My Top Ten Bill Withers Songs

If you asked me to name my favourite post-60s soul singer, Bill Withers would come top of the list. I first became aware of Bill some time after his retirement when his music returned to the charts in the late 80s, even though Bill himself didn't come with it. He'd chosen to leave the music industry behind a couple of years earlier and resisted all subsequent temptations to return and cash in, preferring instead to live a quiet life as a "regular guy".

His legacy includes many truly timeless pop songs - so timeless in fact, that this Top Ten pretty much wrote itself, because the big hits just had to be there... along with a couple of lesser-known favourites. The only difficulty I had was putting them in order.

Thanks to Lynchie for pointing us in the direction of Bill's duet with Bobby Womack on It's All Over Now, "the best ever version" of that particular tune.



10. Harlem

An audio time capsule. Close your eyes and you're actually there with him.

9. Who Is He And What Is He To You?

Jealousy and infidelity has rarely sounded sweeter.

8. I Can't Write Left-Handed

An anti-war song... but really, it's a song about sacrifice. The live intro is essential.

7. Just The Two Of Us

Written by Bill, but recorded as a duet with saxophonist Grover Washington who took top billing... long before Will Smith... or even Eminem... got their hands on it.

6. Grandma's Hands

His favourite song... listen to the live introduction and he explains why. Get to the end without filling up and you've got a heart of stone.

5. Lovely Day

One of those pop songs that's so ubiquitous it verges on Beatles territory... and yet I never grow tired of it. Plus, listen to how he holds those notes in the chorus!

4. Better Off Dead

The song that convinced me Bill was more than just another soul singer. The ultimate suicide anthem - the singer even shoots himself dead at the end. Beat that, Morrissey!

3. Ain't No Sunshine

His debut hit, released when he was 33 years old. Even when it struck gold, he refused to quit his on a production line because he thought the music industry was "a fickle business".

2. Lean On Me

There's a simplicity to Bill's best tunes that makes them truly timeless. Here's the perfect example of that, with lyrics we all really need right now...

Sometimes in our lives we all have pain

We all have sorrow

But if we are wise

We know that there's always tomorrow

1. Use Me

Perhaps a surprising choice for number one given the household name tunes above, but this is the first track I thought of when I heard the news of Bill's passing, and I've listened to it most of the weekend. The keyboard bassline is one of the most addictive substances known to man.




RIP, Bill. Wherever you are, I hope it's a lovely day.