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![]() ![]() Withers continued to work on his musicianship, learning guitar. When he hit 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. 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. Arranged by Mort Garson, the song went unnoticed at the time but was later reworked by Withers as the track "Harlem." His debut release was "Three Nights and a Morning" in 1967. He left the Navy in 1965, relocating to Los Angeles in 1967 to start a music career. 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 was 13 years old when his father died. His parents divorced when he was three, and he was raised by his mother's family in nearby Beckley, West Virginia. He was born with a stutter and later said he had a hard time fitting in. He was the son of Mattie (née Galloway), a maid, and William Withers, a miner. William Harrison Withers Jr., the youngest of six children, was born in the small coal-mining town of Slab Fork, West Virginia, on July 4, 1938. Two of his songs were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Withers was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005 and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015. His life was the subject of the 2009 documentary film Still Bill. Withers won three Grammy Awards and was nominated for six more. He had several hits over a career spanning 18 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). (J– March 30, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. ![]()
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