grandma’s Hands,” and “Lovely Day,” has passed on of heart complications at the age of 81.
Condolences to his wife, Marcia Johnson, and their children, Todd and Kori. Tributes to his musical genius are rolling in.
At a time when many people around the world are ill, have died, or feeling fear about the coronavirus epidemic, Withers’ “Lean on Me” has been a balm for many of us.
Lean on Me
Sometimes in our lives We all have pain, we all have sorrow. But if we are wise, We know that there's always tomorrow. Lean on me when you're not strong I'll be your friend, I'll help you carry on For it won't be long 'Til I'm gonna need somebody to lean on. Please swallow your pride If I have things you need to borrow For no one can fill those of your needs That you won't let show. You just call on me, brother, when you need a hand We all need somebody to lean on. I just might have a problem that you'll understand, We all need somebody to lean on. Lean on me when you're not strong And I'll be your friend I'll help you carry on For it won't be long 'Til I'm gonna need somebody to lean on You just call on me, brother, when you need a hand We all need somebody to lean on. I just might have a problem that you'll understand, We all need somebody to lean on. If there is a load You have to bear That you can't carry I'm right up the road I'll share your load If you just call me.
The Guardian posted a lovely biography in their tribute. Did you know Withers spent almost a decade in the U.S. military?
Born William Harrison Withers Jr in 1938, he faced a difficult childhood in Slab Fork, West Virginia. A stutter held him back from making friends, and, after his father died when Bill was 13, his grandmother helped to raise him. Withers would write a tribute to her with the song Grandma’s Hands from his 1971 debut album Just As I Am: “Grandma’s hands / Used to issue out a warning / She’d say, ‘Billy don’t you run so fast / Might fall on a piece of glass / Might be snakes there in that grass.’” The intro was memorably sampled by Blackstreet for their 1996 R&B classic, No Diggity.
Withers spent nine years in the US Navy before pursuing a career in music. After moving to Los Angeles in 1967, he found a job making toilet seats and recorded demos through the night. Possessed of a smooth and soulful baritone, he signed to Sussex Records and enlisted Booker T Jones to produce Just As I Am. That album spawned the hit Ain’t No Sunshine, which won Withers his first Grammy for best R&B song.
He poured his experiences of growing up in Slab Fork, a tough coal-mining town with a strong community ethos, into Lean on Me.
Thank you, Bill Withers, for helping so many of us through tough times. Your music will always be there to lean on. Wishing you all a lovely day.
