Re: Lean On Me The Best Of Bill Withers Rare
Cherly Fleitas
We've lost a lot of phenomenal musicians over the last few years. David Bowie, Sharon Jones, Leonard Cohen, Prince. That combined with the insanity of our current world events made me want to focus on our living genius and positive energy as a people. I've been drawn to Bill Withers' music for years and started performing a medley of his songs in my live set. It was an organic thing that started at sound check then grew to become a massive 20 minute musical and emotional highlight of my live show. When I discovered that he was turning 80 in 2018 I thought, "What better way to bring positivity to the world while challenging the racist, fascist and sexist status quo?" His songs reflect a love for community, for unification; his music respects elders, mentors and explores male vulnerability in a way that's missing from today's R&B. And his catalog is vast and powerful. He's simply one of the best living songwriters, period. "Ain't No Sunshine," "Lean on Me," "Grandma's Hands," "Lovely Day," "Just the Two of Us" - who wouldn't want to sing these amazing songs? The hard part was choosing between his nine albums,but I had a lot of help from Don Was and from the band. I think we found the perfect balance between soulful ballads, the radio hits and the deep cut rare grooves.
The first time that I played with these guys I knew that we had something special. It was a session in Brooklyn and we started playing "Grandma's Hands" - no rehearsal, just playing. It was super deep and soulful in a way that can only be described as spiritual. This is easily the best band I've ever played with, everything we touch is magic. The chemistry is just unbelievable. We all have a deep love and respect for Bill's music, but we never get the chance to play like this. Most of these guys are huge stars in the Jazz world so people mainly know them for that; but trust me, this is one of the funkiest most soulful bands that you'll ever hear. Nate Smith on drums is from Chesapeake, Virginia; Brad Allen Williams on guitar is from Memphis; Ben Williams on bass is from D.C.; and Sullivan Fortner on keys is from New Orleans. So we have a whole lot of southern American musical and cultural identity in the band. Blues, funk, R&B, jazz, rock, soul and church music .. it's all there. I grew up in Minneapolis, which is Prince and Bob Dylan territory, so I'm bringing that storytelling aspect. And through his music Bill is one of the greatest storytellers of all time.
I loved this post - thank you so much for sharing it. As someone who has endured a life-threatening disease, I just want to add that leaning on someone is often a sign of great strength; surrendering is often a sign of great strength. Sometimes we fight so hard to stay independent and hidden that the source of great comfort and peace escapes us. It is not a be-all or end-all but it is timely consideration and acknowledgement of needs in a moment and the best way to address them. Thanks for your column. I'm sure it will help many people who struggle with which path to take on any given day. Be well.
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