It's jarring looking at the Bill Withers discography, especially on Spotify. Nine albums (8 studio, 1 live one) released between 1971-85. And that's it. Withers stopped recording after 1985. He was only 47. For 35 years Withers sat on the sidelines, frustrated with record company politics.
The accolades wouldn't come until the 2000's. Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005 and the Rock Hall of Fame in 2015. Reissues of his 9 albums were also met with praise.
Withers was late to the hit parade. He didn't record his first album until he was 33. On those early albums he emerged as a fresh African-American singer/songwriter. Whose best songs combined a literal interpretation of his life and the world around him. With a clear, plain spoken voice, Withers didn't sound like any other R&B singer who crossed over to the Pop Top 40.
My favorite albums remain his first 3:
Just As I Am,
Still Bill and
Live at Carnegie Hall. All from 71-73. The two studio albums include his most popular songs. The live one is a revelation that has the devastating Vietnam era "I Can't Write Left-Handed" and a monstrous version of "Harlem/Cold Baloney."
That's not to say post-73 Withers didn't have nothing to say. You can't go wrong with "Just The Two Of Us", "Lovely Day", "Oh Yeah", "Ruby Lee".
Withers run at the top was brief. But those records still sound fresh today. Who knows what he left behind after 1985? For more check out the 2009 documentary
Still Bill.
