Bill Withers

#276 KEXP is counting down the best album opening tracks of all time, as voted on by you! Menagerie is the sixth studio album by American R&B singer Bill Withers, released on October 29, 1977, through the Columbia label.

OPENING TRACK! KEXP is counting down the best album opening tracks of all time, as voted on by you! Voting ends at 7:00 PM PST TODAY. Then, tune in during our Fall Fundraising Drive to hear the results counted down starting Saturday, September 21st at noon through your number one favorite at 7pm on Friday, September 27th. www.kexp.org

OPENING TRACK! KEXP is counting down the best album opening tracks of all time, as voted on by you! Voting ends at 7:00 PM PST on Friday, September 13th. Then, tune in during our Fall Fundraising Drive to hear the results counted down starting Saturday, September 21st at noon through your number one favorite at 7pm on Friday, September 27th. www.kexp.org

German Grammy award-winning Berman Brothers (AKA Studio Rio). The project was born out of their deep love of Brazilian music. “Our goal was to bring the Brazilian joie de vivre to iconic performances by well-known artists. What would these classic songs sound like had they been recorded in the studios of Rio de Janeiro in the first place, with the best Brazilian musicians and arrangers?” www.studiorio.com

By request from Lauren in Durango, CO! Beloved singer and songwriter Bill Withers died in 2020 at the age of 81. Here's a KEXP remembrance: www.kexp.org

Shout Out to Joy! --- Slab Fork, West Virginia, was Bill’s place of birth. The youngest of six children, he was raised in nearby Beckley, in coal mining country. Withers’ father, a miner, died when Withers was 13. At 17, enlistment in the Navy was Bill’s ticket out. Withers arrived in Los Angeles in 1967. His self-financed demos on which Watts 103rd Street Band member Ray Jackson served as arranger and keyboardist, led Jackson to introduce him to Forrest Hamilton. Hamilton then introduced Withers to Clarence Avant of Sussex Records who tapped Booker T. Jones to produce Bill’s debut album. Read more about Withers journey to becoming a musical icon here: billwithers.com

OTD in 1972 – Bill Withers' Lean On Me hits #1

Today is the birthday (1938) of the great Bill Withers. Here's KEXP's 2020 tribute to Bill Withers, who died that year at age 81: www.kexp.org -- Here's a live performance on the BBC in 1974: www.youtube.com

Born on this day in 1938!