Sale!
More generous than the 20-track The Very Best Of, Essential Bill Withers is a 34-track anthology that features all of Withers' notable singles, along with other highlights from the singer's albums for the Sussex and Columbia labels, from 1971's Just as I Am through 1985's Watching You Watching Me.
This is a fine and extensive introduction to Withers' catalog, featuring "Ain't No Sunshine," "Lean on Me," "Use Me," "Lovely Day," and "The Same Love That Made Me Laugh." He also recorded scads of excellent deep album cuts that could not fit.
In 2013, the lovingly packaged The Complete Sussex and Columbia Albums Collection -- released the previous year -- retailed for roughly three times the price of this set.
Anyone with a serious interest in Withers' work should seriously consider that option, though it doesn't contain "Just the Two of Us," the big hit from Grover Washington, Jr.'s Winelight album.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ain't No SunshineBill Withers | Bill Withers | Play | 02:05 | 4 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | HarlemBill Withers | Bill Withers | Play | 03:23 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | Grandma's HandsBill Withers | Bill Withers | Play | 02:01 | 4 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | Hope She'll Be HappierBill Withers | Bill Withers | Play | 03:49 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | Better Off DeadBill Withers | Bill Withers | Play | 02:14 | 5 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | Lonely Town, Lonely StreetBill Withers | Bill Withers | Play | 03:41 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | Let Me In Your LifeBill Withers | Bill Withers | Play | 02:42 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | Who Is He (And What is He To You)?Stanley Wayne McKenny, Bill Withers | Bill Withers | Play | 03:14 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | Lean On MeBill Withers | Bill Withers | Play | 01:27 | 3 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | Make A Smile For MeBill Withers | Bill Withers | Play | 03:15 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 11 | The Same Love That Made Me LaughBill Withers | Bill Withers | Play | 03:24 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 12 | Heartbreak RoadBill Withers | Bill Withers | Play | 03:09 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 13 | Railroad ManM. Dunlap, Bill Withers | Bill Withers | Play | 06:28 | 14 MB | 0 MB |
| 14 | Family TableDaine Gonneau, Bill Withers | Bill Withers | Play | 03:12 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 15 | The Best You CanBill Withers | Bill Withers | Play | 02:22 | 5 MB | 0 MB |
| 16 | I Wish You WellBill Withers | Bill Withers | Play | 03:57 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 17 | Don't You Want To Stay?M. Dunlap, Ray Jackson, Bill Withers | Bill Withers | Play | 04:04 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 18 | I'll Be With YouBill Withers | Bill Withers | Play | 03:10 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 19 | My ImaginationBill Withers | Bill Withers | Play | 04:52 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 20 | I Want To Spend the NightBill Withers | Bill Withers | Play | 03:41 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 21 | Tender ThingsBill Withers | Bill Withers | Play | 05:00 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 22 | Let Me Be the One You NeedSkip Scarborough, Bill Withers | Bill Withers | Play | 04:44 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 23 | Memories Are That WayBill Withers | Bill Withers | Play | 05:03 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 24 | Just the Two of UsRalph MacDonald, William Salter, Bill Withers | Bill Withers, Grover Washington, Jr. | Play | 03:57 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 25 | In the Name of LoveRalph MacDonald, William Salter, Bill Withers | Bill Withers, Ralph MacDonald, Ralph McDonald | Play | 05:00 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 26 | We Could Be Sweet LoversBill Withers | Bill Withers | Play | 03:27 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 27 | Something That Turns You OnBill Withers | Bill Withers | Play | 04:26 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 28 | Theme from Man and Boy (Better Days) | Bill Withers | Play | 03:27 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 29 | Friend of Mine (Live) | Bill Withers | Play | 04:29 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 30 | I Can't Write Left-Handed (Live) | Bill Withers | Play | 06:45 | 15 MB | 0 MB |
| 112 mins | 258 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
Note: You are able to listen to 30-second samples for preview purpose.
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richard Alderson | Engineer |
| 2 | Dorothy Ashby | Harp, Producer |
| 3 | Tom Babler | Vocals (Background) |
| 4 | Roland Bautista | Guitar |
| 5 | Errol Crusher Bennett | Conga Drum, Producer |
| 6 | Benorce Blackman | Guitar, Producer |
| 7 | Randy Brecker | Soloist, Trumpet |
| 8 | Alex Brown | Vocal Ad-Libs, Vocal Arrangement |
| 9 | Kendall Brown | Engineer |
| 10 | Dennis Budimir | Guitar (Acoustic) |
| 11 | Keni Burke | Bass, Producer |
| 12 | Ed Caraeff | Cover Photo, Tray Photo |
| 13 | Larry Carlton | Engineer |
| 14 | Caroline Willis | Vocals (Background) |
| 15 | Ed Cherney | Engineer |
| 16 | Mike Cimicata | Project Director |
| 17 | John Collins | Composer |
| 18 | Clifford Coulter | Moog Synthesizer, Producer, Synthesizer |
| 19 | The Crusaders | Primary Artist |
| 20 | Paulinho Da Costa | Percussion |
| 21 | M. Dunlap | Composer |
| 22 | Melvin Dunlap | Bass, Producer |
| 23 | Kwasi "Rocki" Dzidzomu | Producer |
| 24 | Bill Eaton | Horn Arrangements, Production Consultant, String Arrangements |
| 25 | William Eaton | Arranger, Conductor, Oberheim Synthesizer, Producer |
| 26 | Wilton Felder | Producer, Saxophone |
| 27 | José Feliciano | Conga Drum |
| 28 | Don Freeman | Bells, Drums (Steel), DX-7, Piano (Electric), Producer |
| 29 | Steve Gadd | Drums |
| 30 | James Gadson | Drums, Percussion, Producer |
| 31 | Eric Gale | Guitar |
| 32 | Bryan Garofalo | Bass |
| 33 | Lynell George | Liner Notes |
| 34 | Jim Gilstrap | Vocals (Background) |
| 35 | Daine Gonneau | Composer |
| 36 | M.B. Gordy | Cymbals, Simmons Drums |
| 37 | Dean Grant | Keyboards |
| 38 | Gerry Griffith | Production Consultant |
| 39 | Dave Grusin | Keyboards |
| 40 | Mick Guzauski | Engineer |
| 41 | Bobbye Hall | Percussion |
| 42 | Bill Halverson | Engineer |
| 43 | Hilda Harris | Vocals (Background) |
| 44 | Larry Hirsch | Engineer |
| 45 | Stix Hooper | Drums, Producer |
| 46 | Bob Hughes | Engineer |
| 47 | Don Hunstein | Photography |
| 48 | Al Jackson, Jr. | Drums |
| 49 | Ray Jackson | Clavinet, Composer, Horn Arrangements, Piano, Piano (Electric), Producer, String Arrangements |
| 50 | James Jamerson | Bass |
| 51 | Will Jennings | Composer |
| 52 | Angie Johnson | Vocals (Background) |
| 53 | George Johnson | Guitar (Electric) |
| 54 | J.J. Johnson | Composer |
| 55 | Louis Johnson | Bass |
| 56 | Booker T. Jones | Arranger, Bass, Guitar, Keyboards, Producer, Vocals |
| 57 | Quincy Jones | Producer |
| 58 | Jim Keltner | Drums |
| 59 | Jerry Knight | Bass, Producer |
| 60 | Russ Kunkel | Conga Drum, Cymbals, Drums, Shaker |
| 61 | Abraham Laboriel, Sr. | Bass |
| 62 | Gary Ladinsky | Assistant |
| 63 | Mark Larson | Art Direction |
| 64 | Bill Lazerus | Engineer |
| 65 | Edie Lehmann | Vocals (Background) |
| 66 | Geoffrey Leib | Keyboards, Piano, Producer |
| 67 | Yvonne Lewis | Vocals (Background) |
| 68 | Ralph MacDonald | Composer, Congas, Percussion, Primary Artist, Producer, Production Consultant |
| 69 | Bob Mann | Guitar |
| 70 | Wade Marcus | Production Consultant |
| 71 | Kate Markowitz | Vocals (Background) |
| 72 | Harvey Mason, Sr. | Drums |
| 73 | Myrna Matthews | Vocals (Background) |
| 74 | Pieter Mazél | Back Cover Photo |
| 75 | Ullanda McCullough | Vocals (Background) |
| 76 | Charles McDonald | Keyboards |
| 77 | Clarence McDonald | Arranger, Keyboards, Producer |
| 78 | Ralph McDonald | Primary Artist |
| 79 | Stanley Wayne McKenny | Composer |
| 80 | Bob Merritt | Engineer |
| 81 | Marcus Miller | Bass |
| 82 | John Myles | Clavinet, Piano (Electric), String Arrangements |
| 83 | Larry Nash | Harp Keyboards, Melodica, Piano (Electric), Producer, Rhythm Arrangements |
| 84 | Joseph M. Palmaccio | Mastering |
| 85 | Ray Parker, Jr. | Guitar, Guitar (Electric) |
| 86 | Dean Parks | Guitar |
| 87 | Phil Perry | Vocal Ad-Libs, Vocal Arrangement, Vocals (Background) |
| 88 | Bobbye Hall Porter | Percussion |
| 89 | Melvin Ragin | Guitar Effects |
| 90 | Yusuf Rahman | Producer |
| 91 | Ed Rakowicz | Engineer |
| 92 | Ralph Rickert | Trumpet |
| 93 | Paul Riser | Horn Arrangements, String Arrangements |
| 94 | John "J.R." Robinson | Drums |
| 95 | Denise Routt | Vocal Arrangement |
| 96 | Tom Ruff | Mastering |
| 97 | Leo Sacks | Producer |
| 98 | Hal Sacs | Engineer |
| 99 | William Salter | Composer |
| 100 | J. Sample | Composer |
| 101 | Joe Sample | Piano, Producer |
| 102 | Skip Scarborough | Composer |
| 103 | Phil Schier | Engineer |
| 104 | Keith Seppanen | Engineer, Linn Drum, Synthesizer |
| 105 | Paul Smith | Clavinet, DX-7, Flute, Producer, Strings, Synthesizer Horn |
| 106 | Chip Steen | Conga Drum |
| 107 | Stephen Stills | Guitar |
| 108 | Tom Suefort | Engineer |
| 109 | Richard Tee | Fender Rhodes, Piano |
| 110 | Bobby Thomas | Engineer |
| 111 | Larry Tolbert | Drums, Producer |
| 112 | Phil Upchurch | Guitar |
| 113 | Charles Veal | Concert Master |
| 114 | David T. Walker | Guitar (Electric) |
| 115 | Grover Washington, Jr. | Primary Artist, Producer, Sax (Soprano) |
| 116 | Wah Wah Watson | Guitar (Electric) |
| 117 | Ernie Watts | Sax (Soprano) |
| 118 | Mark Wilder | Mastering |
| 119 | Bill Withers | Bass, Composer, Drums, DX-7, Effects, Featured Artist, Fender Rhodes, Flute, Guitar, Horn Arrangements, Piano (Electric), Primary Artist, Producer, Strings, Vocals |
| 120 | Marcia Withers | Management, Producer |
| 121 | Frank Wolf | Engineer |
| 122 | Erik Zobler | Engineer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |