Bill Withers, singer of ‘Lean on Me’ and ‘Just the Two of Us,’ dies at 81

Bill Withers, the soulful voice behind R&B classics such as “Lean On Me,” “Ain’t No Sunshine,” “Lovely Day” and “Just the Two of Us,” died Monday from heart complications in Los Angeles. He was 81. “We are devastated by the loss of our beloved, devoted husband and father. A solitary man with a heart driven …

“We are devastated by the loss of our beloved, devoted husband and father. A solitary man with a heart driven to connect to the world at large, with his poetry and music, he spoke honestly to people and connected them to each other,” Withers family said in a statement to the Associated Press. “As private a life as he lived close to intimate family and friends, his music forever belongs to the world. In this difficult time, we pray his music offers comfort and entertainment as fans hold tight to loved ones.”

The three-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, who famously overcame a childhood stutter, was born the last of six children in the rural coal mining town of Slab Fork, West Virginia.

The 2015 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee’s signature song, 1972’s “Lean On Me,” was performed at the presidential inaugurations of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. “Lean on Me” also charted on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and 1973’s “Live at Carnegie Hall” ranked in the mag’s 50 Greatest Live Albums of All Time.

“He’s the last African-American Everyman,” Roots band leader Questlove, 49, once told Rolling Stone. “Bill Withers is the closest thing black people have to a Bruce Springsteen.”

Withers joined the Navy at 17 and spent nine years as an aircraft mechanic installing toilets, the AP reports. After his discharge, he moved to Los Angeles, punched the clock at an aircraft parts factory — and bought a guitar at a pawn shop.

He released his first album, “Just As I Am,” in 1971 with the iconic Booker T. Jones producing. They scored surprise hits with “Grandma’s Hands” and the B-side “Ain’t No Sunshine,” which was reportedly inspired by Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick’s doomed drunkards-in-love film, “Days of Wine and Roses.”

Bill Withers performs in London circa 1972.Getty Images

In 1977 he charted again with “Lovely Day,” co-written with Skip Scarborough and featuring Withers holding the word “day” for a stunning 19 seconds, and followed that hit with the classic “Just The Two Of Us,” co-written with Ralph MacDonald and William Salter, in 1981. “Lovely Day” was later sampled by S.O.U.L. System — and featured on Whitney Houston’s record-breaking “The Bodyguard” soundtrack in 1992.

He earned Grammys as a songwriter for “Ain’t No Sunshine” and “Just The Two Of Us.” Withers received his ninth Grammy nod — and third Grammy as a songwriter — in 1987 for Club Nouveau’s remake “Lean On Me.”

“I’m not a virtuoso, but I was able to write songs that people could identify with,” Withers told Rolling Stone in a 2015 profile. “I don’t think I’ve done bad for a guy from Slab Fork.”

He is survived by his wife, Marcia, and his children, Todd and Kori.