#RolandMartinUnfiltered - #RMU Celebrates the life and legacy of Bill Withers

Episode Date: April 12, 2020

#RolandMartinUnfiltered Celebrates the life and legacy of Bill Withers Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. © BF-WATCH TV 2021 ¶¶ that the great Bill Withers had passed away. Of course, our family were huge fans of his music. He, of course, wrote and sang a number of songs in the 1970s that have stood the test of time. He died from heart complications, according to a statement from his family

given to the Associated Press. He was 81 years old. He passed away on Monday, but the statement was released today. The three-time Grammy Award winner, who withdrew from making music in the mid-1980s after fighting with Columbia record executives, as I said, died Monday in L.A. His songs, folks, during his relatively short career, have certainly become the soundtracks of engagements, weddings, backyard parties, movies, sampled a number of times in hip-hop. And when you think about that voice, it sounds like he was just having a conversation sitting right across from you. We all remember Lean

On Me was performed at the inaugurations of both Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. That, along with Ain't No Sunshine, are among Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. What's interesting about that is Bill Withers is a man who overcame a childhood stutter. Born the last of six kids in the coal mining town of Slab Fork, West Virginia. His parents divorced when he was three years old and was raised by his mother in nearby Beckley. Joined the Navy at 17. He spent nine years in the service as an aircraft mechanic installing toilets because he said he did not want to be a cook. After his discharge, he moved to L.A., worked at an aircraft parts factory, then all of a sudden went to a Lou Rawls concert.

And he realized that of all these women who were going towards Lou and not coming to him, and he said man I need to figure this singing thing out went out and bought himself a guitar from pawn shop recorded demos taught himself how to play recorded some demos in the hopes of landing a recording contract and his was interesting he shows up he shows up he with these demos and they say fine let's record he comes to the studio and he thinks another artist is going to record the songs he wrote. They were like, no, no, no.

You are going to sing those songs. Put out his first album, Just As I Am, in 1971. Now, what's interesting, Ain't No Sunshine was originally released on the B-side. Now, for all y'all folks who ain't familiar with records, well, hell, he ain't familiar with records, there used to be an A and a B-side. Well, Ain't No Sunshine was on the B-side. The other song, Harlem, they thought was going to be the better song.

But what did radio DJs do? Flipped the song, heard Ain't No Sunshine, and climbed to number three on the Billboard charts and spent a total of 16 weeks in the top 40. Again, Bill Withers, an absolutely unbelievable, unbelievable artist. I had the opportunity to spend some time with him. I was at the Oprah's Legends Ball that took place in December 2014 was when Selma came out and Oprah had a number of folks there.

And so on that Sunday at her home in Santa Barbara, California, there was a gospel concert. In addition to the gospel concert, Bill Withers was one of the folks who sang. It was a pleasant surprise seeing him. You can actually, Anthony, you can go to my iPad. You'll see some of the photos from that event. That's a photo there with Ed Gordon, B.B. Winans right there. And then you'll see in a moment some of the other folks who were there, what was really interesting about that day, like I say, he sang, he sang, and there was a particular song that he sang with his daughter about fathers. And if you saw the airing of this celebration on Oprah's own network. She showed all these men, Stedman and Kevin Liles and all these brothers, many of who had lost fathers, were just in tears. My father's still living,

but the song was so unbelievably moving. It was just incredible to sit there and listen to Bill Withers and his daughter singing that song. We've got some incredible guests lined up, folks, for you. Folks, let me know who's our first guest right now. Layla Hathaway? All right, well, join us right now, folks. The first person who responded to me this morning who said absolutely, the great Layla Hathaway. Layla, glad to have you in Roland Martin Unfiltered.

Hey, Roland, how are you? Doing great. Just your thoughts, just the amazing artists, be with us. Gosh, what a loss. I mean, it just keeps happening. 2020 is just kicking us while we're down. One of the greatest, most prolific songwriters and singers ever. Someone that, you know, industry-wide and as artists,

we all look up to him because he knew how to write a great song and he knew how to do his business. That's a part of Bill that not everybody knows. He was such a businessman and made such a legacy for his family. Just really a great, very gentle human being. He is going to be missed. Also, I think what's so interesting you hear that voice you know exactly who it is absolutely absolutely i mean that's a time gone by though you know people used to uh you used to be able from that note one right know who it was

patty if it was daddy it's stevie it was Patty, it was Daddy, it was Stevie, it was Shaka. And he represents those artists like that, that were all self-contained. He could come out on the stage and just sing the song right, you know? Yeah, yeah. No, no, we're here. No, I'm listening to you. Go ahead. Well, first of all, while you were talking, while you were talking, Jeffrey Osborne was calling. And so, yeah. So, no, go ahead. Keep talking.

Also, I think what's interesting is that because he had a relatively short career. And he walks away. So, he sort of becomes this mystical, mythic figure. Right. Right. Because. Right. Because he disappeared. I mean, he was shocked when he was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

in 2015. Right. Hold on. I can hear your assistant. That's why I can't really hear you. Say that again. I said he was shocked when he was inducted

to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015. He pretty much had walked away and was like, I was done with the music scene and was shocked that folks were still talking about him. You know what? The one thing I think everyone will say about Bill Withers is that he was very humble. He was a very humble soul. And while I'm sure that he was aware of the legacy he was leaving, and I'm sure that he was aware, I mean, he's one of the most sampled artists of all time, you know, sung artists of all

time. He was a very humble guy. And that makes sense to me that he would look around and say, you know, he was just very humble. Well, he certainly is going to be missed. Just an amazing voice. Last year, I think it was in 2018 or 19, there was supposed to be a, there was supposed to be a, there's supposed to be a birthday tribute for him. And I had he was sick and his wife had invited and I hit her up and I said, hey, hit Martian, said, hey, is it still going on? And then she then she said that he had gotten sick and then but he'd gotten better. But and I was hoping that we would be able to have that big birthday celebration for him. And so we certainly miss him, 81 years old. But his work is certainly timeless. And multiple generations get to enjoy the sounds of Bill Withers.

Layla, we appreciate it. Go ahead, go ahead, go ahead. No, no, no, go ahead, go ahead. I was going to say, the last time I saw him, we had a little talk about my dad, and we had these stories that he was going to tell me because they were such great friends. And I'm so sad I will never get those stories. Just excited about that. Yep.

I understand. Layla Hathaway, always a pleasure. I appreciate it. Thank you, bro. All right. Thanks a bunch. Take care. All right, folks.

Let's go to Jeffrey Osborne. Is he ready? Jeffrey ready? I'm ready. All right. Jeffrey, bunch. Take care. All right, folks. Let's go to Jeffrey Osborne. Is he ready? Jeffrey, ready? I'm ready. All right. Jeffrey, how you doing, man? I'm doing good, man. I'm chilling. Coming off your Instagram, coming off your Instagram live concert. I was so I was so busy booking guests for this Bill Withers tribute. I missed it, but I just saw you post the video, so now I can check it out. Yeah, well, I think this is more important than that video because this was an incredible person that we just lost. Talk about how long that you know Bill. I saw the photo you posted on your Instagram page,

and just share some thoughts about your friendship. Well, you know, I've known Bill forever, man. He's been one of those guys that i met years ago and i was just captivated by his he's just so organic i mean he he sings uh basically and tells stories and he's he's more talking the story that's what i think drew people in he He talked his vocals. It was like he was talking to you personally. He had that real raw, organic sound that you don't find in many vocalists,

which I guess separated him from so many other people. And he wrote the most simplistic, beautiful songs. I mean, as simple as it could be, but it had so much depth in its simplicity. So I loved Bill, man. He was a great guy. I just worked with him, I would say, about a year ago. There was a tribute to Elgin Baylor. They retired his number at Staples Center. And Bill Withers and Elgin Baylor are really close friends.

I mean, they're like inseparable. And so they asked me to come and sing because Bill wasn't really feeling that well. So they asked me to come and sing and it was me and Bill Withers and Greg Phil and gangs was playing keyboards and Ray Parker Jr. And so, uh, we went to the Staples center and we sang this song, man. And I sang with Bill and he was, he's just a fascinating person, man. And, uh, I really was, I cherish that last moment that I spent with him, uh, you know, but he wasn't doing well then, you know, he was, he had a cane, he, he was getting very fragile, you know, but he has just timeless,

timeless music that will go on forever. And even right now during this whole Corona virus thing, lean on me is probably getting more play than anything because of the message. So he was an incredible guy. I loved him. Just, oh, man, just unbelievable music. You know, you talk about, again, when you grow up listening

to someone's music, then you finally get a chance to meet them. Right. Thankfully, my mother and father played music for us. We didn't just listen to music that was our generation. And what's interesting is that probably for me, being 51, so growing up at the beginning of rap, of hip-hop, it was crazy that I actually will listen to more music that was before me than during that particular period. And when I think about Bill Withers, when I think about

live at Carnegie Hall, when I think about his music, and first of all, I mean, look, I can go down the line, whether it's you, whether it's LTD, whether it's the OJs. I mean, I can go down the whole line. And so I certainly appreciate that. But I had a chance to meet him at Oprah's Legends Ball in 2014. It was the only time I met Bill Withers. And so I went up to him and told him, look, huge fan. And what's always crazy for me is when someone like that is like, no, no, I'm a huge fan of yours.

Yeah, that's amazing. And it was just a great conversation. And just to see how many people were just coming up to him. Because, again, he wasn't somebody who he did not get out a lot. He wasn't always showing up at stuff. He was in many ways a recluse. Yeah, he didn't do a lot of live things. He stopped doing live shows a long time ago. So, yeah, so, you know, he was, but he was very well recognized,

and people did run up to him every time. I saw him at Cedric's golf tournament, and he was hanging out there, and I went up and spoke to him and sat down. And then we sang together up at the Spanish Hills Country Club uh he wouldn't sing though he came up on stage with me and said you go ahead and sing he sat down and played the guitar but uh yeah but he was such an incredible person man and uh those songs man are just just timeless And the stories that he told within the songs, it was so real. It was so natural.

He was a real storyteller, man. And look, the people who I think are very interesting when you look at the reaction from different artists, but the people who really, really, really appreciate Bill Withers the most, songwriters. Yeah, exactly. That's what I'm saying. Because he had that knack. He had that knack to write the most? Songwriters. Yeah, exactly. That's what I'm saying. Because he had that knack. He had that knack to write the most simplistic chords.

I mean, you know, Lean On Me is... I mean, that's as basic as you can get. Right, right. But the message is so powerful. And his voice is so earthy and organic that it just draws you in. It's like he's really talking to you while he's singing. And not many people have that gift,

this amazing gift that you had. It is certainly that. So if you had, you know, look, there's always lots of songs. But for you, that go-to Bill Withers song, what is it? I would have to say, you know, I'm torn, because I like Lovely Day a lot. I like the way he strung that note at the end, you know, forever. He did a little trick there.

But, you know, I loved Ain't No Sunshine, just how simple it happened. Yeah. That was just the song to me. Ain't no sunshine when she's gone. He just told that story so beautiful. I'd have to say that would probably be my favorite. But he had some incredible songs, man. I mean, if you just listen to his records, you get drawn in.

And, you know, man, I mean, the stories that he told, amazing. You know, I love that dude, man. And it's so funny. I was just with him. He had an 80th birthday party planned last year. Yeah, yeah. And he got very sick and went into the hospital. And so we never got to celebrate his 80th birthday.

That's what I was saying before you came on. Yeah. His wife, Marsha, had invited me to it i i was somewhere i can't remember i was somewhere's wife so i ran to her and uh and she gave me uh her phone number and uh and i hit her and i said hey um are you still having a party and then she said he'd gotten sick because i think supposed to be in october uh she said he had gotten sick. I think it was supposed to be in October. She said he had gotten sick. And I was really looking forward to it, to going to celebrate him. But, you know, again, circumstances with health, we certainly understand that.

And look, because, you know, same thing for us with Dr. Joseph Lowry on Monday. Because of the coronavirus, we don't have the opportunity to throw one of our famous black homegoings. That's why we wanted to do that, to show the appreciation with the different artists here. This virtual home going. And so we appreciate you, Jeffrey, answering the call. Oh, man. Well, thank you, man. And I love what you do. I'm so happy to see you giving this tribute to Bill because he's so well deserving. And and thank you for including me in it. I'll tell you one of the best

stories was he wrote, you're going to keep on using me until you use me up. That was a joint right there. Yes, it was. Yes, it was. Jeffrey Osborne, always good seeing you, brother. Alright, always good, Roland. Thank you for

concluding me, man. I appreciate it. Jeffrey, thanks a lot. Alright, folks. Let's go to another friend of mine, my good seeing you, brother. All right, always good, Roland. Thank you for concluding me, man. I appreciate you. I appreciate it, Jeffrey. Thanks a lot. All right. All right, folks, let's go to another friend of mine, my frat brother. The saxophonist, Gerald Albright. Gerald. Roland, how you doing? Man, what's going on?

Oh, well, you know, just doing the quarantine thing, just at home chilling, and great to see your face, great to hear your voice, my friend. First of all, rarely I see you without a Great to hear your voice, my friend. First of all, rarely I see you without a saxophone in your hand. I know, I know. But, you know, the wife has me doing honeydews around the house. So I got brooms and rakes and anything else but a saxophone. Oh, well, and with the coronavirus, you probably got honeydews every day. You know, it's endless. Yes, I understand. I understand. Just share your thoughts about Bill Withers. Last time you talked to him, when you first met him.

Go ahead. Well, I first got the news early this morning, man. I turned my phone on and I read a text message from a dear friend. And she was saying, you know, sorry for your loss. And I'm like, are you kidding me? And so it hit me like a brick. But the last time I corresponded with Bill was late December. It was by text message, actually. He was reaching out to me to do a recording session for his daughter, Corey, who within

herself, she's a phenomenal singer, a songwriter and guitarist. I enjoy her music a lot. And he wanted me to do some saxophone work on her project, which we never got to do, unfortunately. But I was honored that he called me. He told me for years that I was his number one saxophone player. And that was always a great compliment from Bill because, you know, he's been with a plethora of musicians during his lifetime. And to be in the number one slot is just, you know, major respect. I'm going to have somebody join you right now. So, Gerald, hold on.

I want to bring up John Legend, of course, singer, songwriter. My buddy. Okay, guys, get John Legend on. They told me y'all had him on, so let me know when John is on so I can bring him up. First of all, when you talk about his daughter, first of all, unbelievable singer.

I was sharing earlier at Oprah's Legends Ball, she sang with him. They did a duet together. It was a song dedicated to fathers. And man, it was just unbelievable. Oh, dude, it was it was it was just unbelievable. So we have John. John Legend, you're on with Gerald Albright. How you doing, brother? How you doing, Gerald? Good to see you, sir. Good to see you, too. See me, right? Yeah, we see you, John. We see you, we hear you, and we see your coronavirus look. Yeah, man.

It's all growing in. I love the beard. Yeah, you approaching Moses territory. Yes, I'm going to be. I play Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar. I'm trying to get my Jesus beard going. John, it was when I got the text this morning about Bill Withers passing away, you were one of the first folks I thought of because the people who really, really, really, really appreciated, I think, Bill Withers the most are songwriters, individuals. And you, of course, had the opportunity with Stevie Wonder to help induct him into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009.

Absolutely. And my first interaction with him, first of all, I've been singing his songs since I was young. I remember singing Lean on Me and Talent Shows when I was in middle school and high school. I remember singing Who is He and What is He to You. I remember singing Use Me, Ain't No Sunshine. He wrote such great songs.

And what was so appealing about him, I grew up in the Midwest in Ohio, which is right next door to where he grew up in West Virginia. And I grew up in a blue-collar family just like him. And all of his stories I thought were so relatable and so connected to the human experience, whether it was Grandma's hands, whether it was talking about soldiers coming home from a war. He just had a way of telling stories that everybody could relate to and doing it musically beautifully and doing it in a way that was really poignant and powerful

for everybody. We're playing a video right now of that ceremony when he walked over, gave you a hug, you brought him out, and y'all actually got to sing together. He didn't even sing loud or sing much, but he sang a little bit with us. And I don't know if he has performed in public since then, but we were honored that he would come up and sing with us just a little bit. And when he got on the mic, anybody who knows Bill knows what a storyteller and what a funny person he is. He can tell a story. He can, you know, spin a yarn, as they say. And he would just go on and on. He had interacted with so many incredible talents over the years. And he had stories about everybody.

And if you just had a chance to sit with him and just soak it all in with him, it was incredible. And I got to tell the story of how we met, which was I did a song called I Can't Write Left-Handed with The Roots on an album we did called Wake Up. And Bill heard the song. He had written this song back in the 70s about a soldier coming home from the Vietnam War. And he had performed it at Carnegie Hall. We used his performance as an inspiration for what we were doing with our song on the album.

And we did a version of it, and it was up on YouTube. He got a call from Bill Russell. Bill Russell called him up, and he was like, you've got to check out what John Legend and the Roots did with your song. And he checked it out, and um found out how to get in touch with me through my manager he emailed me this long email telling me the story of how he discovered the song how much he loved our version of it how much he respected the work that me and the roots were doing generally speaking as as artists and as activists and we became friends

after that i started inviting him to my shows whenever we'd be in L.A. and, you know, over to the house for barbecues or whatever. And it was just really cool to get to know him that way. And we were so honored and floored that he loved our version of his song

and that we became friends after that. Gerald, the thing I think that stands out the most, the simplicity of his music. It wasn't a whole lot going on. Gerald, you heard me? Gerald, Gerald Albright? I'm here.

Gerald, the simplicity of his music. It wasn't a whole lot going on. It wasn't a whole lot going on. It wasn't a whole lot going on. It was a less is more type of situation with Bill Withers. You know, sometimes you just need vocals and guitar. You don't need all the bells and whistles. And the lyrics are so strong and so perpetual in terms of, you know, they're just timeless.

You know, in any given situation, like we're in now, like the coronavirus, you know, they're just timeless. You know, in any given situation, like we're in now, like the coronavirus, I mean, so many of his songs allude to something that would help somebody in terms of musical nutrition, you know, to get through what we're going through now. And I listen to some of these songs. I actually, I think in 2016, covered Lovely Day as an instrumental.

And I had Michael McDonald sing on it. And it was for the simple fact that it was one of my favorite songs of his. And it's hard to choose one because all of them are great. But I was drawn to that song. And I just, you know, I let him hear it shortly after I recorded it and he really enjoyed my version, which was the ultimate compliment. And, you know, I'm sure that from this point on,

I'm gonna get a lot of requests to play that particular song. John, what also I think is interesting, and here's a man who understood who he was, what his music was like, and when he walked away, he walked away. Yeah. You know, part of me, I don't understand that.

Because, you know, I know how you are, Roland. We just like to work. Yes, sir. We get excited to go to work. We, you know, it'd be hard to imagine either of us wanting to stop doing what we love doing. I'll be honest with you, John. I've been doing this since I was 14 years old. There's no, look, I don't see that.

Yeah, I could never see myself doing it unless I lost my voice or, you know, some reason why I couldn't do it. But I couldn't see myself willingly walking away from it. And he chose to do that. And in the documentary, I guess they kind of cover some of his thinking behind that. But every individual has that right. And he established such a legacy with the music that he did make that he could afford to walk away. That, to me, Gerald, I think is what really stands out, that, again, I sort of have this sort of this scale. As a matter of fact, I remember I was tweeting this one day, and I was talking about, I remember I was tweeting one day about iconic music,

and I was talking about a number of artists back in the day and then John replied John was like hold up is some of us still out here trying to make it happen he replied to it but but the thing about is when you look at the music he did was in a very short window, an extremely short window. Then he walks away, and to this day, DJs. I'm going to play to leave Quillay in an interview later. He said, Bill Withers was sampled more than 400 times in hip hop. Wow.

You can be at a hip hop party today, and they slide in, lovely day, and ain't nobody going to leave the dance floor. That speaks to music that goes from being a hit record to an iconic record. It's true. And the one thing about Bill, too, he really didn't start his career until his early 30s. You figure vocalists sometimes, they'll start out in their early 20s

and then they'll start out in their early 20s and then, you know, they'll go through, you know, the musical evolution of whatever their their approach to the business is. But he started late. And then, as you point out, his career was so short. But in that short period of time, all these wonderful tunes came out. And, you know, I just appreciate his legacy, man. And being able to go back and reflect on all those songs, it's really musical therapy for me. It really is. So I got Gerald Albright on saxophone.

I got John Legend on piano. Somebody else just called. Look, I figure y'all wouldn't mind. Gentlemen, say hello to Stevie Wonder. Oh, man. Stevie. Yes, sir. Hello.

Stevie Wonder, how you doing? Is this Stevie? You're speaking to Bebe Winan. Oh, we got Bebe. Oh, it's Bebe. Hey, Bebe. This is Stevie. Right, so y'all told me Stevie Wonder.

Yeah, Bebe rhymes with Stevie, but no. All right. Well, I got John Legend, Gerald Albright, and Bebe Winans on the line right now. What's up, Stevie? Some of my heroes. Some of my heroes. Speaking of, I saw a video clip someone sent me. Arsenio Hall was uh hosting it it was a show train i forget the annual uh celebration but bill withers came out i saw

this thing and it's like bill withers bill withers came out and he started singing lean on me then stevie wonder started singing and then i came out and i started singing Lean On Me. Then Stevie Wonder started singing. And then I came out and I started singing. And when I came out, I wondered to myself, who gave me a mic? I had to be nervous because I was still sitting up here wondering, oh, my God, what did I sound like? I was nervous right now because you talk about a man that just had a style that was unmatched. To me, there was only a couple of people who I knew made Stevie Wonder a little nervous. Really? And that was Bill, yes,

that was Bill Withers and Donny Hathaway. Wow. Well, we just, and what, what, what, John, we just had, John, we just had Layla Hathaway on, and she talked about how Donny Hathaway was such good friends with

Bill Withers. Well, Bill was really friends with so many other artists. That's why it was so fun to talk to him because he has stories about everybody. If you sit with him, like he would come to our house and he would just sit on the couch and just tell me so many stories. And he was just a fountain of anecdotes and funny stories. Hold on, hold on, hold on. Gerald. He had a very unique way of telling those stories.

Gerald, you saw how easy John was. Yeah, you know, Bill came by the house, sat on the couch. Yeah. I know. Well, once we got in touch, I started staying in touch with him. I would invite him to our shows when we were in L.A., but then once we got a house out here, we would invite him over when we had a barbecue or something,

and he would just come over and just entertain us. He was entertaining. No doubt. One of a kind. entertaining. No doubt. I have some answering, I have some voicemail from Bill that I never erased because

they were so random. His calls were so random and his conversations were so random. And one that just brought tears and laughter to my heart today was he called. He called out of the blue and said, B.B. I said, hey, Bill.

He said, I want you to do me a favor. I said, yes, sir, yes, sir. You know, because you pinch yourself still. I don't care how successful you think you are, you know, that you're talking to Bill Withers. It's like this is still weird to me. And then he said, I want you to do me a favor. You know, I want to, my daughter's going to get married,

and I want her to get married at Oprah's house. And I said, Bill, and what do I have to do with this? Oh, God. It was just stuff like that. He was so, like John said, he was so entertaining just to listen to. Yeah. Beyond his music, the stories and the lessons and the things he endured. And all of that was poured into his songs.

And he wasn't just friends with artists. He was friends with athletes, Bill Russell, Jim Brown, you know, just so many important figures in black America that he was friendly with and touched with and had stories about. He was just, he had so much history in his mind and his heart. John, I know you have Well, actually, I thought I was go ahead and do this. I got

actually, so I got John. I got BB. I got I got Gerald Albright. So Stevie Wonder's there. Stevie Wonder, are you there? Hey. Stevie Wonder, Roland Martin, how, are you there? Hey. Stevie Wonder, Roland Martin, how you doing? I'm okay.

Say hello to your friend, John Legend, B.B. Winans, and Gerald Albright. Hey, Stevie. Hey, y'all. How you doing? Hey, God bless you. How you doing? Well, Stevie. Hello, sir.

Stevie, all three of them say that Bill Withers was a great storyteller in person and quite entertaining. You agree? Completely. Completely. Now, B.B. just told me something I ain't never heard. He said, B.B. See, B.B., you're going to say. Why you going to throw me out there without my permission? No, B.B., since you're going to say it.

You got to get my permission. But go ahead. You done told the world. Okay, Stevie Wonder, B.B. Wine has just said to John Legend, Gerald Albright, that only two people he's ever seen you sort of nervous performing in front of or with, and that was Donny Hathaway and Bill Withers. True or false? Now, did I, John, did I say nervous performing with?

I just said a little nervous. Okay, a little nervous, whatever. Stevie, is that true or false, Stevie? You're saying that I was a little nervous? Yes, that's what Bebe said. Well, Bebe says a lot of things. I just want to go ahead and check. Stevie, what is your favorite Bill Withers memory? with his memory my favorite memory uh well i had a few but i played on a few sessions a few

sessions for him and that that was wonderful i think the greatest thing for me was to have been able to be a part of the celebration of his music when he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It's so amazing because he had just texted me about a month ago, a little more than a month ago, well, a little more than a month ago. Well, a little more than a month and a half ago. And, you know, he said, you know, a few things. Like, you know, he enjoyed, he was very appreciative

that I did the tribute to him. And obviously I said, you know, it was my joy. And then I got another text, and he was saying that he was going to be performing at Carnegie Hall. He knows that I had just, you know, had my surgery and all that, but, you know, still recovering. He said, if possible, could I come and play clavinet at Carnegie Hall with him on UZI? And I said, of course, you know, I'd love to do it. And there's nothing I wouldn't do for you. I love you and respect you.

And we had talked about writing things together, all that kind of stuff. You know, life... I have a question. Stevie, this is Bebe. I have a question. Being someone that you know how we feel about you and your gift of writing,

you've been that person to look up to. What did you feel about the writing of Bill Withers? It was amazing. It was masterful. It was real. But I felt that way from the moment I heard the song. It was a Sunday night, a Saturday night in Harlem, something like that. And the B side, Ain't No Sunshine, or the A side, I guess, Ain't No Sunshine when she's gone. It was just amazing.

And I don't know, Lean on Me is one of my most favorite songs of all time. He was just a great writer. And I know that he's influenced me in my writing just because he was so colorful and clear in his lyric writing as well as melody. I'm going to ask this question. I'm going to ask this question. I'm going to ask this question. I want Gerald to go first, then John. I want all of you to answer this.

Gerald, for the public, what is it like to be an artist and you're in the same space with artists like Bill Withers or John Legend and Stevie Wonder or B.B. Winans and y'all are putting this thing together? What does that feel like when you talk about mutual respect, admiration? Just give folks a sense of what that's like being in that sort of space. Well, for me, music is the vehicle that brings like who we're with today and others, it's just the greatest compliment to have that type of camaraderie in real time on stage. Because music is a conversation, here we are in real time having a conversation on all of our respective instruments. It's just a celebration.

It's an absolute celebration. We were speaking earlier about, John was making the point that, you know, how can we hang up what we do for a living? I mean, retirement, it's really not in my vocabulary. I can't see myself hanging my saxophone up at a given point and saying, okay, that's it. You know, I'm going to commit to it till my last breath. That's a promise. But to be able to, again, share the stage with folks and just have that instant camaraderie and say, hey, you know, we're leaving the egos at the door. It's all about this moment.

It's the greatest compliment in the world. I'm glad to be a part of it whenever I have the chance. John, when you were on that stage in 2015 and you and Stevie and y'all are doing this tribute to Bill, then he comes out. Even while you're performing, was there a part of you going, am I really in Ohio, in Cleveland, on this stage, helping to induct Bill Withers in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? And I'm doing it with Stevie Wonder. Well, you know, I've had the honor of

playing with Stevie quite a few times over the years. The very first time we played together was 2005 when I was a brand new artist, and let me tell you, that was something, because I was a brand new artist, and I had this little song called Ordinary People, and Stephen Hill

at BET thought it would be a cool idea to do a medley of Ma Sharia Moore and Ordinary People. And you want to talk about Nervous. That was right at the beginning of my career. And there's no songwriter or artist who's been more influential to me than Stevie Wonder. And for me to have the chance to meet him and then us sitting there rehearsing a song, like, you know, we're just peers when we were definitely not peers in any sense. It was incredible. And then when Stevie and I got together to do this for Bill,

honestly, I'm going to tell you the truth. Our most pressing concern was, could we convince Bill to come out and sing a little bit? I think we just like, we kind of got him to do it. He kind of wasn't planning to do it. And we just kept on and he came out and it was a wonderful night. Yeah, it was beautiful. Now, the three of you were not there, but this one will bring in Bebe. Bebe, 2014 at Oprah's house, that was a brunch, Legends Weekend, and you were the musical

director. Bill Withers sang with his daughter. And Bebe, that was a particular song that he sang that was dedicated to fathers. And man, brothers, the the whole room they were shedding tears and everything i'm not gonna say who first of all bb i want to just get your thoughts just on that day what it felt just to watch him in action and how the room was just blown away by his presence and uh and and his singing there with his daughter? I think John and Steve would agree.

It's not so much that day, Ro. It was the conversations to that day because he was not going to sing at all. And it was like, okay, we're going to do this song, and his daughter, Corey, is going to sing it. I said, but Bill, why don't you come in? Nah, nah, nah, baby, we ain't going to do that. Well, Bill, I mean, you're going to be there. So it was hilarious going back and forth. And then that day he did sing.

Again, like John says, it's those moments that you pinch yourself. Again, when, you know, my family, we grew up in Detroit, Michigan, so when it would snow, you know, we would run to Stevie's house and we would run to Smokey Robin's house and we would get there before the other kids so we could, you know, shovel their snow and make a couple more dollars because they was giving you a couple more dollars than the other folks.

And so to grow up and to become friends with Stevie and to meet Stevie and to work with Stevie is just still something you don't get used to. And the same thing with Bill. It was just, you know, these are people who knock down doors. One of the things I'll say with Gerald is that for me, John, Gerald, Stevie, and Bill, we're part of an army. We're part of a force. And not only do our music help in many ways and entertain in many ways, but our music, which is so important, especially in the time that we live in, it brings healing. It brings hope.

It brings peace to a world that is in flux right now. So I look at us as healers, as instruments that to, to help bring peace to a much needed world. I only met Bill Withers that one time. Y'all will all appreciate this. Y'all all have Bill Withers story. This is the only Bill Withers story that I have. And BB was standing right there. So Bill, Bill, Stevie, it's your moment, man. So, Bill, Stevie,

Stevie, no, no, no, it's not my moment, trust me. Because when I tell the story, B.B. gonna bust out laughing because he gonna remember what happened.

So, Stevie, we're standing there. Bill and his daughter did this amazing song. Men are crying, women are crying, and it's about fathers, and they shedding tears. So I'm not going to name the artist who approached Bill and said,

man, I really want to record that song. I'm not going to spill that tea. But Bill said that with me and Bebe, and Bill said, he said, can you believe so-and-so walked up to me and said he wanted to record that song? He said, you got to have soul to record my song, and that motherfucker ain't got no soul. Oh, no. Stevie, Bebe, you were standing right there. That's why you laughing so hard. Oh, no. Stevie, you were standing right there. That's why you're laughing so hard.

Oh, I remember. I remember, but he had no shame in his game. He would say exactly what he said. It was that fight. Stevie, go ahead. Go ahead, Stevie. Go ahead. If you're going to keep us in suspense for the rest of our lives,

then you're going to steal it. I just did. No, the artist? He ain't going to tell us in suspense for the rest of our lives, then you're going to steal it. I just did. No, oh, the artist? He ain't going to tell us. I can't do that. Stevie, I will call you after the show and tell you individually. I can't do that. I can't do that.

I can't do that. Okay, that's fair. I need a text. I need a text, Roland. My thing with Bill, the last thing, you remember this, John, when we were in Cleveland backstage, he would tell all these crazy Detroit stories. Yeah.

About, you know, players in Detroit and how they did this and did that. But one of my last texts that I got from him was one where he was congratulating I said something about, what was it? Oh, my goodness. I'm just, I'm not trying to get emotional with this whole deal because, you know, as well, I've lost two members of my family in the last two weeks. And, you know, when you think of Alice and Celeste and Bill, and just other people that we have lost as well, great musicians and songwriters. It's a hard break. And it's a season.

It's a season that speaks on many things. The great writers that we talk about, you guys on the phone, you know, someday as life will look back at life, people will be listening to the songs you have written as people read books back in the day. Right. And so I just am very happy that in my lifetime I was able to meet Bill Withers. It makes me think of the people that I've loved and lost, and those memories are wonderful. And so I just am happy that on this planet we were able to be blessed with a man who would write such a great song as

Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone and Use Me Up and Lean On Me and all the various great songs that he wrote in his life. And I just hope we celebrate his family and dear wife and children. You know, let them continuously know how much we love a man who made a difference. Stevie Wonder. And if I can add roads for Stevie Wonder, we use. So don't stop. Hold on, BB.

Hold on one second, BB. One second, BB. Stevie Wonder, I know you have to go. We love and appreciate, man, you and what you've done. And we thank you for joining us for this tribute to Bill Withers. Thank you, Stevie. I love all of you. Love you, Stevie.

Thank you all for everything that you're doing. Thank you all. Stevie, thanks a lot. I love you. I'm going to go to Bebe. Love you, Stevie. I'm going to go to Bebe. I'm going to go to John. Then I'm going to go to BB. Love you, Stevie. I'm going to go to BB. I'm going to go to John.

Then I'm going to go to Gerald. And then I'm going to my next group of Anthony Hamilton, Kerry Hilson, and Reggie Hutland, and Nelson George. BB, go ahead. I just want to say what we just said to Stevie. It's important to me, and we sometimes take life for granted and time for granted, but just to tell each other how much we love each other. So I just wanted to say, John, I love you, sir, and Gerald, I love you.

Roland, I love you, and thank you guys for what you do to bring the love and the peace that we need in this world. B.B., love you as well, brother. Thanks a lot. We love you back, BB. Thank you. Tell everybody that's in your circle that you love them too because as we're seeing this year, we've seen Kobe,

we've seen everything that's happening with the coronavirus, we've seen so many people that we love have went on this year. And it's been a year full of tragedy, a year full of mourning. And all we have with each other are these moments. And so we have to cherish every moment that we have together as long as we can. And I will tell you this, though. The thing that endures about any artist is their work, no matter what. So we're blessed with Bill's music, no matter what, for eternity.

They'll be listening to him a few hundred years from now. And the music will still be powerful and it'll still be meaningful. And that's the beautiful thing about being an artist is that your work endures forever. It's immortal. And so we can treasure that forever. And I'm going to treasure his music forever. Thank you, Roland. Thanks for bringing us together. Love you, brother. Well, for me, you know, I'm just honored to be a messenger of the

music along with my dear friends here. And like you, BB, I have to tell each and every one of you that I love you. And it's been a blessing to be a part of this remembrance of such a great man, Bill Withers. I sit here with mixed feelings. Even though we're going through the season of coronavirus, last. I have a grandson named Gavin, 8 pounds 11 ounces, and what that says to me is that we have to unite as a people in order to get this world together for his generation and my children's generation. And so it's an important time to really press the reset button and really get back to loving one another, respecting one another. You know, it's not about, you know, what party you're affiliated with now. It's all about survival now. It's about helping get through this tragedy.

And I just want to say in terms of Bill Withers and his family, I'm glad I got the chance to know Bill, tour with Bill, the stories that everybody else spoke of. Bill had some wonderful stories on the tour bus as we were traveling around that just, you know, made my mouth drop. You know, he was just a great storyteller. So it's just a universal blessing to have known him and to still have his legacy of music to reflect back on and make us feel better. Roland, I really wanna thank you for this platform to honor Bill and his family and just in general everything that you

do with your platform has just been a positive force for the globe and I just want to thank you and thank you for your friendship. Appreciate it, Frat. Love you man. Thank you for all your work. Thanks for joining us on this tribute to Bill Weathers. Thanks much. Tell the wife what's up. All right folks, joining us right now is music historian, writer, Nelson George. Nelson, what's up? How you doing, man? Man, always good to see you, talk to you.

Just, man, just share your thoughts about the unbelievable life and legacy of Bill Withers. Well, I mean, you know, I think what's unique about Bill Withers as a writer is that he was a guy who could write soul music, but he also wrote spiritual music. He also wrote folk music. And he did it in a way that blended these things into its own unique mix. No one has sounded like Bill Withers before, and no one has sounded like Bill Withers since.

If you think about it, he came up in the 70s as Marvin Gaye, as Barry White, as Isaac Hayes, Al Green. It's an amazing generation of voices. He was a unique voice. He didn't wear a shiny suit. He didn't do any of the kind of soul music things that people were used to. He sat down with a guitar, often on a little bench, and just sang beautiful songs. I said this to Gerald Albright, and I think it's the simplicity

of his style, his music, the arrangements. Wasn't a whole lot of things happening. And so really, you were forced to listen to what he had to say you were not distracted by anything else because that was nothing else it was him and that voice yeah I mean you know his themes I mean he wrote about his grandmother right he's great I mean think about who writes pop songs about their grandmother I mean his vision was very unique. One of my favorite songs by him is, I think it's what I write, Left Handed, which is about a first person story of someone who's been injured in the Vietnam War, writing about his, hopefully his brother not having to go through the same thing so you talk about the simplicity but thematically he went to a lot of places other people did not go um who is he and what is he to you i mean he's a very clever writer who who looked at the world from a very particular point of view and didn't do mostly cliche things he did very uh even took the simple and elevated it, I think.

So people say simple, but to look directly at life and to see those moments in life that other people don't see, that's an insight. That's a kind of a prophetic vision that he had. And also I think what stands out,

I said this earlier, we were talking with him, and that is um when he walks away he walks away for good nobody in the music business does that nobody in the music business walks away and stays away i mean he was honored at the i think at the rock and roll hall of fame he was honored i think bt at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was honored. I think BET honored him. He's been honored all over the place since he retired in 85. Never picked up the guitar again.

Everybody wanted to write with him. Everybody wanted to do duets with him. I mean, he would not. Once he was gone, he was gone. That's a level of self. I think some of that is that he was older too you gotta remember he didn't become successful really till his 30s you know right he wasn't one of these young kids who just has a hit record and now i'm hot and this is my life he'd had a life before he

was a songwriter had a life before he was a star and it looks like he had a very satisfied life afterwards i mean he hasn't performed what since 85 or so so he's had a very satisfied life afterwards. I mean, he hasn't performed since 85 or so. So he's had a whole other life that has nothing to do with any of this. And I think the lesson of Bill Withers in that respect is like when you've done it to the height of your powers and you're satisfied with that, you can walk away. You should think of it as the Jim Brown of songwriting. Right, right. I mean, while you were talking, I thought about athletes. When they retire, there's a whole other life after they playwriting. Right, right. I mean, while you were talking, I thought about athletes when they retire, there's a whole other life

after they play ball. Right. And I don't know, I mean, the beauty of his life is, except for the documentary that he, you know, Still Bill that came out a few years ago, he didn't, he wasn't basking, he wasn't going to places where he would be recognized.

He had an, I don't know what the hell he did these last few years. And I think that's kind of a beautiful thing. He just lived. In an era where people are craving constant gratification, constant validation.

He didn't need that. I mean, listen, when you write Lean On Me, you're good for the rest of your life. It's one of the greatest songs ever written. And as you go, when you have not great songs, not hit songs, but when you have iconic songs. I keep saying, you can have a great song, you can have a great song, a hit song, a classic,

but iconic is at a whole different level. I mean, Lean On Me is being played right now by people all over the world to deal with the coronavirus. So that's an anthem. Yep. You know, of the highest level. I mean, even things like Who Is He and What Is He To You

have been covered a million times. I mean, so, but Lean On Me is, let's go back to Lean On Me. Lean On Me is one of those songs that it felt like it's been written forever. It's the kind of song that you go back, well, maybe Lead Belly wrote that. Or maybe, you know, it was written back in the 1800s because it's got that kind of feel. It could be a national anthem. It's got that kind of resonance with people.

Indeed. So, I just think that it's a remarkable life. And the fact that he peaked, did it at the highest level, walked away, you know, dropped the mic stand, you know, so much respect for that. Nelson George, always a pleasure talking with you, man. Thank you very much, man. Thanks a bunch.

Folks, if you think Bill Withers just had an impact on older artists, what about if you were a hip-hop artist? Talib Kweli, I had a chance to chat with him today, and he said Bill Withers greatly respected in hip-hop. Check this out. It was shocking, brother, to so many people to find out the death of Bill Withers. And, man, what's crazy is he literally crossed my mind three days ago.

He died Monday. I was going through some photos. I was actually for the weekend. I was looking for photos of Joseph Lowry from the Oprah Legends Ball in December of 2014. He sang at the brunch, and I came across the photos of him, and to hear he passed away Monday at the age of 81, man, is just shocking.

Just your thoughts just about him as a singer, a songwriter, a cultural icon. Well, you know, it's interesting that you say that you, he crossed your mind three days ago, because I mean, I feel like there's some qualifications. Like if you black or if you really know about music, you know what I'm saying? There's not many days that go by

that Bill Withers doesn't crush your mind. His songs and his catalog and his influence is so ubiquitous. And his voice, how he spoke through music for working class people was so important that, man, you know, I'm going to DJ on Instagram Live and coincidentally,

I don't believe in coincidences. Everything has its divine order. But I'm going to start on Instagram Live. And coincidentally, I don't believe in coincidences. Everything has its divine order. But I'm going to start DJing on Instagram Live right after you finish your show. You know what I'm saying? So everybody who's watching can watch me on Instagram Live. And shout out to D-Nice and DJ Premier and the people who inspired me to do it.

But I've been doing my thing as themes instead of just open format. And tonight's theme is going to be Bill Withers. Not just Bill Withers, but music that he inspired. Because Bill Withers has been sampled in hip hop more than 400 times. And last week, I did a theme of hip hop, like of samples. I did like three, four hours just playing hip hop samples.

And there was so much Bill Withers that came up in that. So you know, we always say as a cliche phrase, we got to give them his flowers while they're still here. But Bill Withers' music was so ubiquitous and so on point and so necessary for us that we find ourselves, I mean, look, me being, you know, I'm in my 40s, so I'm what's considered middle age. But I still DJ clubs that go from 18 to 35 to past my age. You know what I be any any club no matter what kind of type of music you playing you could throw that lovely day on you know Zen oh

Yeah, oh no, it's it look. I'm 51 and I Thank God that my mother and father Played the music and we listened to it. We didn't just oh i ain't trying to hear that yeah so it's crazy because again so i think it was monday or tuesday so when i was so when i'm driving to the office man i'll just put on facebook live periscope or instagram live and i'm jamming music in the car so just like y'all so that's how that's how I DJ, because I call it hashtag rolling with rolling. Right. And I was jamming Bill Withers. And, man, you talk about Lovely Day, Just the Two of Us.

You talk about Lean on Me, but that live version from Carnegie Hall. Yeah, yeah. When you talk about DJing, bro, I was in Toronto. I was in Toronto several years ago. I'm at this club, and this DJ is playing this song. And it was a speeded-up version, and I'm going, who the hell is it? It sounded like Bill Withers. But it was this, he had this other beat to it.

Dude, I go to the DJ, he tells me who it is. I track it down, this German DJ named Henrik Schwartz. And it was crazy because I ran into Charles Oakley that night. And I was fixated. I'm like, yo, what's that version? It took me a while to track that song down. When you talk about, again, how his music, how you can integrate that into so many sets, and the audience is going to flow right with it.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, his story, just for me being an artist who's had my trials and tribulations with the music business, for a lot of years, Bill Withers couldn't get his music out. He was having arguments with the record labels and all that. But he was somebody who was early in the era where artists

were really getting taken advantage of, particularly Black artists disproportionately. He was somebody who was early in the era where artists were really getting taken advantage of, particularly black artists disproportionately. He was standing up. He was standing up to the record companies and just saying no. He understood his self-worth and his self-value. And during that time, you could say that he suffered his craft, not his craft, but his popularity and his ability to make money suffered because he walked away from it. He walked away. Yeah.

He was like, I mean, and the crazy thing is he didn't just walk away saying, fine, I'm going to step away. No, he completely left no performing. No,

you know, nothing else. And it was like, I'm done with it. I had my field with it, but also I think, you know what? I also think that's also a result of him coming in at the age of 30.

Yeah. I mean, on his first album cover, it's taken at his job. He got his lunchbox with him. That's how real he was with it. He wasn't a part of the music business. And he understood that life existed outside of the music business. So he was able to walk away from it with his head high. Let me tell you something, Ben.

So at that, let me tell you something, bro. At that Oprah brunch, and I put it on Twitter. I've already texted it. And I was like, dude, she needs to put this out. So Bill performed at the brunch. B.B. Winans, he was the music director. And all these gospel artists and Bill Withers performed. And of course, BB and the Winers went on and did Lean On Me Over for the Lean On Me movie soundtrack.

He did this song, and it was about fathers. Bruh. So when Oprah ran it on, when they ran the Legend Special, because I was there, all these dudes were just, they were just in tears. Stedman, Kevin Lyles, and all these men, many of them, their fathers were gone. Now, for me, my dad is still living. But it was so emotional, and, man, cats were like, dude, I got to record that. And I talked to Bill afterwards, and I said, he's like, I'm going to let somebody record this song.

And I think B.B. said he wanted to record it. But it was just amazing. And so here he was. This is 2014. Dude, he was 70s. He was 74 years old and just killed it singing. 74.

And was effortless in a yellow sweater and some yellow pants. I mean, I'm listening to you, but I'm looking for this Tupac song that, because Pac sampled Bill Withers twice. You know, Pac sampled Bill Withers for Soldier Story. He sampled Ain't No, oh, almost fell there.

Sampled for Soldier Story,, Ain't No Sunshine. But Pac also sampled, I couldn't remember the name of the Bill Withers song, that's what I was looking for. But he got, it's funny that you bring it up because Pac got a song called Papa's Song. And it's about his father trying to come back in his life. And he's like, nah, we don't need you in your life.

You know, it's like Bill Withers, his music, from the time he was alive to the time Tupac passed away, spoke to the black male condition in a way that was so powerful that Tupac could do that song, right? And then on the Luther Vandross album, Songs From My Father, he redid Lovely Day featuring Busta Rhymes. But he felt the need to do that on his Songs From My Father album. You know what I'm saying? But with the grandma's hands, you know? The song Rosie, Kanye West flipped it to roses and talked about his grandmother dying.

There's so many different connections with the music that he did because it's really, really woven into the tapestry of Black life. Well, man, one of the reasons why we, you know, we did this with Reverend Joseph Lowry on Monday, and, look, I did these tribute shows, even though I was on TV One, and I think they're even more important now,

you know, because we can't have funerals because of coronavirus. So for us to be able to do this virtual homegoing, if you will, for cats like Bill Withers, for people who did not know him, who did not understand the music, but certainly, I mean, it Withers for people who did not know him, who did not understand the music. But certainly, I mean, it's great for people

now to understand that connection between Bill Withers, folk singer, if you will, and hip hop, and how his music is certainly legendary. That's why he's a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer. No doubt. No doubt. Shout out to Bill Withers' family. That's still Bill documentary is great.

Great starting point for people who have never heard of Bill Withers or are really not familiar with his music, definitely. I appreciate it, brother. No doubt. Thank you, Roland. Stay safe. Take care. You're always on the right side of history.

I appreciate you, brother. All right, brother. We'll talk soon. Peace. All right, folks. Let's go to singer Anthony Hamilton, who joins us right now on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Anthony, how you doing? I'm great, man. How are you? Doing great.

We've had some amazing conversations with the likes of Stevie Wonder, B.B. Winans, John Legend, Gerald Albright, talking about the great Bill Withers. Your thoughts? He was the best. He was my most favorite lyricist, storyteller. He was just really favorite lyricist, storyteller. He was just really matter-of-fact when it came to putting this music out, how he delivered it. It wasn't trying to be sexy. It wasn't trying to be cool. It was just matter-of-fact. This is Bill Withers from Slapfork, West Virginia, coal miner's son, and he was that to me. When you hear the phrase earthy, I think that certainly speaks to Bill Withers and his sound.

It was more earth than that. It was the beginning of earth. He was just that raw with it. And, you know, on the scene and off the scene, I had a chance to really build a relationship with Bill. I would text him, text him, and he'd text me back, and he was really, really black with it. And just really somebody who you knew what you was going to get.

He shot from the hip, straight, and just was a man, a man who did music, took care of his family, and built a legacy for standing for what he believed in. Your favorite song? Out of all of his songs, the one that is the go-to that you'll put on and listen to over and over and over again? Wow. Lean On Me is one of the ones, man.

Lean On Me. Lean on me when you're not strong. I'll be your friend. I'd known you were here. I must admit, though, it's nice to see you, dear. Look like you've been doing well. And hello, like before. I know we've grown because we were only children then. For laughs, I guess we both can say I knew you would win But then again, let's kiss and tell

That's Bill Withers. Anthony Hamilton. I repainted that picture. That's Bill Withers, man. There you go. Simple as that. Simple as that. Man, we appreciate you joining us,

sharing your thoughts and reflections about the great Bill Withers, and I'm sure his family appreciates it as that. Man, we appreciate you joining us, share your thoughts and reflections about the great Bill Withers, and I'm sure his family appreciates it as well. Yeah, I spoke to his daughter today, Corey, and they say thank you to everybody for their love and sending all the well wishes. And I'm going to do a tribute to him on my IG Live come Sunday. All right. We'll be looking for it.

5 p.m. Thank you, man. I appreciate you, brother. Appreciate it, Anthony. Always good talking to you, brother. Same Sunday. All right. We'll be looking for it. 5 p.m. Thank you, man. I appreciate you, brother. Appreciate it, Anthony. Always good talking to you, brother. Same here. Peace. All right.

Folks, one of the individuals who was extremely close was Bill Withers' Clarence Avon. He was the one who signed Bill Withers to his Sussex record label that put out some of Bill's greatest hits. He has been completely torn apart after learning about Bill Withers' death. I did talk to Clarence earlier today. He was way too emotional to come on and share his thoughts, but certainly I want us to certainly

have our thoughts and prayers because we talk about Withers' family, but you also, his wife, Marsha, the two children, Todd and Cora. But we think about, again, folks like Clarence Avant, longtime friends, folks who have been with him for so long as well. And a guy like Clarence is also in his 80s. And so I just want us to also just shout out Clarence Avant as well. And the New York Times is Clarence Avant. It's not Avent. I was reading the obit on Bill Withers, and they had Clarence Avent. So I had to send them a tweet.

I'm like, spell the man name correct. And if you haven't seen Reggie Hutler's documentary on the Black Godfather and Clarence Avant, you want to check that out. And we're trying to find out where this documentary is still, Bill, where it's airing. Because it was on Netflix, but it's no longer on Netflix. So we'll get that. Is Carrie Hilson there? Yes. All right, Carrie, how you doing?

Hi, I'm good. It's always good seeing you. Your wonderful smile. I hate to have to talk under this circumstance, but when I thought about somebody who I wanted to talk to about Bill Withers, you're a songwriter. And I keep saying songwriters have a different appreciation for other songwriters who are also artists. And so I just want to give the opportunity for you to share your thoughts and reflections about Bill Withers. Yeah. I remember some of my most

fond memories of his music was when I was first learning to play the piano. I learned to songwrite by learning to play the piano first. And I remember Lean on Me. That was like my first song that I had ever played and sung at the same time. So that's like, I think for someone as little as me, I was born in 82. And so for someone as young as me, that was the first time that I was introduced to anyone who could like really evoke my little emotions. It was, it was just so special. Um, and then later in my career, um, I got to pay homage to him with my song Pretty Girl Rock, which contained an interpolation of, I was just thinking, lean on me, of, of course, I'm drawing a blank as I'm sitting here waiting for you.

Just the two of us. Just the two of us. So Pretty Girl Rock is like an interpolation of that song. And I was so proud, produced by Chuck Harmony. I was so proud to do that because for me, it was like just full circle moment. That was on my last album. And I was just really proud to pay homage to him he's one of the people i really really really wished that i could have met and then everyone has the the um uh mr clark you know that uh i'm trying to think of the movie the movie was lean

on me lean on oh that's right that was the movie, oh, that's right. That was the movie. That's right. That's right. So everyone has that memory of that song. But, yeah, I mean, I feel like he was like a lot of the soundtrack to a lot of our lives, I think, in the early 80s and for some 70s. I wasn't born then. Yeah. I mean, look, with those hits, I just interviewed Talik Quillay, and he talked about how his 400 different times Bill Withers was sampled in hip hop. And then when movies, yeah, absolutely, a number of movies, Lovely Day, Just the Two of Us, Lean on Me.

And so it's so funny because when I think about these movies, I'm often talking about these songs. And for my nieces, their understanding of these songs isn't from the artist. It's from the animated films they heard it in. Yeah. So I'm talking, I'm like, what the hell are you talking about? I'm like, I ain't talking about leaning on me from some Pixar film. But again, a lot of those films have used many, many of these classic songs. Yes. Yes. I mean, songwriting, it just doesn't get much more raw.

Like when you, when it comes to lyric and performance and he did it with such ease, like I've spent my whole day actually watching old video performances that I had never seen of him. I guess it wasn't so accessible in the 80s and and i i guess a lot of those it was my first time seeing him really perform them and it was so he just it just the the emotion that's there that he was able to pull out was so amazing it it is amazing like young and old these songs are time lovely day when you think of all of his music is so timeless and it's so well

written I mean we talked about songwriting and putting lines together and you know what I mean like for me he he blended funk with rhythm and blues and soul like he really rode that line in such a beautiful way. So absolutely. Absolutely. One of a lot of people's favorites. Well, we certainly appreciate you joining us,

sharing your thoughts about deal with us and his music. And we certainly will be listening to his songs for a long time. Absolutely. All right. Thanks for having me. Carrie, take care. All right.

All right. All right, folks. Carrie, take care. All right. All right. All right, folks. Again, we are... So in a moment, we're going to talk with a couple more folks, Dwayne Woods and Reggie Hutland. Before we end, our tribute to Bill Withers, who passed away on Monday at the age of 81, had heart complications, according to the family, to his son, family put out a statement about his passing

and we certainly just, so here's some of the tweets that were also posted by people today once the news spread about the death of Bill Withers. Go ahead and pull those up. You see Spike Lee, steal bill art by Adrian Franks. That was an Instagram post by Spike Lee. Go ahead to the next one, please. This is Holly Robertson-Pete.

When I wake up in the morning, of course, she's got some of the lyrics of Bill Withers right there. Let's see. Go to the next one. Keep going, y'all. All right. There's Joy Ann Reid posted. The world is a little less cool today. Rest in perfect peace. Here's a photo here of Angela Bassett and Sade talking about Bill Withers and Sade in concert.

Wow, I can still hear him singing his heart out on stage. Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr. tweeted, Lifted us up by declaring if you stumble, you will not fall. Declared that Grandma's hands will lift us up above the danger. Ain't no sunshine. Now that he has made a transition, I feel sad that he is gone. I knew him personally for a long period of time. People of Bryson, losing this one is hitting me different.

You were my friend, my brother, and you gave me wisdom whenever you saw or felt I needed it. Thank you, my friend. Thank you. I will miss you. Hashtag ain't no sunshine. Be with us. Viola Davis, you were awesome. Your classic songs created beautiful memories.

Well done. We'll read one more before I go to my next guest. We have one more. All right, Dwayne Woods. So we're going to talk to him in a minute. So let's just hold that one right now, though, is Reggie Hutland, who is the movie director. He directed the documentary The Black Godfather, which had an interview with Bill Withers in it. He joins us right now. Reggie, how you doing, Doc? Good. How you doing, Roland? Bill Withers, he wasn't always out, didn't always go in places, but you were able to get him to sit down and talk about Clarence Avant. I said a few moments ago, I called Clarence earlier.

He is so broken up by the death of Bill Withers that it was hard for him just to even talk because they were that close. Talk about him, that interview for the documentary discussing his friend Clarence. Well, it was really wonderful because, you know, Bill Withers is such an accomplished man. Beyond being an amazing singer, songwriter, he produced his own music. People don't know he overcame a terrible stuttering problem when he was a kid to the point where they thought he was mentally incapable. I mean,

there were a bunch of kids who buried him in the ground up to his neck. They had such contempt for him growing up in Slab Fork, West Virginia. So to overcome all that, to have a career in the military, and then in your 30s, become a music star, and to write so many classics, it's an amazing set of achievements. So when he sat down with us, he told his story. It was very simple. He was very humble. There's no brag to him. He's the person you see on the album covers, the guy who sings very direct.

That's who he is in real life. And his speaking voice is incredible. You hear it in the movie. And when you experience it, you just go, you should be doing voiceover for everything because I just believe you. He speaks truth whenever he talks. One of the things that we've heard from so many people, we've talked today to B.B. Winans and Stevie Wonder

and John Legend and Gerald Albright and Anthony Hamilton and others is, again, the simplicity of what he had to say and how no matter where you come from, no matter what part of the country, no matter what your demographic, we all understood what he was saying. People identified with it. And in fact, in in many ways he wasn't actually singing he was talking folks through things yeah you know what it takes it takes a lot of talent to reach that kind of simplicity and clarity you know it's very easy to get caught up in too many words and too many thoughts but just to say exactly what you mean in a way that every person and every walk of life can connect to what you're saying, that's an incredible gift. You know, some people have to write 100 pages to get things down to 10 pages. And he was one of those guys. And he, from the beginning, you know,

I would talk to people like Marcus Miller, the world-class jazz musician, who talked about the miracle of Bill Withers' talent. He just sat down and said, okay, a piano. And just would just sit down and wrote Lean On Me, the first song he wrote on a piano. How do you come out the gate writing a masterpiece like that? That's crazy.

Well, again, some people got it and some folk don't. That's right. And he certainly had it. And again, he was extremely close with Clarence Avant. So we certainly appreciate you sharing your thoughts with us, Reggie. He was an unbelievable man. And all of us got a chance to actually meet him. I got a chance to meet him one time.

Always remember that. So we appreciate it, Doc. Yes, he was a beautiful man. Yeah, so thank you. Thank you for allowing me to share. And I'm really glad the world is stopping, even in the midst of the crisis we're in, and remembering such a wonderful man.

Oh, that's why we do what we do. Again, because of coronavirus, unfortunately we can't have funerals to be able to celebrate these icons that we've lost. And in fact, in the last week, I mean, we've lost the great baseball player Jimmy Wynn. We've lost Curly Neal. We've lost O'Neal Swanson, the funeral home

owner in Detroit, Reverend Dr. Joseph Lowry, now losing Bill Withers. But having the ability to do this virtual home going, if you will, allow all of us to be able to share our thoughts about who he was. Richard Hutton, I appreciate it, man. Thanks a lot.

Thank you, Roland. All right, folks. We've been having some technical difficulties. I've not been able to get to Wayne Woods. So put up his photo, please, that he posted on Instagram. And we'll close out with that. You can go ahead and pull it up. I appreciate that.

I'm not sure Bill would have called everyone's son or not when meeting them. But when he called me son on this day it meant the world to me i've always loved his music but after meeting him i will always honor the kind and funny person he was and so um that folks is our tribute uh to bill withers uh and um this of course uh was the one time we got to meet and i certainly appreciate and and I thank him for me saying I can appreciate his work and him telling me he can appreciate my work. And so, as a matter of fact, both of us sort of matched in that day with my yellow seersucker and that cream top he had on. And so, folks, we appreciate this. We want you to be sure to share this. Other folks, don't forget, we're going to be restreaming this a number of times over the next 24 hours,

in addition to this weekend. And so take the time to go to YouTube. If you don't know about Bill Withers, go look at some of the interviews. Go look at that documentary, Steal Bill. The reason we do this show, the reason this is important, because we have to always honor our legends who don't always get there just due. I'm not sure you're going to see MSNBC or CNN or Fox News or ABC or CBS or NBC dedicate an hour and a half tribute to Bill Withers, but that's why we have Roland Martin unfiltered.

That's what I did when I was at TV One with News One Now and Washington Watch. That's what I did on the Tom Journal Morning Show. But those shows are no longer on the air, but we are here. But in order for us to stay here, we need your support. So please, if you go to our Cash App, dollar sign RM Unfiltered, you can support this show. You can go to PayPal as well, which is paypal.me forward slash rmartinunfiltered. If you want to support us via Square, just simply go to RolandMartinUnfiltered.com and you can do so there. Your dollars make it possible for us to do this. And again,

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That's why we do it, because it's about you and us celebrating our people. All right. Y'all be sure to have a good weekend. Be safe. Wear your mask. Put your gloves on. Wash your hands. Check on your loved ones. Check on the elderly. And as General Russell Honoré said, look out for each other. Holler! Thank you. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before.

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