Artist · chart history
Bill Withers
Solo artist Slab Fork United States
Bill Withers is an artist from Slab Fork. Bill Withers has 48 chart appearances on 24 radio countdowns from 9 stations on RockLists, spanning 2001–2026. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Lovely Day”, which appears on 15 lists with a best position of #4. The station that charted Bill Withers most often is WYEP (Pittsburgh, PA), with 17 appearances.
Bill Withers never sounded like a man trying to be a star, and that's exactly why his songs cut so deep. Born in Slab Fork, West Virginia, in 1938 and raised in Beckley, he made it look easy: plain-spoken words, a warm, unhurried voice, and guitar or piano laying down just enough to carry the tune.
Just As I Am, in 1971, brought the aching hush of "Ain't No Sunshine". Still Bill, a year later, gave the world both "Lean on Me", as sturdy as a church pew, and "Use Me", all sly swagger and slinky groove. Menagerie, in 1977, brought "Lovely Day", which floats in on a morning glow and never stops smiling. Soul, R&B and pop all fit him, but none of them boxed him in.
He won 3 Grammys from 9 nominations, then largely walked away in the mid-'80s, worn out and fed up with record company executives. The 2009 documentary Still Bill told his story. The Songwriters Hall of Fame inducted him in 2005 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015, and both "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Lean on Me" made the Grammy Hall of Fame. He died in 2020.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by Bill Withers on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lovely Day | 15 | #4 | – | – | |
| 2 | Ain't No Sunshine | 13 | #98 | – | – | |
| 3 | Use Me | 9 | #298 | – | – | |
| 4 | Lean on Me | 7 | #28 | – | – | |
| 5 | Grandma's Hands | 2 | #320 | – | – | |
| 6 | Harlem | 1 | #153 | – | – | |
| 7 | I Can't Write Left Handed | 1 | #1049 | – | – |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
Featured on
Songs by other artists credited with Bill Withers as a guest.
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