File:Bill_Withers_1976.JPG · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Bill Withers
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OverviewAI-generated
Bill Withers, born William Harrison Withers, Jr. on July 4, 1938, in Slab Fork, West Virginia, was an American singer, singer-songwriter, composer, and guitarist. He performed in the genres of pop music, soul, rhythm and blues, deep soul, funk, and motown. His musical career began in 1963, and he worked primarily in New York City. Withers played the guitar, piano, and voice, and he was signed to Columbia Records.
He served in the United States Navy and was married to Denise Nicholas. Withers died of heart disease due to natural causes on March 30, 2020, in Los Angeles. He was recognized in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame collection.
Synthesized by Vinony from 34 facts across 5 sources: Wikidata, MusicBrainz, Last.fm, TMDb, Vinony collections. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Film & TV
Slab Fork, West Virginia, USA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia William Harrison "Bill" Withers, Jr. (July 4, 1938 - March 30, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter and musician who performed and recorded from 1970 until 1985. Some of his best-known songs are "Lean on Me", "Ain't No Sunshine", "Use Me", "Just the Two of Us", "Lovely Day", and "Grandma's Hands". Description above from the Wikipedia article Bill…
Known for
- The Groove Under the Groove2026
- Heartbreakers at the BBC — Self (archive footage)2023
- Nueva York: A Musical History of Latin New York — Self (archive footage)2021
- The Black Godfather — Self2019
- Mr. SOUL! — Self (archive footage)2018
- Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame: In Concert 2014-2017 — Self2018
- Kings of Soul — Self2015
- The Late Show with Stephen Colbert — Self2015
- Still Bill — Self2010
- Kenny Rogers and Friends — Self2010
via TMDB
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 2,745,546
- Total plays
- 41,528,299
Tags
William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter known for a series of influential hits during a career spanning 18 years. His best-known songs include "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), "Use Me" (1972), "Lean on Me" (1972), "Lovely Day" (1977), and "Just the Two of Us" (1980), the latter recorded in collaboration with Grover Washington Jr. Withers won three Grammy Awards from nine nominations. <a href="https://www.last.fm/musi
Key facts
- Born
- William Harrison Withers Jr. , ( 1938-07-04 ) July 4, 1938, Slab Fork, West Virginia , U.S.
- Died
- March 30, 2020 (2020-03-30) (aged 81), Los Angeles , California, U.S.
- Genres
- R&B soul
- Occupations
- Singer songwriter musician record producer
- Instruments
- Vocals guitar keyboards
- Years active
- 1967–1985 2004
- Labels
- Sussex Columbia
- Website
- billwithers .com
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- United States
- Place of birth
- Slab Fork
- Place of death
- Los Angeles
- Spouse
- Denise Nicholas
- Occupation
- guitarist
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Genre
- rhythm and blues
- Instrument
- voice
- Record label
- Columbia Records
- Military branch
- United States Navy
- Official website
- www.billwithersmusic.com
- Image
- Bill Withers 1976.JPG
- Number of children
- 2
- Work location
- New York City
Show 15 more facts
- date of birth
- 1938-07-04
- ethnic group
- African Americans
- birth name
- William Harrison Withers, Jr.
- name in native language
- Bill Withers
- start of work period
- 1963-00-00
- date of death
- 2020-03-30
- manner of death
- natural causes
- cause of death
- heart disease
- topic's main category
- Category:Bill Withers
- Commons category
- Bill Withers
- nominated for
- Grammy Award for Best New Artist
- social media followers
- 690000
- place of burial
- Forest Lawn Memorial Park
- copyright representative
- American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers
- medical condition
- stuttering
Sources (14)
via Wikidata · CC0
~16 min read
Encyclopedic overview
William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American soul and R&B singer and songwriter. Born in Slab Fork, West Virginia, and raised in Beckley, West Virginia, he is known for having several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), "Use Me" (1972), "Lean on Me" (1972), "Lovely Day" (1977) and "Just the Two of Us" (1980) (recorded in collaboration with Grover Washington Jr.). Withers won three Grammy Awards out of nine total nominations. He largely stopped performing and recording in the mid-1980s, citing burnout and conflicts with record company executives.
His life was the subject of the 2009 documentary film Still Bill. Withers was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015 and the National Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame in 2025. Two of his songs, "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Lean on Me", were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Bill Withers” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.