Bill Withers, whose real name is William Withers Jr., was an American singer-songwriter who spent 9 years in the US Navy before really embarking on an artistic career.
He released his first single "Three night and a morning" in 1967 but it went completely unnoticed.
So he will have to wait for 1971 and the release of his first album "Just as I am" to finally experience his first successes and what successes ! The album was a hit and produced 2 top hits that are "Grandma's hands" but, above all, "Ain’t no sunshine", a single which will become a huge hit and launch the singer's career for good.
But that's without counting on the release a year later in 1972 of the album "Still Bill", album which will be even stronger than its predecessor and which remains to this day the biggest success of the artist in the Charts Albums. Biggest album success but also bigger single success with the enormous "Lean on me" which will shatter everything in its path. And to a lesser extent “Use me”.
An incredible dynamic of success that falters somewhat with the relative success of the albums "+’ Justments" in 1974 and "Making music" in 1975. And the very relative success of the album" Naked & warm" in 1976.
Only the album "Menagerie", which came out in 1977, allowed the artist to resurface with the enormous single" Lovely day".
The album "‘bout love" which was released in 1978 saw the artist return to the depths of the charts.
Another shattering comeback in 1981 with the mega hit "Just the two of us". Short-lived mega success because the artist will never find the same level of success again.
A great adventure that will end definitively on March 30, 2020, the date on which the singer will disappear from cardiovascular disease at the age of 81.
To discover or rediscover.
Discography (among others ...) :
Three nights and a morning 1967
Ain’t no sunshine 1971
Grandma’s hands 1971
Lean on me 1972
Use me 1972
Let us love 1972
Kissing my love 1973
The same love that made me laugh 1974
Hello like before 1976
Lovely day 1977
Lovely night for dancing 1978
Don’t make it better 1979
Just the two of us 1981
In the name of love 1984
Oh yeah ! 1985
Something that turns you on 1985
We could be sweet lovers 1985
Clips :
1967 ... beginnings that will be described as confidential. At this stage, it's hard to imagine the enormous sequel that awaits the singer in the years to come ...
1971 ... then THIS title comes ! It took 4 years for him to finally find the recipe that is going well but now that he has found it, he will unroll and in an impressive way. HU-GE !
1971 ... now that the momentum is in place, the summit of the Charts is now within reach. And the artist will not hesitate to reach it faster than expected !
1972 ... it is THIS title that will allow him to touch the stars ! In just 2 years he will have become one of the biggest phenomena in the world and he does not intend to stop there. MAS-TER-FUL !
1972 ... an exceptional year in all respects with a second title of very high caliber in the wake. The singer literally walks on water and you can hear it !
1972 ... a 3rd notorious success to end this year in style. Each title released is a real success and we wonder how far the artist will take us !
1973 ... unfortunately the years go by but are not necessarily alike. Quality is always the order of the day, but the level of success will drop a notch in 1973. And yet, he is far from unworthy ...
1974 ... things get a little better the following year but the artist does not manage to find the incredible level he experienced during the year 1972. It must be said that the bar was damn high ...
1976 ... after a startling career to say the least, the singer is really struggling to capitalize on the enormous success he has previously encountered. Fortunately there are such titles to show the full extent of his talent. And talent, there is !
1977 ... with him, anything is possible. The proof with this new title which allows him to climb back to the top of the Charts in a truly astounding way. HU-GE !
1978 ... a nice sequel but which cannot compete with the previous title. The end of the 1970s will unfortunately be like this title, that is to say in half-tone ...
1979 ... the titles which continue to be released are not without quality, far from it. But the competition is so formidable at this precise moment that the artist struggles to exist ...
1981 ... after 2 years in which almost nothing will happen, the singer returns in this year 1981 in a form that will be called...Olympic ! After signing several major titles of the 1970s, he finds here the inspiration that he had so lacked for several years and delivers here one of the flagship titles of the 1980s. MAS-TER-FUL !
1984 ... new 3 years air hole. The singer's career becomes somewhat chaotic and the level of inspiration fluctuates enormously over the years. This year 1984 is one of the good 'Crus' with a return of success that we no longer expected ...
1985 ... the last notorious hit. This time, it really smacks of the end. It will not be for now but it is clear that the best years of the singer are now behind ...
1985 ... a nice Intimist title but which unfortunately will not change the situation. The singer will not have been able to take the measure of the changes that have occurred during this decade and the sanction will be all the more serious ...
1985 ... a great adventure which ends with this title. Everything that will come out later will be a series of remixes of his best songs, therefore of very relative interest ...
Wiki :
Official Website :
https://billwithers.com/ Greatest Hits :
Discography :