Bill Withers - Just As I Am - 1971 - 24/96 180gm Speakers Corner Vinyl - SXBS 7006

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Bill Withers - Just As I Am - 1971 - 24/96 180gm Speakers Corner Vinyl - SXBS 7006

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Bill Withers - Just As I Am - 1971 - 24/96 180gm Speakers Corner Vinyl - SXBS 7006

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By the time Bill Withers made this, his debut recording, he'd already served for many years in the US Navy, had a job as a milkman and installed toilets in jets for American airplane construction companies. All the while, he bombarded record companies with self-produced demo tapes that landed in the dustbin. In 1971 came his breakthrough when the successful producer Booker T. Jones hauled him onboard and sent him into the studio with guitarist Stephen Stills, drummer Al Jackson and bass player Donald "Duck" Dunn. In his debut album, Withers demonstrates his universal, mature competence as a singer, composer and performer, which was hardly surpassed in his later recordings.

Just As I Am catapulted Bill Withers into super-stardom in 1971. Featuring the worldwide mega-hit and Grammy Award-winning "Ain't No Sunshine", Just As I Am, Withers' debut album, established him as one of the premier singer/songwriters of the era and brought the world a fresh look at Rhythm & Blues. Equipped with an acoustic guitar and backed by three-quarters of Booker T. & the MGs and Stephen Stills on guitar, Bill Withers recorded one of the biggest albums of the '70s, producing the timeless hit "Ain't No Sunshine" along with the other Withers essentials "Harlem", "Grandma's Hands", and "I'm Her Daddy". As a testament to his talents, Bill Withers was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005.