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Ain't No Sunshine
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox song
| name = Ain't No Sunshine
| image = Ain't No Sunshine by Bill Withers US single.png
| alt =
| caption = US vinyl single release
| type = single
| artist = Bill Withers
| album = Just As I Am
| B-side = Harlem
| released = July 1971
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| genre =
| length = 2:03
| label = Sussex
| writer = Bill Withers
| producer = Booker T. Jones
| prev_title = Harlem
| prev_year = 1971
| next_title = Grandma's Hands
| next_year = 1971
| misc =
}}
"'Ain't No Sunshine'" is a song by Bill Withers from his 1971 album 'Just As I Am,' produced by Booker T. Jones. The record featured musicians Donald "Duck" Dunn on bass guitar, Al Jackson Jr. on drums and Stephen Stills on guitar.The Mojo Collection: 4th Edition, LyricsFreak, Broken Radio, About.comOldies Music - In The Spotlight: Bill Withers String arrangements were done by Booker T. Jones. The song was recorded in Los Angeles, with overdubs in Memphis by engineer Terry Manning.
The song was released as a single in 1971, becoming a breakthrough hit for Withers, reaching number six on the U.S. R&B Chart and number three on the 'Billboard' Hot 100 chart. 'Billboard' ranked it as the No. 23 song for 1971.
The song reached the Top 40 again in 2009, when it was sung by Kris Allen in the eighth season of 'American Idol'.
History
Withers was inspired to write the song after watching the 1962 movie 'Days of Wine and Roses'. He explained, in reference to the characters played by Lee Remick and Jack Lemmon, "They were both alcoholics who were alternately weak and strong. It's like going back for seconds on rat poison. Sometimes you miss things that weren't particularly good for you. It's just something that crossed my mind from watching that movie, and probably something else that happened in my life that I'm not aware of."
For the song's third verse, Withers had intended to write more lyrics instead of repeating the phrase "I know" 26 times, but then followed the advice of the other musicians to leave it that way: "I was this factory worker puttering around," Withers said. "So when they said to leave it like that, I left it."
Withers, then 31, was working at a factory making bathrooms for 747s at the time he wrote the song. When the song went gold, the record company presented Withers with a golden toilet seat, marking the start of his new career. "Ain't No Sunshine" was the first of Withers' three gold records in the U.S.
Originally released as the B-side to another song called "Harlem", "Ain't No Sunshine" was preferred by disc jockeys, and it became a huge hit, Withers' first. "Harlem" was subsequently covered by The 5th Dimension, who featured it on their 'Soul and Inspiration' album and released it as a single.
Withers performed "Ain't No Sunshine" on 'The Old Grey Whistle Test'. It won the Grammy for Best R&B Song in 1972 and is ranked 285th on 'Rolling Stone'
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Michael Jackson version
In 1971, singer Michael Jackson recorded a rendition of Bill Withers' song for his debut album 'Got to Be There' (released in early 1972).
In the UK the song was released as the third (and final) single from the album (after the two singles "Got to Be There" and "Rockin' Robin", a cover of Bobby Day's 1958 song). The song "I Wanna Be Where You Are", which was released as the third single in the US, was on the B-side. It was a hit, peaking in the UK Singles Chart at number 8 for 3 weeks in September 1972. The song was remixed by Benny Blanco for the 2009 release 'The Remix Suite'. The song's drum break was sampled in "Gonna Love Me" by Teyana Taylor from her second studio album 'K.T.S.E.'.
Charts
Boris Gardiner version
'The Boris Gardiner Happening' recorded a version of "Ain't No Sunshine" in 1973 with Paul Douglas singing lead, and Boris Gardiner playing bass guitar, for the album 'Is What's Happening'.
Budka Suflera version
The Polish rock band Budka Suflera recorded a cover version of the song in 1974 under the title "Sen o dolinie", with Krzysztof Cugowski providing the lead vocal. The single also appeared on their 1983 compilation album "1974-1984" released by Polskie Nagrania Muza. The Polish lyrics were written by Adam Sikorski.
Weekly charts
Rockmelons featuring Deni Hines version
In November 1991, Australian pop band Rockmelons, (featuring vocalist Deni Hines) released a version as the lead single from their second studio album, 'Form 1 Planet' (1992).
The song peaked at number 5 and was certified Gold in Australia.
Weekly charts
Ladysmith Black Mambazo featuring Des'ree version
In 1999, South African male choral group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, (featuring vocalist Des'ree) released a version as a single from their studio album, 'In Harmony' (1999).
The single peaked at number 42 in the UK.
Weekly charts
Other covers
* In 1973, Nancy Sinatra released a cover of the song as the B-side to her single 'Sugar Me'. It was not released on an album at the time, but was released on the 2009 compilation Cherry Smiles The Rare Singles
* The Nylons covered "Ain't No Sunshine" in 1998. Their version reached #53 on the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart.[https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.3586&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.3586.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.3586 RPM Adult Contemporary, June 15, 1998]
* The heavy metal band Black Label Society covered the song on their 2013 album 'Unblackened' under the title "Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone". This version was subsequently released as a single, peaking at No. 42 on the Canadian Rock Chart.
Popular culture
*The song appears in the movie Flight (2012) starring Denzel Washington, a film loosely inspired by the plane crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261.
*The song also appears on the original soundtrack albums for the films 'When We Were Kings' (1997) and 'Notting Hill' (1999)
*The song was featured in the first season (2016) of FX's anthology limited series 'American Crime Story', which focuses on the 1994 murder trial of O. J. Simpson.
References
Category:1971 singles
Category:1971 songs
Category:Bill Withers songs
Category:Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients
Category:Motown singles
Category:Songs written by Bill Withers
Category:Sussex Records singles
Category:Festival Records singles
Category:Mushroom Records singles
Category:Universal Music Group singles
Category:1972 singles
Category:1991 singles
Category:1999 singles
Category:Songs about heartache
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