Tag: Harlem

Bill Withers and the B-side That Brought Him Fame

Bill Withers had his first hit song with “Ain’t No Sunshine,” a recording which was released as a B-side to “Harlem.”

bill withers just as i am Singer-songwriter Bill Withers was born William Harrison Withers, Jr. in West Virginia on July 4 in 1938. Although he has recorded a number of hits, his first big hit, “Ain’t No Sunshine,” climbed the charts by surprise.

After the release of his first album, his first single, “Harlem,” received little airplay on the radio. But disc jockeys recognized something special on the other side of the record and began paying the B-side, a song Withers had written called “Ain’t No Sunshine.”

“Ain’t No Sunshine”

The song got a boost with a British TV appearance too. Around 1971 or 1972, Withers appeared on British television following the release of his first album, Just As I Am (1971). On this British TV show, Withers introduced the B-side song, “Ain’t No Sunshine.”

According to a New Yorker article, as Withers introduced the song on the show, he explained, “Men have problems admitting to losing things. . . So, once in my life, I wanted to forgo my own male ego and admit to losing something, so I came up with. . .” Then he broke into the song. (Sasha Frere-Jones, “As Is,” The New Yorker, 8 March 2010: 76.)

Withers, who had been working making toilets for airplanes, was in his early 30s when he earned his first gold record and a Grammy Award for “Ain’t No Sunshine,” thanks to the disc jockeys who recognized the brilliance of the B-side.

Withers would write and perform other hits.  These included “Lean on Me,” “Just the Two of Us,” and “Use Me.”

Walking Away From Recording

But following disputes with his record company, by 1985 he gave up recording. As of 2009, he was living in Los Angeles and had not completely given up on music, as recounted in a 2009 documentary about Withers, Still Bill.

It is too bad for us that Withers did not produce more music, but what he did produce was pretty great. The A-side to “Ain’t No Sunshine” should have been a hit too. Check out this performance of “Harlem.”

After this post was first published, Bill Withers was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in April 2015.  Stevie Wonder presented the induction.  Later that year in October 2015, Withers attended a Carnegie Hall tribute concert in his honor.  Although he spoke on stage, he did not perform.

Bill Withers passed away from heart complications on March 30, 2020 at the age of 81.

{Note: Although the source of the “Ain’t No Sunshine” video is not labeled, it appears to be that British TV performance described in The New Yorker article, which mentioned Withers’s orange turtleneck.}

What is your favorite Bill Withers song? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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  • Ella Fitzgerald: A-Tisket A-Tasket

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    Ella Fitzgerald: A-Tisket A-Tasket

    On April 25, 1917, Ella Fitzgerald was born in Newport News, Virginia. The great jazz singer eventually became known as “The First Lady of Song” and “The First Lady of Jazz.”

    Pure Ella Unlike many other great jazz singers of her era, Fitzgerald is probably remembered for her upbeat optimistic songs instead of sad jazz ballads, although she did those songs justice too. But her childhood was anything but happy.

    After moving to Yonkers, New York with her her mother, Fitzgerald’s mother passed away.  Thus, the young girl found herself an orphan at the age of fifteen. After running away from an abusive stepfather, Fitzgerald lived in a variety of places, including an orphanage, a reformatory, and on the streets.

    But Fitzgerald pursued her dream.  She found some success performing at an amateur night at The Apollo Theater in Harlem and later as a regular singer at Harlem’s Savoy Ballroom with Chick Webb‘s Orchestra (later renamed “Ella and her Famous Orchestra” after Webb’s death). But it was a nursery rhyme that gave Fitzgerald her first huge hit.

    A-Tisket, A Tasket

    Fitzgerald, along with Van Alexander, took a nursery rhyme about a little yellow basket and she recorded it as a catchy popular song in 1938. Her version of “A-Tisket, A-Tasket” became a huge hit. If you have never heard her swinging original version, you are in for a treat. Check it out.

    Fitzgerald performed “A-Tisket, A-Tasket” in her first big screen appearance in Abbott and Costello’s Ride ‘Em Cowboy, a 1942 comedy film.   She played a ranch employee, singing the song for other employees on a bus.  A complete high-quality clip is not available, but you may see a clip — covered with some narration — on YouTube.

    Later Years

    For Fitzgerald’s take on a more modern song, check out her performance of The Beatles’ “Hey Jude.” She performs at the Hollywood Palace in February 1968, with an introduction by Jimmy Durante. Fitzgerald would later perform the song at the 1969 Montreux Festival.

    In Fitzgerald’s later years, she suffered a number of health problems. On June 15, 1996, Fitzgerald passed away in Beverly Hills, California at the age of 79.

    As for the yellow basket, there was a happy ending. Fitzgerald later recorded a sequel to “A-Tisket, A Tasket” with Chick Webb called “I Found My Yellow Basket.”



    What is your favorite Ella Fitzgerald performance? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • Barbara Dane’s Cool Musical Legacy: “Wild Woman,” “Gasser,” “Hard-Hitter”
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  • Bill Withers and the B-side That Brought Him Fame
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