Hits such as “Lovely Day,” “Grandma’s Hands,” “Just The Two Of Us,” and “Lean On Me”, and of course the classic “Ain’t No Sunshine,” made Withers a legend.
After winning two Grammys in the 80’s, Withers stepped away from the industry. In a 2015 interview with Rolling Stone Withers explained he was satisfied with his decision.
“I’m very pleased with my life how it is. This business came to me in my thirties. I was socialized as a regular guy. I never felt like I owned it or it owned me.”
Withers’ good friend Stevie Wonder, said he had spoken to Withers in the beginning of the year about collaborating on a new album.
“We’d been texting each other,” Wonder told Billboard Magazine. “He texted me in January telling me how much he appreciated me being there for him. Then in February, he texted again talking about playing together. And I responded that it would be my pleasure, my joy. Just let me know and I’ll be there. That’s the last message I got from him.”
We may not have known what would have come from this collaboration, but if it was close to anything that Withers had done in the past, it sure would have been a classic.
Withers passed away on March 30 in Los Angeles from heart complications.
