ElmerJFudd Posted April 3, 2020 Share Posted April 3, 2020 Bill Withers, who wrote and sang a string of soulful songs in the 1970s that have stood the test of time, including ' Lean On Me, ' 'Lovely Day' and 'Ain"t No Sunshine,' has died from heart complications, his family said in a statement to The Associated Press. He was 81. - AP Quote Yamaha CP88, Casio PX-560 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr88s Posted April 3, 2020 Share Posted April 3, 2020 RIP. Such a songwriter. Quote Nord Stage 2 Compact, Yamaha MODX8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doerfler Posted April 3, 2020 Share Posted April 3, 2020 Oh man. I didn't need to hear this. RIP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr88s Posted April 3, 2020 Share Posted April 3, 2020 This was my wife"s morning wake up alarm for the better part of last year. [video:youtube] Quote Nord Stage 2 Compact, Yamaha MODX8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adan Posted April 3, 2020 Share Posted April 3, 2020 Well, as usual, I'm the one who's going to say "hey, 81 is pretty good for a professional musician." Instead of focusing on the loss, I prefer to focus on the riches he gave us. Speaking as a music fan rather than a keyboard player, it's hard to think of anyone who has affected me more than Withers. He's been all over my playlists for decades. If you haven't watched the documentary Still Bill, you should, it's a great insight into the man and his soul. Quote Gigging: Crumar Mojo 61, Hammond SKPro Home: Vintage Vibe 64 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Nightime Posted April 3, 2020 Share Posted April 3, 2020 The recording of "Ain't No Sunshine" was covered in Booker T's book. He will be missed Quote "In the beginning, Adam had the blues, 'cause he was lonesome. So God helped him and created woman. Now everybody's got the blues." Willie Dixon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Beaumont Posted April 3, 2020 Share Posted April 3, 2020 Agreed I have been playing his songs most of my adult life. Quote Boards: Kurzweil SP-6, Roland FA-08, VR-09, DeepMind 12 Modules: Korg Radias, Roland D-05, Bk7-m & Sonic Cell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KuruPrionz Posted April 3, 2020 Share Posted April 3, 2020 Rest In Peace Bill, thanks for the great songs!!! Quote It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyRude Posted April 3, 2020 Share Posted April 3, 2020 RIP, and thank you for the lifetime of memorable music [video:youtube] Quote Some music I've recorded and played over the years with a few different bands Tommy Rude Soundcloud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursers Posted April 3, 2020 Share Posted April 3, 2020 Big loss Quote The Keyboard Chronicles Podcast Check out your fellow forumites in an Apple Music playlist Check out your fellow forumites in a Spotify playlist My Music: Stainless Fields Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAJUSCULE Posted April 3, 2020 Share Posted April 3, 2020 Terrible news to wake up to. RIP Bill, and thank you. Let's all make today a Lovely Day in his honour. Quote Eric Website Gear page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outkaster Posted April 3, 2020 Share Posted April 3, 2020 Damn really. That's terrible, man I am sorry. He got into the game late in life also with music as he was a NAVY mechanic for about 10 years before that. Quote "Danny, ci manchi a tutti. La E-Street Band non e' la stessa senza di te. Riposa in pace, fratello" noblevibes.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MathOfInsects Posted April 3, 2020 Share Posted April 3, 2020 Ugh. Quote Now out! "Mind the Gap," a 24-song album of new material. www.joshweinstein.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zephonic Posted April 3, 2020 Share Posted April 3, 2020 I wish I could sing like him, his personality really shines through in his voice. RIP Bill Withers, thanks for the inspiration. Not everybody knows Blackstreet"s biggest hit was based on this song: [video:youtube] Quote gear list.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldwin Funster Posted April 3, 2020 Share Posted April 3, 2020 It's a loss he passed. Unfortunately we lost his songwriting and singing many years ago. Like in the 1970s. He retired and hid away. Quote FunMachine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delaware Dave Posted April 3, 2020 Share Posted April 3, 2020 About 6 months ago. https://www.facebook.com/acoustaxx/videos/816731538723683/ Quote 57 Hammond B3; 69 Hammond L100P; 68 Leslie 122; Kurzweil Forte7 & PC3; M-Audio Code 61; Voce V5+; Neo Vent; EV ELX112P; GSI Gemini & Burn Delaware Dave Exit93band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outkaster Posted April 3, 2020 Share Posted April 3, 2020 It's a loss he passed. Unfortunately we lost his songwriting and singing many years ago. Like in the 1970s. He retired and hid away. Actually it was the 80's as he felt he wasn't being treated right by CBS. He just walked away from all of it. Quote "Danny, ci manchi a tutti. La E-Street Band non e' la stessa senza di te. Riposa in pace, fratello" noblevibes.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAJUSCULE Posted April 3, 2020 Share Posted April 3, 2020 It's a loss he passed. Unfortunately we lost his songwriting and singing many years ago. Like in the 1970s. He retired and hid away. Actually it was the 80's as he felt he wasn't being treated right by CBS. He just walked away from all of it. And big respect to him for doing right by himself. Quote Eric Website Gear page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamuelBLupowitz Posted April 3, 2020 Share Posted April 3, 2020 If you haven't watched the documentary Still Bill, you should, it's a great insight into the man and his soul.Agreed, it's a portrait of a sensitive soul who knew what he wanted and what he was willing to put up with. A gentle giant of the music world, and an astonishing songwriter, capable of crafting timeless classics out of chords, melodies, and lyrics that are so simple they make you think "Hey, I could do that." But you didn't. Bill Withers did. Quote Samuel B. Lupowitz Musician. Songwriter. Food Enthusiast. Bad Pun Aficionado. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProfD Posted April 3, 2020 Share Posted April 3, 2020 The music of Bill Withers will live forever whether it is folks learning and playing "Lean on Me", cover bands jamming on "Use Me" and music producers digging in the crates to sample his songs. Thanks for the music. RIP Mr. Withers. Quote PD "The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Lobo Posted April 3, 2020 Share Posted April 3, 2020 I've frequently played "Ain't No Sunshine" at the weekly jam and "Use Me." At home I've played "Lean On Me." I am in Bill Withers' debt. Requiescat in pace, Mr. Withers. Quote These are only my opinions, not supported by any actual knowledge, experience, or expertise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MathOfInsects Posted April 3, 2020 Share Posted April 3, 2020 This one has sort of bummed me out in increasing waves through the day. Here's my FB post about it: -------- Some heroes we mourn because they die too young, and some because their death means that we are old enough for them to have gone. Bill Withers is one of those, how can we be old enough for him to pass at a reasonable age? types. I spent a gazillion hours tracking down his records in my record-collecting days, and even sitting in the library clarifying information about his career when I heard competing narratives. His album cuts are where his poetry blooms, and I have always held him in my private pantheon as an artist. "Whatever Happens" was the most grown-up "love" song I'd ever heard at the time, and left me sort of permanently gobsmacked from the first time I heard it. In fact in a way I've probably spent most of my songwriting career trying to put my own stamp on his multi-layered snapshot of love-as-it's-really-lived. I always imagined "Hello Like Before" was the sequel to it; written with the same wise wistfulness that made him such an evocative artist. Listen to them in that order and lights will go on that you didn't know were even wired to work: Quote Now out! "Mind the Gap," a 24-song album of new material. www.joshweinstein.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxcvbnm098 Posted April 3, 2020 Share Posted April 3, 2020 This one has sort of bummed me out in increasing waves through the day. Here's my FB post about it: -------- Some heroes we mourn because they die too young, and some because their death means that we are old enough for them to have gone. Bill Withers is one of those, how can we be old enough for him to pass at a reasonable age? types. I spent a gazillion hours tracking down his records in my record-collecting days, and even sitting in the library clarifying information about his career when I heard competing narratives. His album cuts are where his poetry blooms, and I have always held him in my private pantheon as an artist. "Whatever Happens" was the most grown-up "love" song I'd ever heard at the time, and left me sort of permanently gobsmacked from the first time I heard it. In fact in a way I've probably spent most of my songwriting career trying to put my own stamp on his multi-layered snapshot of love-as-it's-really-lived. I always imagined "Hello Like Before" was the sequel to it; written with the same wise wistfulness that made him such an evocative artist. Listen to them in that order and lights will go on that you didn't know were even wired to work: Great tunes. Indeed, such mature perspectives. Awesome. As someone else mentioned early in this thread, the documentary "Still Bill" is a great watch, as is "Black Godfather", the story of Clarence Avant who signed Bill to his Sussex label which released that fantastic first album. Here'a another short special on that first record..... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnSdExXrAIE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeT156 Posted April 4, 2020 Share Posted April 4, 2020 From what I read of bill, he was quite a character. He never hired a manager, and didn't take any crap from anyone. He was his "own kinda man". He had no patience for Record Label exec's and no interest in recording "formula" songs. He got fed up with the BS in the record business and called it a career. RIP Bill, you earned it. Mike T. Quote Yamaha Motif ES8, Alesis Ion, Prophet 5 Rev 3.2, 1979 Rhodes Mark 1 Suitcase 73 Piano, Arp Odyssey Md III, Roland R-70 Drum Machine, Digitech Vocalist Live Pro. Roland Boss Chorus Ensemble CE-1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicbysterling Posted April 4, 2020 Share Posted April 4, 2020 Use Me is probably in my Top 10 most favorite songs. The Clavinet track is the bedrock in such an incredible minimalistic recording. Quote �Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here!� J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxcvbnm098 Posted April 5, 2020 Share Posted April 5, 2020 The LA Times obit mentioned that although he didn't really play keys, he bought a Wurly and promptly wrote "Lean On Me". https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-04-03/lean-on-me-lovely-day-singer-bill-withers-dies-at-81 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
analogika Posted April 5, 2020 Share Posted April 5, 2020 Use Me is probably in my Top 10 most favorite songs. The Clavinet track is the bedrock in such an incredible minimalistic recording. And it wasn"t even part of the initial session, as per James Gadson in a Jake Feinberg Show interview. It was overdubbed later. Quote "The Angels of Libra are in the European vanguard of the [retro soul] movement" (Bill Buckley, Soul and Jazz and Funk) The Drawbars | off jazz organ trio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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