''Bout Love'' is the seventh studio album by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

R&B singer

Bill Withers William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He had several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), " Use Me" (1972) ...

, released in 1979 on the Columbia label.

Reception

Bill Withers collaborated with Paul Smith on ''Bout Love'', who co-wrote all but "Memories Are That Way" with Withers. ''Bout Love'' features Withers' usual mellowness and introspective lyrics, however its lead single, "Don't It Make It Better" is up-tempo, and its follow-up single, "You Got the Stuff" is a

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

song. "Don't It Make It Better" peaked at No. 30 on

Billboard R&B Singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

, but "You Got the Stuff" reached only No. 85 on the chart. ''Bout Love'' peaked at #50 on the

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

and No. 134 on the ''Billboard'' 200. It was re-released as a digital music download in 2008.

Track listing

# "All Because Of You" (Bill Withers, Paul Smith) – 3:50 # "Dedicated To You My Love" (Withers, Smith) – 4:47 # "Don't It Make It Better" (Withers, Smith) – 4:12 # "You Got The Stuff" (Withers, Smith, Keith Hatchell) – 7:14 # "Look To Each Other For Love" (Withers, Smith) – 4:23 # "Love" (Withers, Smith) – 4:57 # "Love Is" (Withers, Smith) – 4:21 # "Memories Are That Way" (Withers) – 5:06

Personnel

* Bill Withers – vocals, acoustic guitar (1), bass (1), whistle (2), guitar (3, 4, 7, 8), horn and string arrangements (3), acoustic piano (4), drums (8) *

Wah Wah Watson Melvin M. Ragin (December 8, 1950 – October 24, 2018), known professionally as "Wah Wah Watson", was an American guitarist who was a member of The Funk Brothers, the studio band for Motown Records. Career A native of Richmond, Virginia, Melvi ...

– electric guitar (1) * Paul Smith – keyboards (1–7), synthesizer (1–4) * Geoffrey Leib – keyboards (8) * Clifford Coulter – synthesizer (8) *

Keni Burke Kenneth M. "Keni" Burke (born September 28, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist who began his career with four siblings in the 1970s band the Five Stairsteps. Biography Five Stairsteps As a member ...

– additional bass lIcks (1, 2), bass (3, 6, 7) * Bryan Garofalo – bass (2, 5, 8) *

Jerry Knight Jerry Ernest Knight (April 17, 1952 — December 29, 1996) was an American R&B vocalist and bassist who reached prominence in the late 1970s and early 1980s, during which he was part of several groups and had a brief solo career. Career A Los ...

– bass (3) * Keith Hatchell – bass (4) *

Russ Kunkel Russell Kunkel (born September 27, 1948) is an American drummer who has worked as a session musician with many popular artists, including Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Buffett, Harry Chapin, Rita Coolidge, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Da ...

– drums (1, 2, 3, 5–8), additional cymbal (8) *

Harvey Mason Harvey William Mason (born February 22, 1947) is an American jazz drummer, record producer, and member of the band Fourplay. Mason, who attended Berklee in the 1960s, received an Honorary Doctorate at Berklee's 2015 Commencement Ceremony for ...

– drums (4) *

Ralph MacDonald Ralph Anthony MacDonald (March 15, 1944 – December 18, 2011) was a Trinidadian and Tobagonian American, Trinbagonian-American percussionist, songwriter, musical arranger, record producer, steelpan virtuoso and philanthropist. His compositions ...

– percussion (1, 5–8) *

Buddy Collette William Marcel "Buddy" Collette (August 6, 1921 – September 19, 2010) was an American jazz flutist, saxophonist, and clarinetist. He was a founding member of the Chico Hamilton Quintet. Early life William Marcel Collette was born in L ...

– flute solo (2) * Bill Eaton – horn and string arrangements (1, 8), additional string arrangements (5, 6) * Jeff Ervin – additional horn arrangements (1, 3) * Jean Hintermann – additional horn arrangements (1, 3) *

Wade Marcus Wade Marcus was a music producer and arranger associated with the Motown sound during the 1970s. He composed the music to the film ''The Final Comedown'' with Grant Green. He also produced albums by The Blackbyrds, Gary Bartz, A Taste of Honey, The ...

– horn arrangements (4–7), string arrangements (5, 6, 7)

Production

* Paul Smith – producer * Bill Eaton – production consultant * Gerry Griffith – production consultant * Ralph MacDonald – production consultant * Wade Marcus – production consultant * Bob Merritt – recording, mixing * Phil Jantaas – assistant engineer * Ollie Cotton – assistant engineer * Ed Rakowicz – assistant engineer * Andy Engel – design * Fred Anderson – photography

Charts

Singles

External links

Bill Withers-'Bout Love at Discogs

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bout Love 1978 albums Bill Withers albums Columbia Records albums Albums arranged by Wade Marcus Albums produced by Paul Smith (pianist)