I get to admit to being a bit of a philistine when it comes to Bill Withers. The first time I paid attention to the name was when he came up on unfogged (probably lemmy caution's comment). I got a copy of the recommended album, but never listened to it much.
It was clearly great, and I appreciated the recommendation, but it just wasn't what I was in the mood for at the time, so at some point I put it back on the shelf and didn't think about it.
Then, I saw Notting Hill and thought that the scene in which "Ain't No Sunshine" plays on the soundtrack showed off the song well, and was one of the best scenes in the movie.
That was the moment when I really appreciated Bill Withers.
I love Bill Withers, and have always admired him as a decent dude, but the last interview I saw with him (years ago) he sounded pretty embittered, so it's nice to see that he's finally made his peace, if indeed he has.
the last interview I saw with him (years ago) he sounded pretty embittered
The article does make it sound like he could be difficult to deal with:
But he refused to hire a manager, insisting on overseeing every aspect of his career, from producing his own songs to writing the liner notes to designing his album covers. "He was so opinionated," says Avant. "I was the closest thing he had to a manager. Everybody was scared of him."
"Early on, I had a manager for a couple of months, and it felt like getting a gasoline enema," says Withers. "Nobody had my interest at heart. I felt like a pawn. I like being my own man."
But the review for Still Bill (which I haven't seen) makes him sound relatively calm at th point the documentary was filmed .