Withers, the youngest of six children, was born in the small coal-mining town of Slab Fork, West Virginia, on July 4, 1938. He was the son of Mattie (Galloway), a maid, and William Withers, a miner. He was born with a stutter and later said he had a hard time fitting in. His parents divorced when he was three, and he was raised by his mother's family in nearby Beckley, West Virginia. He was 13 years old when his father died. 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.
He left the Navy in 1965, relocating to Los Angeles in 1967 to start a music career. His debut release was "Three Nights and a Morning" in 1967. Arranged by Mort Garson, the song went unnoticed at the time but was later reworked by Withers as the track "Harlem".
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. When he returned with the song "Ain't No Sunshine" in 1971, he refused to resign from his job because he believed the music business was a fickle industry. In early 1970, Withers's demonstration tape was auditioned favorably by Clarence Avant, owner of Sussex Records. Avant signed Withers to a record deal and assigned former Stax Records stalwart Booker T. Jones to produce Withers' first album. Four three-hour recording sessions were planned for the album, but funding caused the album to be recorded in three sessions with a six-month break between the second and final sessions. Just as I Am was released in 1971 with the tracks, "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Grandma's Hands" as singles. The album features Stephen Stills playing lead guitar. On the cover of the album, Withers is pictured at his job at Weber Aircraft in Burbank, California, holding his lunch box.
Withers was known for his "smooth" baritone vocals and "sumptuous" soul arrangements. He wrote some of the most covered songs of the 1970s, including "Lean on Me" and "Ain't No Sunshine". The former entered the Hot 100 chart through multiple versions, including Club Nouveau's 1987 cover, which made the composition one of nine songs to have led the chart via different acts. With "Lovely Day", he set the record for the longest sustained note on a chart hit on American charts, holding a high E for 18 seconds. Editors from The Guardian considered that Withers' songs are "some of the most beloved in the American songbook," citing, "'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 ..." For the same newspaper, Alex Petridis noticed "[he] laid pain and paranoia under his deceptively gentle songs, and retired early having conquered gospel, funk, blues, disco and more." In Rolling Stone, writer Andy Greene noted that several of his songs "are embedded in the culture and have been covered countless times."
Writing for The New York Times, Giovanni Russonello considered Withers "[a] soulful singer with a gift for writing understated classics", adding, "the ultimate homespun hitmaker, he had an innate sense of what might make a song memorable, and little interest in excess attitude or accoutrements. Ultimately Withers reminded us that it’s the everyday that is the most meaningful: work, family, love, loss." A Billboard article considered that Withers "stands as one of R&B/soul music's most revered singer-songwriters." In the same magazine, writer Gail Mitchell acknowledged "Withers' legacy has flourished in the decades since, thanks to a cross-section of artists who have covered/sampled his songs or cited him as a major influence." Musician and music journalist Questlove referred to Withers' post-breakup 1974 album +'Justments as "a diary [...] [it] was a pre-reality-show look at his life. Keep in mind this was years before Marvin Gaye did it with Here, My Dear." The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson deemed him "a songwriter's songwriter". Musicians Sade, D'Angelo, Justin Timberlake, John Legend and Ed Sheeran have credited Withers as a music inspiration.
Withers died from heart complications in Los Angeles on March 30, 2020, at age 81; his family announced his death four days later. He is interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills).
11_Let me be the one you need
Bill Withers Lyrics
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But that can only come in time
Only know enough to make you stay
On my mind
Though I met you only yesterday
And only for a moment then
I knew I couldn't let you get away
I can be the one you love
Let me be the one you need
Take a look into your heart
Try to find a place for me
Can't say I can't live without you, babe
That's just some worn out loser's line
May not know enough about you, babe
But you stay on my mind
I can be the one you love
Let me be the one you need
Take a look into your heart
Try to find a place for me
I can be the one you love
Let me be the one you need
Take a look into your heart
Try to find a place for me
I can be the one you love
Let me be the one you need
Take a look into your heart
Try to find a place for me
I can be the one you love
Let me be the one you need
Take a look into your heart
In Bill Withers's song "Let Me Be The One You Need", the singer expresses his deep infatuation with someone he has only just met. While he doesn't know much about this person, he is certain that she is someone he doesn't want to let go. The singer confesses that he can't live without her, and while it may sound like a cliché, he emphasizes that he truly means it. He asks her to look deep into her heart and try to find a place for him because he wants to be the one that she loves and the one she needs.
The lyrics of this song express the vulnerability and uncertainty of falling in love. It is evident that the singer is not certain about the future, but he is willing to take a chance and hopes that she will do the same. The lyrics also capture the fear of rejection, as the singer sings of wanting to be the one loved and needed, as opposed to being the one who is cast aside.
Overall, the song is a beautiful declaration of love that showcases the power of a simple melody and a heartfelt message. Withers brings his trademark soulful sound to the track, adding to the emotional weight of the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
May not know enough about you, babe
I am aware that there is much more to you than what I currently know, darling.
That can only come in time
I understand that true knowledge of you can only be gained over time.
Only know enough to make you stay
The little I know about you is enough for me to want you to stay in my thoughts and heart.
On my mind
I cannot help but constantly think about you.
Though I met you only yesterday
Despite only meeting you recently.
And only for a moment then
And only briefly.
I knew I couldn't let you get away
I felt a strong connection to you and refused to let that feeling slip away.
I just can see you, girl
I can still vividly picture you in my mind, darling.
Can't say I can't live without you, babe
I don't mean to use an overplayed phrase, but I assure you that I can't imagine life without you, darling.
That's just some worn out loser's line
I acknowledge that this statement has been overused and lost its sincerity through repetition by those who did not truly mean it.
May not know enough about you, babe
Once again, I am aware that there is much more to you than what I currently know, darling.
But you stay on my mind
You continue to occupy my thoughts, darling.
I can be the one you love
I am capable of loving you.
Let me be the one you need
Allow me to be the one to fulfill your emotional and physical needs, darling.
Take a look into your heart
Examine your true feelings and emotions, darling.
Try to find a place for me
Consider making room for me in your heart, darling.
Lyrics © GOLDEN WITHERS MUSIC, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Bill Withers, Skip Scarborough, WILLIAM HARRISON WITHERS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind