‘We are devastated’... heartbreak for family as Lean On Me singer Bill Withers dies at 81
BILL Withers, the soul singer behind Lean On Me, Just The Two Of US, Lovely Day and other global hits, has died at the age of 81.
His family said he had been suffering from heart problems, adding: “We are devastated by the loss of our beloved, devoted husband and father.
“A solitary man with a heart driven to connect to the world at large, with his poetry and music, he spoke honestly to people and connected them to each other... In this difficult time, we pray his music offers comfort as fans hold tight to loved ones.”
Bill’s death, on Monday in Los Angeles, comes as his songs inspire people during the Covid-19 crisis.
Legacy
Doctors, nurses, care workers, schoolchildren are among those who have posted their own renditions of Lean On Me on social media in a bid to reach out to others.
Yesterday, as the star’s death was announced, celebrities flocked to play tribute including Simply Red singer Mick Hucknall who tweeted: “The world has lost one of the greatest African-American songwriters to have ever walked this earth. Thank you, thank you, Bill Withers.”
Broadcaster Piers Morgan wrote: “One of the great singer-songwriters. Thanks for the music, Bill.”
And Level 42’s Mark King posted: “One of my all-time favourites, what a musical legacy to give to the world.”
Retiring in the mid-1980s, Bill gave a rare interview in 2014 to Rolling Stone magazine in which he said: “I’m not a virtuoso but I was able to write songs that people could identify with. I don’t think I’ve done bad for a guy from Slab Fork, West Virginia.”
The star was born William Withers Jr in the segregated US coal-mining town on July 4, 1938.
The youngest of six children, he joined the US Navy aged 17 and spent nine years as an aircraft mechanic installing toilets.
Afterwards he moved to LA where he worked at an aircraft parts factory. He used his wages to buy a guitar at a pawn shop and record demos of his tunes. In 1971, he signed to Sussex Records, releasing his first album, Just As I Am, with Booker T. Jones. It included Ain’t No Sunshine, which won him the first of three Grammys.
Lean On Me was performed at the inaugurations of US presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.
Withers was inaugurated into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in 2015 and accepted an Ivor Novello award in 2018. He leaves a wife, Marcia, and children Todd and Kori.