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).
Memories Are That Way
Bill Withers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To the good times
When it's over
And the sad times disappear
Memories are that way, memories are that way
Memories tell you that
All the best times
Are the times of yesteryear
Memories are that way, memories are that way
Memories are that way
Memories are the words to love songs
Sung throughout the years
Memories of the herds of love songs
Sung through smiles and tears
Memories take you back
To the lean times
In between times
And the times when you knew fear
Memories are that way, memories are that way
In this song, Bill Withers speaks about how memories can transport us back in time to relive some of our happiest moments. Memories have the power to take away the pain of sad times and leave us with only happiness to look back on. The song implies that the best times in our lives have already passed us by, and we can only revisit them through our memories. The lyrics are reflective of the idea that time moves on whether we like it or not, and we must appreciate the present while cherishing our happy past memories.
The song also touches on the role of memories in love songs. Withers sings about how memories are the words to love songs and how they have been sung through the years, depicting the happiness and sadness that come with love. The song suggests that memories are to be cherished and used as inspiration whenever we become hopeless or discouraged.
The slow and emotional tone of the song, coupled with Withers's powerful voice, makes the song hauntingly beautiful. The lyrics are spiritually uplifting for those who are struggling with moving on and those who want to reminisce about their role in the story of life.
Line by Line Meaning
Memories take you back
Memories can transport you back in time
To the good times
To the happy and joyful moments
When it's over
When a particular time has elapsed and come to a close
And the sad times disappear
Sad experiences tend to vanish in hindsight
Memories are that way, memories are that way
Memories always have a way of functioning that are unique to them
Memories tell you that
Memories are capable of giving you a message
All the best times
All the wonderful and pleasant moments
In your lifetime
Throughout your existence
Are the times of yesteryear
Best moments tend to refer to the past
Memories are that way, memories are that way
This statement reinforces the idea that memories work in a particular and unique way
Memories are that way
An assertion once again of how memories behave
Memories are the words to love songs
Memories serve as lyrical content for love songs
Sung throughout the years
Songs based on memories are sung for years to come
Memories of the herds of love songs
Countless love songs come from cherished memories
Sung through smiles and tears
No matter the mood, memories fuel the emotions behind love songs
Memories take you back
Another statement on how memories can transport you back to a time and place
To the lean times
To financially challenging moments
In between times
The moments that appear insignificant in hindsight
And the times when you knew fear
Times that brought great apprehension or anxiety
Memories are that way, memories are that way
A final reiteration that memories will always be unique in their manner of functioning
Contributed by Camilla A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.