Soul Strut 100: # 46 - Bill Withers - Still Bill
RAJ
tenacious local 7,782 Posts
I will slowly be unveiling the Top 100 Soul Strut Related Records as Voted by the Strutters Themselves.
# 46 - Bill Withers - Still Bill
The list so far:
# 100 - Jr. and His Soulettes - Psychodelic Sounds
# 99 - Sir Joe Quarterman & Free Soul
# 98 - Donny Hathaway - S/T (1971)
# 97 - Bernard Wright - ???Nard
# 96 - Tom Scott - Honeysuckle Breeze
# 95 - People Under the Stairs - Question in the Form of an Answer
# 94 - Harlem River Drive
# 93 - Black Moon - Enta Da Stage
# 92 - Marvin Gaye - Here, My Dear
# 91 - Muddy Waters - Electric Mud
# 90 - Les McCann - Layers
# 89 - Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland
# 88 - Leroy Hutson - Hutson (1975)
# 87 - ESG - S/T (1981)
# 86 - Can - Tago Mago
# 85 - Bohannon - Stop & Go
# 84 - WILLIAM DEVAUGHN - Be Thankful For What You Got
# 83 - Power of Zeus - The Gospel According to Zeus
# 82 - Gang Starr - Hard To Earn
# 81 - The J.B.???s - Doing It to Death
# 80 - Parliament - Osmium
# 79 - McNeal & Niles - Thrust
# 78 - The Lafayette Afro Rock Band - Malik
# 77 - Earth, Wind, and Fire (1971)
# 76 - Dr. Dre - The Chronic
# 75 - Black Sabbath (1970)
# 74 - Trap Door / An International Psychedelic Mystery Mix (2006)
# 73 - Bob James - One
# 72 - Matthew Larkin Cassell - Pieces
# 71 - The Beginning Of The End - Funky Nassau
# 70 - Big Bear - Doin??? Thangs
# 69 - Steely Dan - Aja
# 68 - Quasimoto - The Unseen
# 67 - Curtis Mayfield - Curtis/Live! (1971)
# 66 - Al Green - Im still in love with you
# 65 - The Beatnuts - Street Level
# 64 - Archie Whitewater - Archie Whitewater (1970)
# 63 - Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - Mecca & the Soul Brother
# 62 - Notorious B.I.G. - Ready to Die
# 61 - The J.B.???s - Food For Thought
# 60 - Don Blackman (1982)
# 59 - Niagara - (Tiddies)
# 58 - Can - Ege Bamyasi
# 57 - Whatnauts - On the Rocks
# 56 - The Mohawks - Champ
# 55 - McDonald and Giles (1971)
# 54 - Darondo - Let My People Go
# 53 - Dorothy Ashby - Afro Harping
# 52 - Beastie Boys - Paul???s Boutique
# 51 - Mulatu Astatke - Mulatu of Ethiopia
# 50 - Lyman Woodard Organization - Saturday Night Special
# 49 - Isaac Hayes - Hot Buttered Soul
# 48 - Lyn Collins - Think (About It)
# 47 - James Brown - In The Jungle Groove
Please discuss your reactions to this record. The thread will be archived later here.
About
Still Bill is the second studio album by American soul musician Bill Withers, released in 1972 by Sussex Records. It includes two hit singles: "Lean on Me", which is number 205 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time[7] and went to number 1 on the Billboard pop and R&B charts in summer of 1972; and "Use Me", which went to number two on the same charts in fall of 1972.[8] It was certified Gold by the RIAA.[9][14]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Still_Bill
Related Threads
Underrated artists
School me on Bill Withers
Still Bill: Bill Withers Doc
Media
# 46 - Bill Withers - Still Bill
The list so far:
# 100 - Jr. and His Soulettes - Psychodelic Sounds
# 99 - Sir Joe Quarterman & Free Soul
# 98 - Donny Hathaway - S/T (1971)
# 97 - Bernard Wright - ???Nard
# 96 - Tom Scott - Honeysuckle Breeze
# 95 - People Under the Stairs - Question in the Form of an Answer
# 94 - Harlem River Drive
# 93 - Black Moon - Enta Da Stage
# 92 - Marvin Gaye - Here, My Dear
# 91 - Muddy Waters - Electric Mud
# 90 - Les McCann - Layers
# 89 - Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland
# 88 - Leroy Hutson - Hutson (1975)
# 87 - ESG - S/T (1981)
# 86 - Can - Tago Mago
# 85 - Bohannon - Stop & Go
# 84 - WILLIAM DEVAUGHN - Be Thankful For What You Got
# 83 - Power of Zeus - The Gospel According to Zeus
# 82 - Gang Starr - Hard To Earn
# 81 - The J.B.???s - Doing It to Death
# 80 - Parliament - Osmium
# 79 - McNeal & Niles - Thrust
# 78 - The Lafayette Afro Rock Band - Malik
# 77 - Earth, Wind, and Fire (1971)
# 76 - Dr. Dre - The Chronic
# 75 - Black Sabbath (1970)
# 74 - Trap Door / An International Psychedelic Mystery Mix (2006)
# 73 - Bob James - One
# 72 - Matthew Larkin Cassell - Pieces
# 71 - The Beginning Of The End - Funky Nassau
# 70 - Big Bear - Doin??? Thangs
# 69 - Steely Dan - Aja
# 68 - Quasimoto - The Unseen
# 67 - Curtis Mayfield - Curtis/Live! (1971)
# 66 - Al Green - Im still in love with you
# 65 - The Beatnuts - Street Level
# 64 - Archie Whitewater - Archie Whitewater (1970)
# 63 - Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - Mecca & the Soul Brother
# 62 - Notorious B.I.G. - Ready to Die
# 61 - The J.B.???s - Food For Thought
# 60 - Don Blackman (1982)
# 59 - Niagara - (Tiddies)
# 58 - Can - Ege Bamyasi
# 57 - Whatnauts - On the Rocks
# 56 - The Mohawks - Champ
# 55 - McDonald and Giles (1971)
# 54 - Darondo - Let My People Go
# 53 - Dorothy Ashby - Afro Harping
# 52 - Beastie Boys - Paul???s Boutique
# 51 - Mulatu Astatke - Mulatu of Ethiopia
# 50 - Lyman Woodard Organization - Saturday Night Special
# 49 - Isaac Hayes - Hot Buttered Soul
# 48 - Lyn Collins - Think (About It)
# 47 - James Brown - In The Jungle Groove
Please discuss your reactions to this record. The thread will be archived later here.
About
Still Bill is the second studio album by American soul musician Bill Withers, released in 1972 by Sussex Records. It includes two hit singles: "Lean on Me", which is number 205 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time[7] and went to number 1 on the Billboard pop and R&B charts in summer of 1972; and "Use Me", which went to number two on the same charts in fall of 1972.[8] It was certified Gold by the RIAA.[9][14]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Still_Bill
Related Threads
Underrated artists
School me on Bill Withers
Still Bill: Bill Withers Doc
Media
Comments
my guess s that his live album is going to rate higher.
once again, the soulstrut 100 hleps me be thankful for what i got.
That's a great way to put it. I've got a lot of love for this record.
+Justments i find is really underrated/underaapreciated.
He never fit into an industry category.
I consider him a to be in the singer songwriter vein.
My friends who really like those old singer songwriters think of him only as Lean On Me, which they remember as an annoying top 40 hit.
Columbia, Famously, wanted him to be "blacker". He referred to his producers there as something like blackperts. White people who were "experts" on what Black people like.
He got lucky when he was paired with Sussex and Booker T Jones who let him be himself and arranged the band around Bill's playing and singing. The opposite of Columbia's approach.
And the lyrics are slightly more bitter than the other albums, as well. Especially on the first song, "You" (a hit), where he calls out a ladyfriend for hanging with the wrong crowd.
Once, on some other message board that I never post to anymore, somebody started a thread on 1970s singer-songwriters. He was really starting to get into the genre and was asking for suggestions. I mentioned Bill Withers, and he responded something like: "Bill Withers isn't a singer-songwriter, he is a soul singer." As if it weren't possible to be both?
I'm no fan of that movement myself, but seems to me that if you're into Paul Simon, James Taylor, Jim Croce, etc., then somebody like Withers (or Terry Callier or Roberta Flack) shouldn't be far behind.
It helped that when Bill's first LP came out, there was a window of opportunity there where R&B was at its' most eclectic, with Donny Hathaway, Funkadelic, Gil Scott-Heron, Betty Davis and other progressives, bringing in tons of influences from jazz, folk and rock. Withers came in just as the industry was starting to swing that way, and he benefitted from that. Most magazine articles of the time noted that Withers didn't fit the mold of the usual "soul star" - no fancy suits, no dance steps, no Vegas attitudes, he just got up on stage in his Levis with an acoustic guitar and sang.
But by the time he hooked up with Columbia in 1975, that pathway was getting narrower. Disco was coming in, and once again black artists were expected to fit an extremely conservative mold. Unfortunately, his newer records reflected this.
In regards to Lovely Day...Obviously this stuff is better, but I dig Lovely Day too. I dont remember any of the other songs on menagerie, but that song is cool with me.
The live album is one of the greatest live records ever cut......can't think of a better one really.
It IS the greatest live album ever cut.
Bill Withers has such a nice warm sound, and such a simple style of writing and arranging songs, it just works. Just makes me feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. HUGE fan. I would hope the Carnegie album will be higher in this list.
One night I was sitting at home, watching tv and as I happenend upon the BBC "black music night" I saw a clip of this guy with a guitar and an orange jumper. He sang a song called use me.
This was the song to get me interested in soul music and vinyl. Thanks Bill.
Been listening to this a lot lately. Right up there with Still Bill.
"Still Bill" is one of those LPs that should be on every (true) record collector's shelf. The album is just plain wizardry of writing, vocals, and clever arrangments. My joints are "Use Me", "Kissing My Love", and "Let Me in Your Life" (which I posted below). I'm glad to see this LP recognized, rightfully so, by the Soul Strut 100. It's a masterpiece of soul music.
Peace,
Big Stacks from Kakalak