He is known for having several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), "Use Me" (1972), "Lean on Me" (1972), "Lovely Day" (1977) and "Just the Two of Us" (1980) (recorded in collaboration with Grover Washington Jr.).

[5] William Harrison Withers Jr., the youngest of six children, was born in the small coal mining town of Slab Fork, West Virginia, on July 4, 1938.

[8] Withers enlisted in the United States Navy at the age of 17[10] and served for nine years, during which time he became interested in singing and writing songs.

"[12] Withers worked as a mechanical assembler for several different companies, including Douglas Aircraft Corporation, IBM and Ford,[13] while recording demo tapes with his own money, shopping them around, and performing in clubs at night.

When he hit with the song "Ain't No Sunshine" in 1971, he refused to resign from his job because he believed the music business was a fickle industry.

[13] In early 1970, Withers' demo tape was auditioned favorably by Clarence Avant, owner of Sussex Records.

[14] On the cover of the album, Withers is pictured at his job at Weber Aircraft in Burbank, California, holding his lunch box.

King in Zaire four weeks prior to the historic Rumble in the Jungle fight between George Foreman and Muhammad Ali.

[21] Due to problems with Columbia and being unable to get songs approved for his album, he decided to focus on joint projects from 1977 to 1985, including "Just the Two of Us," with jazz saxophonist Grover Washington Jr., which was released during February 1981.

[23] Withers next released "Soul Shadows" with the Crusaders, and "In the Name of Love" with Ralph MacDonald,[24] the latter being nominated for a Grammy for vocal performance.

This record included one composition co-written and sung by Withers, "Apple Pie"[25] an upbeat disco song about New York City.

The award was presented to Leo Sacks, who produced the collection, and the mastering engineers Mark Wilder, Joseph M. Palmaccio, and Tom Ruff.

"[8][35] Later that year, a tribute concert in his honor was held at Carnegie Hall featuring Aloe Blacc, Ed Sheeran, Dr. John, Michael McDonald, and Anthony Hamilton.

[36][37] In February 2017, he made an appearance on Joy Reid's MSNBC show to talk about the refugee crisis as well as the political climate in America.

[38] The 2009 documentary, "Still Bill", explored his reasons for quitting the music industry and painted the picture of a fulfilled musician and human being.

[40] With "Lovely Day", he set the record for the longest sustained note on an American chart hit, holding a high E for 18 seconds.

[39] Editors from The Guardian considered that Withers' songs are "some of the most beloved in the American songbook", citing, "'Ain't No Sunshine' is regarded as one of the all-time great breakup tracks, while 'Lean on Me' [is] an ode to the supportive power of friendship ..."[41] For the same newspaper, Alex Petridis noticed "[he] laid pain and paranoia under his deceptively gentle songs, and retired early having conquered gospel, funk, blues, disco and more.

"[40] In the same magazine, writer Gail Mitchell acknowledged "Withers' legacy has flourished in the decades since, thanks to a cross-section of artists who have covered/sampled his songs or cited him as a major influence.

"[45] Musician and music journalist Questlove referred to Withers' post-breakup 1974 album +'Justments as "a diary [...] [it] was a pre-reality-show look at his life.

[39] Musicians Sade,[46] D'Angelo,[47] Justin Timberlake,[48] John Legend[49] and Ed Sheeran[7] have credited Withers as a music inspiration.

Withers has been widely sampled by hip hop and pop music artists, including Basehead, Blackstreet, Kendrick Lamar, DMX, Tupac Shakur, Jennifer Lopez and Aaliyah.

[53][54] Withers died from heart complications in a Los Angeles hospital on March 30, 2020, at age 81; his family announced his death four days later.