Highlights from today’s FAB Music Calendar for July 17th include… July 17, 1971 – Bill Withers burst onto the scene with the release of his debut single “Ain’t No Sunshine.” Withers was a late bloomer with the haunting ballad coming out shortly after he turned 33…He’d already spent nine years in the U.S. Navy, and while pursuing a career in music continued his “real” job as an employee of the Douglas Aircraft Corporation where he specialized in the assembly of toilet seats for 747s. Even when the song was released Withers refused to quit his job fearing the leap into the fickle world of music was a risky endeavor. The career plans changed in a hurry as Ain’t No Sunshine rocketed up the chart to a peak position of #3…The trend continued into 1972 with the follow-up hits “Lean on Me” and “Use Me” which hit #1 and #2 respectively. The sessions for Bill Withers’ debut album were produced by Booker T. Jones who enlisted the talents of a couple of his MGs…Bass player Donald “Duck Dunn” and Drummer Al Jackson Jr. The phrase “I Know” is used a total of 26 times in the song which was awarded the Best R&B Song trophy at the 1972 Grammys. Bill Withers won that same award ten years later for his collaboration with Grover Washington Jr. on the top five hit “Just the Two of Us.” Join JD again tomorrow at 12:20 for another edition of the FAB Music Calendar.
Posted on: Wed, 17 Jul 2013 17:23:35 +0000
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