The late singer-songwriter laid pain and paranoia under his deceptively gentle songs, and retired early having conquered gospel, funk, blues, disco and moreNews: Bill Withers, influential soul singer behind Ain’t No Sunshine, dies aged 81Plenty of rock and pop artists have unexpectedly announced their retirement, but hardly any of them have stuck to the decision. Something invariably draws them back to performing and recording: financial necessity, the enjoyment of performing, the lure of the applause that accompanies it. But when Bill Withers retired from
music in the mid-80s, tired of touring and of his strained relationship with his record company (he later claimed the final straw was seeing them devote more energy to a novelty album by The A-Team star Mr T than his work) he really meant it.
A full 35 years passed between the release of his final album and his death, and nothing could entice him back to the studio or the stage – save for a brief appearance on a 2004 album by, of all people, easy-going “gulf-and-western” singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. Other than that, the answer was always no, regardless of the fact that his music remained popular to the point of inescapability.