Bill Withers's life was the subject of the 2009 documentary film Still Bill.
23 Facts About Bill Withers
2.
Bill Withers was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005 and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.
3.
Bill Withers was the son of Mattie, a maid, and William Withers, a miner.
4.
Bill Withers was born with a stutter and later said he had a hard time fitting in.
5.
Bill Withers's parents divorced when he was three, and he was raised by his mother's family in nearby Beckley, West Virginia.
6.
Bill Withers was 13 years old when his father died.
7.
Bill Withers enlisted in the United States Navy at the age of 17, and served for nine years, during which time he became interested in singing and writing songs.
8.
Bill Withers left the Navy in 1965, relocating to Los Angeles in 1967 to start a music career.
9.
Bill Withers worked as an assembler for several different companies, including Douglas Aircraft Corporation, IBM and Ford, while recording demo tapes with his own money, shopping them around and performing in clubs at night.
10.
The album was a success, and Bill Withers began touring with a band assembled from members of the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band.
11.
Bill Withers next released "Soul Shadows" with the Crusaders, and "In the Name of Love" with Ralph MacDonald, the latter being nominated for a Grammy for vocal performance.
12.
In 1982, Bill Withers was a featured vocalist on the album Dreams in Stone by French singer Michel Berger.
13.
Bill Withers stated in interviews that a lot of the songs approved for the album, in particular, two of the first three singles released, were the same songs that had been rejected in 1982, hence contributing significantly to the eight-year hiatus between albums.
14.
Bill Withers stated it was frustrating seeing his record label release an album for Mr T, an actor, when they were preventing him, an actual singer, from releasing his own.
15.
Bill Withers toured with Jennifer Holliday in 1985 to promote what would be his final studio album.
16.
At the 30th Annual Grammy Awards in 1988, Bill Withers won the Grammy for Best Rhythm and Blues Song as songwriter for the re-recording of "Lean on Me" by Club Nouveau.
17.
Bill Withers contributed two songs to Jimmy Buffett's 2004 release License to Chill.
18.
In 2005, Bill Withers was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
19.
Bill Withers was known for his "smooth" baritone vocals and "sumptuous" soul arrangements.
20.
Ultimately Bill Withers reminded us that it's the everyday that is the most meaningful: work, family, love, loss.
21.
Bill Withers married actress Denise Nicholas in 1973 during her stint on the sitcom Room 222.
22.
Bill Withers died from heart complications in a Los Angeles hospital on March 30,2020, at age 81; his family announced his death four days later.
23.
Bill Withers is interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park.