March 28, 2024
Writer, singer Bill Withers dies at 81
LOS ANGELES - R&B singer-songwriter Bill Withers, whose belated career in music burned briefly but brightly in the early ‘70s via a string of highly personalized hits, died from heart complications on Monday in Los Angeles, according to Variety. He was 81.

Withers was 33 years old and working on an aircraft assembly line in 1971 when his first hit, the self-penned, Grammy-winning “Ain’t No Sunshine,” soared up the charts. He quickly followed up that success with a quick run of hit singles that included “Use Me” and the gospel-soul smash “Lean On Me,” which won a belated Grammy Award as best R&B song in 1987.

While those songs are recognized today as classics, Withers was not able to top the surprise commercial success of his early career. His subdued, introspective, often acoustic-based style grew increasingly at odds with the hard funk and disco of the ‘70s, and disputes with his record labels slowed his production at the height of his popularity. He essentially retired from performing and recording in the mid-‘80s. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.

Withers is survived by his wife and two children.
Story Date: April 11, 2020
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