ZUM TOD DES US-AMERIKANISCHEN SÄNGERS UND SONGSCHREIBERS BILL WITHERS

03.04.2020 Der am 4. Juli 1938 in Slab Fork (West Virginia) geborene US-amerikanische Sänger und Songschreiber Bill Withers (Bild) ist am 30. März 2020 in Los Angeles gestorben. Den internationalen Durchbruch schaffte Withers im Jahr 1971 mit dem Song "Ain't No Sunshine", den er auch komponiert hatte. Weitere Hits sind u.a. "Lean on Me", "Use Me", "Just the Two of Us", "Lovely Day" und "Grandma's Hands". Bill Withers gewann drei Grammy Awards und war für vier weitere nominiert. 2005 wurde er in die Songwriters Hall of Fame und 2015 in die Rock and Roll Hall of Fame aufgenommen.

Foto: Columbia Records, 1976 - Public domain - Datei: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bill_Withers_1976.JPG

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. As private a life as he lived close to intimate family and friends, his music forever belongs to the world. In this difficult time, we pray his music offers comfort and entertainment as fans hold tight to loved ones. We know his legacy will live in our hearts and in yours for generations to come.

The Withers Family

https://www.facebook.com/BillWithers/

Bill Withers, Hall of Fame Soul Singer, Dead at 81

Grammy-winning mellifluous vocalist behind "Lean on Me," "Lovely Day," and "Ain't No Sunshine" succumbs to heart complications.

While many of Withers' biggest songs were recorded in the Seventies, they have proven to be timeless hits. "Lean on Me" emerged once again in recent weeks as an anthem of hope and solidarity in the time of COVID-19.

Andy Greene

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/bill-withers-obituary-977929/

A three-time Grammy Award winner, he had a string of much-covered hits in the 1970s but had not released an album since 1985

Mr. Withers, who had an evocative, gritty R&B voice that could embody loss or hope, was in his 30s when he released his first album, "Just as I Am," in 1971. It included "Ain't No Sunshine," a mournful lament ("Ain't no sunshine when she's gone/And she's always gone too long/Anytime she goes away") that cracked the Billboard Top 10.

Neil Genzlinger

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/03/arts/music/bill-withers-dead.html

Bill Withers dies: Kamala Harris, John Legend, Alicia Keys pay respects to R&B great

Reactions to the death of singer-songwriter Bill Withers took on a more personal tone Friday with people sharing the memories that songs like "Lean on Me" and "Lovely Day" had embedded in their minds.

Christie D'Zurilla

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2020-04-03/bill-withers-dead-reactions

Jem Aswad

https://variety.com/2020/music/news/bill-withers-dead-dies-chance-the-rapper-lenny-kravitz-kamala-harris-1234570282/

'Lean On Me,' 'Use Me,' 'Just the Two of Us' & More: Bill Withers' Biggest Billboard Hits

Bill Withers stands as one of R&B/soul music's most revered singer-songwriters, and over the course of his career, he forged an impressive resumé on Billboard's charts.

Xander Zellner

https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/chart-beat/9350616/bill-withers-biggest-billboard-hits

Withers' songs are some of the most beloved in the American songbook

Ain't No Sunshine is regarded as one of the all-time great breakup tracks, while Lean on Me, an ode to the supportive power of friendship, was performed at the inaugurations of presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. Heavily influenced by the church hymns and gospel music of his childhood, it was his first and only No 1 single on the US Billboard pop charts, in 1972.

Tim Jonze, Ben Beaumont-Thomas

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/apr/03/bill-withers-influential-soul-singer-dies-aged-81

Représentant de la soul des années 1970

Il s'était volontairement retiré du monde de la musique, en 1985. Mais au cours d'une courte carrière commencée en 1970, il aura été l'auteur, le compositeur et l'interprète, voix suave et pleine de swing, de quelques hymnes de la soul music: Ain't No Sunshine, Lean on Me et Use Me.

Sylvain Siclier

https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2020/04/03/bill-withers-auteur-et-interprete-du-tube-ain-t-no-sunshine-est-mort-a-l-age-de-81-ans_6035471_3246.html

Bill Withers, la leyenda del 'soul' que prefirió callar

Withers era un creador único: tenía modos de cantautor pero también era capaz de facturar un funk desenchufado, como demostró en su glorioso Live At Carnegie Hall (1973). También le caracterizaba un sentido de la justicia que casaba mal con la venalidad habitual de la industria musical.

Diego A. Maneique

https://elpais.com/cultura/2020-04-03/muere-a-los-81-anos-bill-withers-autor-de-aint-no-sunshine.html

Addio alla voce di 'Ain't No Sunshine'

L'artista, uno dei maestri della black music, aveva 81 anni ed era malato di cuore. La famiglia: "In questo momento difficile preghiamo affinché la sua musica offra conforto e svago ai fan che si stringono ai propri cari"

Ernesto Assante

https://www.repubblica.it/spettacoli/musica/2020/04/03/news/coronavirus_morto_bill_withers_addio_alla_voce_di_ain_t_no_sunshine_-253038049/

19 Sekunden für die Ewigkeit

Seine Karriere währte nur knapp anderthalb Jahrzehnte, vor 35 Jahren kehrte er der Musik für immer den Rücken - und doch strahlen Bill Withers Songs bis heute, sogar in der Coronakrise.

Arno Frank

https://www.spiegel.de/kultur/musik/bill-withers-ist-tot-19-sekunden-fuer-die-ewigkeit-nachruf-a-7ed20392-ed54-4802-ab67-ba0bf561ed63

Ein begnadeter Dramaturg seiner Songs

Withers Stimme klang cool, er konnte sich zurücknehmen, er konnte einfach pfeifen wie in dem Song "Kissing my Love", einem uptempo Funk, dessen Gesang erst den Breakbeat der Drums mitnimmt, dann den Schwung des Wah-Wah-Pedals der Gitarre und nach dem Kuss einfach nur verzückt zu pfeifen anfängt. Withers war ein begnadeter Dramaturg seiner Songs.

Er konnte sich allerdings auch allein mit einer Gitarre auf die Bühne stellen und Folksongs spielen, die dann aber nicht klangen wie Folksongs, sondern wie super präzise Soulsongs mit Funkschlagseite, gesungen von Bill Withers mit der markanten Stimme.

Julian Weber

https://taz.de/Nachruf-auf-Bill-Withers/!5676483/

Wahrhaftige Grösse

Es gibt in Wahrheit nicht viele Genies, aber er war eines: Bill Withers ist gestorben, der mit Liedern wie "Lean On Me" oder "Ain't No Sunshine" Hymnen auf das Leben schrieb.

Alexander Gorkow

https://www.sueddeutsche.de/kultur/bill-withers-soulsaenger-songwriter-tot-nachruf-gestorben-1.4868058

Melancholisch, warm und weise

Bill Withers hatte ein epochales Talent für einfache und bedeutsame Soulsongs. Das Musikbusiness war jedoch nie seine Sache.

Jens Balzer

https://www.zeit.de/kultur/musik/2020-04/bill-withers-soul-musiker-nachruf

Die Liebe und ihr Mantra

Bill Withers war einer der großen Soul-Songwriter. Er steht in einer Reihe mit Marvin Gaye und Isaac Hayes.

Christian Schröder

https://www.tagesspiegel.de/kultur/zum-tod-von-bill-withers-die-liebe-und-ihr-mantra/25714678.html

Ain't no sunshine when he's gone

"Oh Mann, Bill Withers war wirklich der Grösste", kommentierte der Rapper Chance.

hosr/haet

https://www.srf.ch/kultur/musik/soulsaenger-bill-withers-tot-ain-t-no-sunshine-when-he-s-gone

Der ruhige Soul-Rebell

Um die dreihundert Aufnahmen in verschiedensten Musikstilen gibt es inzwischen von "Ain't No Sunshine". Die Single erschien im Juli 1971 und wurde mit einem Grammy-Award ausgezeichnet.

Hanspeter Künzler

https://www.nzz.ch/feuilleton/bill-withers-saenger-von-aint-no-sunshine-ist-tot-ld.1550187?reduced=true

Audios / Videos:

Bill Withers - Ain't No Sunshine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=CICIOJqEb5c&feature=emb_logo

Bill Withers - Lean On Me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkaexjc-1os&feature=emb_logo

Bill Withers - Lovely Day (Audio)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEeaS6fuUoA&feature=emb_logo

Bill Withers - Just the two of us

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEy6MGu3bIA&feature=emb_logo

BILL WITHERS LIVE, ZAIRE 1974