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).
My Imagination
Bill Withers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I had no idea that you'd ever be real
Now you're my life, not just some fascination
And I love you now that you're here
Now that you are real not my imagination
But someone to love, and I do love you, dear
Long before love, you were here in my memories
And now my dream talks to me
And fixes my coffee in the morning
And rubs my back when I'm weary
Thank you, dear
And I love you now that you're here
Now my dream talks to me
Fixes my coffee in the morning
And rubs my back when I'm weary
Thank you, dear
And I love you now that you're here
Now that you are real not in my imagination
But someone to love, and I do love you, dear
Long before love you were here in my memories
And I love you now that you're here
I love you now that you're here
The lyrics of Bill Withers's song My Imagination describe a love that was once just a figment of the singer's imagination but is now a reality. When the singer first imagined this person, they had no idea that they would ever become a reality. But now that they are here, the singer loves them deeply. The song speaks to the power of the imagination and the fulfillment that can come when our dreams become reality.
The first verse of the song reveals that the person who appeared in the singer's imagination became a reality. This person is no longer just a fascination but is now the love of the singer's life. The second verse speaks to the idea that this person was present in the singer's memories long before they became a reality. The chorus of the song repeats the sentiment that the singer loves this person now that they are here in real life. The final verse describes the singer's dream talking to them, fixing their coffee in the morning, and rubbing their back when they're weary. This verse conveys the idea that the singer's love is taking care of them in tangible ways, making their dreams even sweeter.
Line by Line Meaning
When you appeared in my imagination
At first, I only saw you in my dreams
I had no idea that you'd ever be real
I never expected to actually find someone like you
Now you're my life, not just some fascination
You've become more than just a passing interest, you're my everything now
And I love you now that you're here
I truly and deeply love you now that you're in my life
Now that you are real not my imagination
You're no longer just a figment of my imagination, you're a real person
But someone to love, and I do love you, dear
You're the one I love, and I truly do love you
Long before love, you were here in my memories
Even before I knew what love was, I had memories of you in my mind
And now my dream talks to me
My dreams have become a reality with you in my life
And fixes my coffee in the morning
You take care of me in ways I never expected, even making my morning coffee
And rubs my back when I'm weary
In good times and bad, you're always there to comfort me
Thank you, dear
I'm grateful for all that you do, my love
And I love you now that you're here
Once again, I can't express enough how much I love you now that you're in my life
Lyrics © GOLDEN WITHERS MUSIC, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Bill Withers
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind