@irishking

"A few years after “Two of Us,” Withers became one of the few stars in pop-music history to truly walk away from a lucrative career, entirely of his own volition, and never look back. “These days,” he says, “I wouldn’t know a pop chart from a Pop-Tart.”

As the Grammy telecast begins, and AC/DC kick off the show, Withers jumps into his Lexus SUV and heads down to his favorite restaurant, Le Petit Four; he has a hankering for liver and onions but settles for the blackened catfish. The hostess knows him by name, but otherwise he blends into the crowd. “I grew up in the age of Barbra Streisand, Aretha Franklin, Nancy Wilson,” he says, still musing on the Grammys. “It was a time where a fat, ugly broad that could sing had value. Now everything is about image. It’s not poetry. This just isn’t my time.”

Others don’t believe he is who he says: “One Sunday morning I was at Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles. These church ladies were sitting in the booth next to mine. They were talking about this Bill Withers song they sang in church that morning. I got up on my elbow, leaned into their booth and said, ‘Ladies, it’s odd you should mention that because I’m Bill Withers.’ This lady said, ‘You ain’t no Bill Withers. You’re too light-skinned to be Bill Withers!’ ”

His career lasted eight years by his own count; in that time, he wrote and recorded some of the most loved, most covered songs of all time, particularly “Lean on Me” and “Ain’t No Sunshine” — tunes that feature dead-simple, soulful instrumentation and pure melodies that haven’t aged a second. “He’s the last African-American Everyman,” says Questlove. “Jordan’s vertical jump has to be higher than everyone. Michael Jackson has to defy gravity. On the other side of the coin, we’re often viewed as primitive animals. We rarely land in the middle. Bill Withers is the closest thing black people have to a Bruce Springsteen.”

i admit that once i'd realized i could never grow up to be aretha franklin, life went downhill for me from then on. sigh.

from Rolling Stone in 2015

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/bill-withers-the-soul-man-who-walked-...

@longtalldrink

a love song to his grandma. "whatcha want to whip him for?"

thank you longtalldrink. i can see why it brings tears to your eyes. grandmas are usually counted on for their unconditional love; she had it.

Still brings tears to my eyes.

@mimi

i've seen you noting your angst, fear, and grief here and there. if i could take some of it way from you, i would. i suppose push come to shove, i'm more upset by the epic level of the drums of fear and war by other means than anything else.

sending good thoughts and vibes your way, and the most joyous Playing for Change song i know:

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5HfGrTUvz4]

betcha can't sit still and stop grinning!

I start crying a lot during the last couple of months. Remember lean on me from way back in the early eighties.

Seems there is no sunshine these days.