My Take
Bill Withers is one of those artists who makes you feel like he lived ten more lifetimes than most people, and yet he only released records for about eighteen years before quietly walking away from the industry in the mid-1980s — on his own terms, which honestly makes him cooler. He came up from Slab Fork, West Virginia, worked as an assembly line worker at an aircraft parts factory well into his thirties, and then just showed up with "Ain't No Sunshine" and blew everyone away. Songs like "Lean on Me" and "Lovely Day" feel less like pop hits and more like things your grandmother would have stitched into a sampler — they're that timeless. Getting into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015 felt overdue, but then Bill never seemed to care much about that kind of validation, which is exactly why his music still hits so hard.
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…
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Bill Withers
- Name (Japanese)
- ビル・ウィザース
- Reading
- びる・うぃざーす
- Born
- July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Cancer / Tiger
- Origin
- Slab Fork, West Virginia, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- singer / singer-songwriter / composer / guitarist
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
Awards & achievements
- 2015 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.