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"Ain't No Sunshine" is a song by
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) ...
from his 1971 album '' Just As I Am,'' produced by
Booker T. Jones Booker Taliaferro Jones Jr. (born November 12, 1944) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and arranger, best known as the frontman of the band Booker T. & the M.G.'s. He has also worked in the studios with many well-known art ...
. The record featured musicians
Donald "Duck" Dunn Donald "Duck" Dunn (November 24, 1941 – May 13, 2012) was an American bass guitarist, session musician, record producer, and songwriter. Dunn was notable for his 1960s recordings with Booker T. & the M.G.'s and as a session bassist for Stax Rec ...
on bass guitar,
Al Jackson Jr. Albert J. Jackson Jr. (November 27, 1935 – October 1, 1975) was an American drummer, producer, and songwriter. He was a founding member of Booker T. & the M.G.'s, a group of session musicians who worked for Stax Records and produced their ...
on drums and
Stephen Stills Stephen Arthur Stills (born January 3, 1945) is an American musician, singer and songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. As both a solo act and member of two successful bands, Stills has com ...
on guitar. String arrangements were done by Booker T. Jones. The song was recorded in Los Angeles, with overdubs in
Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...
by engineer
Terry Manning Terry Manning is an American photographer, composer, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, audio engineer, and visual artist. In a career spanning more than 50 years, he has worked with Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Bryan Adams, ...
. 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 Kristopher Neil Allen (born June 21, 1985) is an American singer and songwriter from Conway, Arkansas, and the winner of the eighth season of ''American Idol''. Prior to ''Idol'', he self-released a 2007 album, ''Brand New Shoes''. Allen's ...
in the eighth season of ''
American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...
''.


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 Lee Ann Remick (December 14, 1935 – July 2, 1991) was an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for the film '' Days of Wine and Roses'' (1962), and for the 1966 Tony Award for Best Actress in ...
and
Jack Lemmon John Uhler Lemmon III (February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001) was an American actor. Considered equally proficient in both dramatic and comic roles, Lemmon was known for his anxious, middle-class everyman screen persona in dramedy pictures, leadin ...
, "They were both
alcoholics Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...
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 The 5th Dimension is an American popular music vocal group, whose repertoire includes pop, R&B, soul, jazz, light opera, and Broadway. Formed as the Versatiles in late 1965, the group changed its name to "the 5th Dimension" by 1966. Betwee ...
, 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 ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''Whistle Test'' or ''OGWT'') is a British television music show. The show was devised by BBC producer Rowan Ayers, commissioned by David Attenborough and aired on BBC2 from 1971 to 1988. ...
''. It won the Grammy for Best R&B Song in 1972 and is ranked 285th on ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'''s list of the
500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 in ...
.


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Michael Jackson version

In 1971, singer
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
recorded a rendition of Bill Withers' song for his debut album ''
Got to Be There ''Got to Be There'' is the debut solo studio album by American singer Michael Jackson, released by Motown on January 24, 1972, four weeks after the Jackson 5's ''Greatest Hits (The Jackson 5 album), Greatest Hits'' (1971). It includes the Got to ...
'' (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 ''Got to Be There'' is the debut solo studio album by American singer Michael Jackson, released by Motown on January 24, 1972, four weeks after the Jackson 5's ''Greatest Hits (The Jackson 5 album), Greatest Hits'' (1971). It includes the Got to ...
" and " Rockin' Robin", a cover of
Bobby Day Robert James Byrd (July 1, 1930 – July 27, 1990), known by the stage name Bobby Day, was an American singer, multi-instrumentalist, music producer, and songwriter. He is best known for his hit record " Rockin' Robin", written by Leon René und ...
's 1958 song). The song "
I Wanna Be Where You Are "I Wanna Be Where You Are" is a song written by Arthur "T-Boy" Ross and Leon Ware for Michael Jackson, who took the song to number 7 in ''Cash Box'' and number 16 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 pop chart. It also reached number 2 on the ''Billboard ...
", 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 The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
at number 8 for 3 weeks in September 1972. The song was remixed by
Benny Blanco Benjamin Joseph Levin (born March 8, 1988), known professionally as Benny Blanco (stylized in all lowercase), is an American record producer. He is the recipient of the 2013 Hal David Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is also ...
for the 2009 release ''
The Remix Suite ''The Remix Suite'' (digital title: ''Michael Jackson: The Remix Suite'') is a compilation of remixed hits by singer Michael Jackson. Although labeled as a Michael Jackson release, the majority of remixes are of hits during his tenure with The J ...
''. The song's drum break was sampled in "Gonna Love Me" by
Teyana Taylor Teyana Me Shay Jacqueli Shumpert ( Taylor; born December 10, 1990) is an American singer, actress, dancer and choreographer. In 2005, she signed a record deal with Pharrell Williams' Star Trak Entertainment imprint. Afterwards, she choreographe ...
from her second studio album ''
K.T.S.E. ''K.T.S.E.'' (an initialism of ''Keep That Same Energy'') is the second studio album by American recording artist Teyana Taylor, released on June 22, 2018, by GOOD Music and Def Jam Recordings. Following the release of ''VII'' in 2014, Taylor t ...
''.


Charts


Other charted versions

The Polish rock band
Budka Suflera Budka Suflera (, " prompter's box") was a Polish rock band which was started in 1969 in Lublin by Krzysztof Cugowski. Although they disbanded soon after, Cugowski and Romuald Lipko reformed the band in 1974 and were active until 2014. History ...
recorded a cover version of the song in 1974 under the title "Sen o dolinie", with
Krzysztof Cugowski Budka Suflera (, " prompter's box") was a Polish rock band which was started in 1969 in Lublin by Krzysztof Cugowski. Although they disbanded soon after, Cugowski and Romuald Lipko reformed the band in 1974 and were active until 2014. History ...
providing the lead vocal. The single also appeared on their 1983 compilation album "1974-1984" released by
Polskie Nagrania Muza Polskie Nagrania "Muza" ("Polish Records 'Muse' ", official name since 2005: "Polskie Nagrania Sp. z o.o", i.e., Polskie Nagrania Ltd.) is a Polish record label based in Warsaw. It has produced records in many genres including pop, rock, jazz, fol ...
. The Polish lyrics were written by Adam Sikorski. It peaked at number 14 on Poland's LP3 chart in 1983 In November 1991,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n pop band
Rockmelons Rockmelons, often referred to as the Rockies, were an Australian pop/dance/ R&B group formed in 1983 in Sydney. Primary members are Bryon Jones, his brother Jonathon Jones and Raymond Medhurst. They had two Australian top five hit singles in t ...
, (featuring vocalist
Deni Hines Dohnyale "Deni" Sharon Hines (born 4 September 1970) is an Australian singer who has been releasing music since the early 1990s, with chart success in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Europe. She is the daughter of American-Australian singer M ...
) released a version as the lead single of their second studio album, ''
Form 1 Planet ''Form 1 Planet'' is the second studio album by Australian rock band Rockmelons. The album peaked at number 3 on the ARIA Charts and was certified platinum. Track listing All songs written by R. Medhurst, B. Jones, J. Jones, R. Smith. Note: r ...
'' (1992). The version peaked at number five and was certified Gold in Australia. It also peaked at number eight in New Zealand.
The Nylons The Nylons are an a cappella group founded in 1978 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, best known for their covers of pop songs such as The Turtles' " Happy Together", Steam's "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye", and The Tokens' "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" ...
version was released in 1998 and reached number 53 on the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart. A
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
n male choral group
Ladysmith Black Mambazo Ladysmith Black Mambazo are a South African male choral group singing in the local vocal styles of ''isicathamiya'' and '' mbube''. They became known internationally after singing with Paul Simon on his 1986 album ''Graceland'', and have won m ...
recorded its own version featuring vocalist
Des'ree Desirée Annette Weekes (born 30 November 1968), known by her stage name Des'ree (), is an English pop recording artist who rose to popularity during the 1990s. She is best known for her hits "Feel So High", "You Gotta Be", "Life", and " Kissi ...
for their studio album '' In Harmony'' (1999). As a single, the version peaked at number 42 in the UK. A heavy metal band
Black Label Society Black Label Society is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1998 by guitarist/singer Zakk Wylde. To date, the band has released eleven studio albums, two live albums, two compilation albums, one EP, and three vid ...
covered the song entitled "Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone" for their 2013 album ''
Unblackened ''Unblackened'' is a live acoustic album by American heavy metal band Black Label Society. It was recorded live on March 6, 2013, at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, and released on September 24, 2013. Disc 1 consists of live tracks and disc 2 also ...
''. As a single, the version peaked at number 42 on the Canadian Rock Chart.


References

{{authority control 1971 singles 1971 songs Bill Withers songs Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Motown singles Songs written by Bill Withers Sussex Records singles Festival Records singles Mushroom Records singles Universal Music Group singles 1972 singles 1991 singles 1999 singles Songs about heartache