Song: “Ain’t No Sunshine”
Some of the finest musicians around make this 1971 classic come alive
If you wanted a song that captured a moment in musical history, Bill Withers’ 1971 debut hit “Ain’t No Sunshine” wouldn’t be a bad choice.
After spending nine years in the US Navy, Withers took a job at a factory making bathrooms for 747s. Through friends, he was introduced to Booker T. Jones from Booker T. & the MG’s.
Jones was named after Booker T. Washington. While still in high school, Jones co-wrote the group’s classic instrumental “Green Onions,” which became a massive hit and enduring classic in 1962.
By the time the two met, Jones was an elite session musician with Stax Records, where Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, and many other soul legends recorded.
To record “Ain’t No Sunshine,” Jones brought in some other top-notch musicians — including Stephen Stills on lead guitar, Donald “Duck” Dunn on bass, and Jim Keltner on drums — and produced an entire album for Withers, who was 32 at the time.
The song’s bridge is one of its most identifiable in music. Withers had intended to write more lyrics, but ended up repeating the phrase “I know” 26 times in the recording session. Thinking he needed to go back and fix it, he followed the advice of the other musicians who urged him to leave it that way:
I was this factory worker puttering around. So when they said to leave it like that, I left it.
The song reached #6 on the US R&B Charts in 1971, and reached the Top 40 again in 2009, when it was sung by Kris Allen on American Idol. It won a Grammy Award in 1972 for “Best R&B Song.”
When first released, “Ain’t No Sunshine” did not chart in the UK. Michael Jackson covered the song in 1972, and that version reached #8 on the UK charts. Withers’ original version made its first entry into the UK singles chart in May 2009 after being performed on Britain’s Got Talent by contestant Shaun Smith.
The performance below comes from The Old Grey Whistle Test, a British TV show that ran from 1971-1987 and featured a variety of musical guests. The show was shot in a small studio with no audience, which resulted in more relaxed performances where the artists could concentrate on their music. The appearance is considered a classic from the show, and was included in a DVD compilation released in 2001.
Enjoy!