William Harrison "Bill" Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an … Read Full Bio ↴William Harrison "Bill" Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He had several hits over a relatively short career of fifteen years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), "Use Me" (1972), "Lean on Me" (1972), "Lovely Day" (1977), and "Just the Two of Us" (1981). Withers won three Grammy Awards and was nominated for six more. His life was the subject of the 2009 documentary film Still Bill. Withers was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005 and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015. Two of his songs were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

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).

Sweet Wanomi
Bill Withers Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

In a room with soft satin pillows
Cracklin' fireplace keeps us warm
Whisprin' wind through weepin' willows
And sweet Wanomi restin' in my arms

In a soft light her eyes are gleamin'
Pretty little hand covers
Up her mouth when she yawns

Wake me up, I must be dreamin' that
Sweet Wanomi restin' in my arms

Sleepy kisses, warm me softly
Get much warmer later on
I reach for the light and turn it off
Uh, huh, sweet Wanomi restin' in my arms

Sweet Wanomi restin' in my arms

Sweet Wanomi restin' in my arms
Sweet Wanomi restin' in my arms

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Bill Withers's song Sweet Wanomi paint a picture of a cozy and intimate moment shared between two individuals. The setting is described as a room with soft satin pillows and a crackling fireplace. The singer holds a woman named Wanomi in his arms as she sleeps. The calm and serene atmosphere is further enhanced by the whispering wind through weeping willows outside.

The singer takes notice of Wanomi’s beauty as her eyes gleam in the soft light. She covers her mouth with her pretty little hand when she yawns. The singer is so lost in this moment that he wonders if he is dreaming. As the night progresses, the sleepy kisses warm him up, and the song suggests they might get even warmer later on. But not wanting to disturb the peace, he reaches for the light and turns it off, embracing the moment with Wanomi in his arms.

Overall, the lyrics of Sweet Wanomi portray the pure joy of experiencing a beautiful moment with someone you love. It is not about grand gestures, but about the power of simple moments that make us feel alive.

Line by Line Meaning

In a room with soft satin pillows
I am in a room with comfortable furnishings.

Cracklin' fireplace keeps us warm
The warmth of the crackling fireplace is comforting.

Whisprin' wind through weepin' willows
The sound of the wind through the willow trees is peaceful.

And sweet Wanomi restin' in my arms
I am holding my loved one, Wanomi, in my arms.

In a soft light her eyes are gleamin'
The light is gentle, and my partner's eyes are shining.

Pretty little hand covers
My partner's hand is covering her mouth.

Up her mouth when she yawns
My partner covers her mouth when she yawns.

Wake me up, I must be dreamin' that
It feels like a dream come true to be with her.

Sweet Wanomi restin' in my arms
I am holding my loved one, Wanomi, in my arms.

Sleepy kisses, warm me softly
Kissing my partner feels gentle and loving.

Get much warmer later on
Our love for each other grows stronger with time.