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).
Ruby Lee
Bill Withers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Wish I knew of someone I could call
Someone who might understand it all
Ruby Lee, I show wish you was here with me
Someone's lying with me in my bed
Some stranger who don't understand my head
Wish it was you lying here instead
Drowning in a sea of pretty faces
Being quite the man about the town
Packing up and going different places
But I show miss having you around
I listen to the noises down the hall
Think I'll move out of here in the fall
I ain't exactly having me a ball
Ruby Lee, I show wish you was here with me
Yeah, no
These lyrics from "Ruby Lee" by Bill Withers are a poignant expression of loneliness and longing. The singer is staring at shadows on the wall and feeling as if he's drowning in a sea of pretty faces. He wishes he had someone to call who would understand him, and that person is Ruby Lee. He imagines her lying with him in bed instead of a stranger who doesn't understand his head. Even though the singer is trying to be the man about town, he misses having Ruby Lee around. He hears noises down the hall and thinks about moving out in the fall, because he's not exactly having a good time without her.
Line by Line Meaning
Staring at shadows on the wall
Feeling lonely and lost, wishing for comfort and understanding.
Wish I knew of someone I could call
Desiring a connection with someone who can empathize and relate to their struggles.
Someone who might understand it all
Yearning for someone who can comprehend and validate their emotions and difficulties.
Ruby Lee, I show wish you was here with me
Longing for the specific companionship and support of Ruby Lee.
Someone's lying with me in my bed
Being physically close with someone, but feeling emotionally distant and unfulfilled.
Some stranger who don't understand my head
Sleeping with someone who is unable to comprehend or connect with their thoughts and emotions.
Wish it was you lying here instead
Desiring Ruby Lee's presence and understanding instead of the current partner.
Ruby Lee, I show wish you was here with me
Reaffirming the longing for Ruby Lee's presence and the comfort that comes with it.
Drowning in a sea of pretty faces
Feeling overwhelmed and lost in a world of superficial relationships and frivolous connections.
Being quite the man about the town
Putting on a facade of confidence and success to mask inner struggles and loneliness.
Packing up and going different places
Trying to escape from feelings of unhappiness and dissatisfaction by changing locations.
But I show miss having you around
Despite attempts to move on, still deeply missing and longing for Ruby Lee's presence and support.
I listen to the noises down the hall
Being hyper-aware of the sounds of life around them, feeling disconnected and isolated.
Think I'll move out of here in the fall
Contemplating making a change to escape feelings of unhappiness and isolation.
I ain't exactly having me a ball
Acknowledging that life is not going well and feeling unfulfilled.
Ruby Lee, I show wish you was here with me
Ending the song with a repetition of the longing for Ruby Lee's presence and support.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BILL WITHERS, MELVIN CARL DUNLAP
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind