Bill Withers - Original Album Classics (2014)

Bill Withers was born in the mining town of Slab Fork in 1938. His parents divorced when he was three. He then lived with his mother, Mattie Rose, in Beckley. His father, William Harrison Withers Sr., was active in a Baptist church and was a treasurer for the United Mine Workers of America. When Withers was 13, his father died. At the age of seventeen, Withers Jr. was drafted into the Marine Corps, where he served for nine years, including in the Middle East. During this time, he began writing songs. He moved to Los Angeles in 1967. A demo tape of his signed him to Sussex Records in Hollywood. His debut album, J"ust as I Am", was recorded by Booker T. Jones and released in January 1971. It reached number 35 on the Billboard 200. The single "Ain't No Sunshine" was even more successful. He reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and won a Grammy Award the following year.

His second album, Still Bill (1972), reached number one in the United States. In October 1972, he recorded a live album at Carnegie Hall.

He continued to release albums until the late 1970s, beginning in 1975 with Columbia Records. He had another hit with "Lovely Day" in 1977. From the early 1980s, Withers increasingly collaborated with other artists. His 1981 single "Just the Two of Us" reached number two on the Billboard charts and earned Withers his second Grammy Award in 1982. His final album, "Watching You, Watching Me," was released in 1985.

On March 18, 2009, the documentary film "Still Bill", which was filmed over an eleven-year period, premiered at the South by Southwest Festival. The film also features guest appearances by Cornel West and Sting.

Bill Withers died in Los Angeles in early 2020 of heart disease at the age of 81. He was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills.

The set includes Bill Withers' final five albums, all of which he recorded for Sony. After "Watching You Watching Me (1985)", Withers largely withdrew from the public eye.

It includes the following albums:

Making Music (1975)
Naked & Warm (1976)
Menagerie (1977)
Bout Love (1979)
Watching You Watching Me (1985)

“Withers is not only a smooth, sometimes velvety singer, but also a highly gifted songwriter who loves to mix soul, R&B, and gospel elements with folk elements in near-perfect harmonies.” (Good Times, October/November 2014).