The Revivalists and Gov't Mule Pay Tribute to Bill Withers
... Gillioz Theatre on Wednesday night. The two groups have collaborated numerous times during their spring tour and, on Wednesday night, most of The Revivalists sat in with Gov't Mule. During Mule's encore, Revivalists members Rob Ingraham, David Shaw, Zack Feinberg and Mike Girardot all emerged for a cover of
Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine." It marked the first time Gov't Mule had covered the classic Withers tune. The Revivalists will close their spring tour with Gov't Mule on home turf this evening. The bands will appear at New Orleans' Mahalia Jackson Theatre. The Revivalists and Gov't Mule Pay Tribute to
Bill Withers ...
[ read more ]Bill Withers: The Complete Sussex And Columbia Albums
... would be a foolish stance. With one listen to "Stories" from +'Justments, you get an idea of his immense talent. The opening music bed of harp and piano laid down by Dorothy Ashby and John Barnes, respectively, is lush and provides a dreamy backdrop for vignettes of a widow, prostitute, and a lost young man. The bridge perhaps sums up
Bill Withers' writing best: Young and old we all have stories That we all must try to sell Tales of how you get to heaven And how we've been through hell * * * Eric Luecking is the founder of the site Record Racks. Comments
Bill Withers: The Complete Sussex And Columbia Albums ...
[ read more ]WATCH: R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe, Brian Eno and Stephen Colbert Perform Bill Withers' "Lean on Me"
... equally quirky, with the host referring to the group as "the R.E.M.s" and calling them a "hugely influential band" that is "known for their strong political views like their support of gun rights on their album Automatic for the People." To close out the show, Stipe suggested that he, Colbert and Eno perform a special rendition of
Bill Withers' "Lean on Me." Check out the special engagement below:The Colbert Report Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive WATCH: R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe, Brian Eno and Stephen Colbert Perform
Bill Withers' "Lean on Me" ...
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Bill Withers
(July 4, 1938)
Artistfacts®: You can leave comments about the artist/band at the bottom of the page.
Withers was born on the Fourth of July, 1938. He was the youngest of six children.
He spent nine years in the Navy, where he had speech therapy to overcome his stuttering. After his release from the Navy, he wrote songs as he delivered milk, worked for the Ford Motor Company, and then worked for IBM.
After he moved to LA in 1967, he worked for $3.50 per hour at Lockheed Aircraft and spent $2500 for demos... No record companies were interested.
He was making toilet seats for Boeing 747's in 1970 when he was introduced to Booker T. Jones (Booker T and the MG's), who subsequently produced Withers' first LP, Just As I Am, with Stephen Stills on lead guitar.
His first single, "Ain't No Sunshine" peaked at #3 in the US and won a Grammy award for Best Rhythm and Blues Song (1972). After "Grandma's Hands" stalled at #42, Sussex Records released his second LP, Still Bill, from which he had the two biggest hits of his career, the #1 "Lean on Me" and the #2 "Use Me." The former was composed in the late '60s while he was working at Lockheed Aircraft. A live LP yielded a mid-size hit, #31 "Kissing My Love," in 1973.
In the mid-1970's he changed labels (to Columbia) after a legal dispute with Sussex Records. When Sussex folded, Columbia bought all the rights to Withers' material. His only Top 40 hit for Columbia was "Lovely Day," which hit US #30 in 1977.
He wrote and provided vocal for Grover Washington Jr's #2 "Just the Two of Us" in 1981.
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