Thanks for this. That was great. Withers has always been one of my favorites. The story in the podcast the guy had about his interest in kids who stutter was touching. Withers has said he didn't stop stuttering until he realized he'd never develop the courage to quit the Navy if he didn't stop stuttering. For the cover of his first album he met the photographer on his lunch hour. The lunch pail he's holding is the one he took to work that day, at an airline parts manufacturer, just like a normal day. Bill Withers came out of nowhere to record that album. And if you're old enough to know what a 45 is, "Ain't No Sunshine" was the B side that became a hit. When he recorded it, he hadn't yet finished the lyrics, that's how new he was to the business. And that's why he sings "I know" over and over. It was just a place holder, or meant to be, Withers thought. But the producer liked it so they shipped the record with it like that. Thankfully he was smart enough to keep the publishing rights for the music he wrote, and also not give up any portion of the writing credits, so even though the music business fucked him around he did extremely well. He wrote and recorded some of the best music ever. RIP.
link didn't work, figured it out http://i.imgur.com/wkS3nqp