"Ain't No Sunshine" is a song by
Bill Withers
William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. He is known for having several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), "Use Me ( ...
, from his 1971 debut album ''
Just As I Am,'' produced by
Booker T. Jones. 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 R ...
on bass guitar,
Al Jackson Jr. 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; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Crosby, Stills & Nash; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; and Manassas (band ...
on guitar. String arrangements were arranged by Jones. The song was recorded in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, with overdubs in
Memphis by engineer
Terry Manning
Terry Don Manning (December 29, 1947 – March 25, 2025) was an American recording engineer, record producer, musician and photographer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, he worked with Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Bryan Adams, ZZ Top, the ...
.
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, songwriter, and the winner of the American Idol season 8, 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 Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...
''.
In 2024, the single was added to the
National Recording Registry
The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, and inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservation ...
by the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...
as being "culturally, historically, and/or aesthetically significant".
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 (film), Days of Wine and Roses'' (1962) and was nominated fo ...
and
Jack Lemmon
John Uhler Lemmon III (February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001) was an American actor. Considered proficient in both dramatic and comic roles, he was known for his anxious, middle-class everyman screen persona in comedy-drama films. He received num ...
, "They were both
alcoholics
Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World Hea ...
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 bridge, 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 vocal group. Their music encompasses sunshine pop, pop soul, and psychedelic soul. They were an important crossover music act of the 1960s and 1970s, although both praised and derided for their particular music ...
, 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 series broadcast by the BBC. It was devised by producer Rowan Ayers, commissioned by David Attenborough, and aired on BBC2 from ...
''. 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, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
''
's list of the
500 Greatest Songs of All Time
"The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring song ranking 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 2 ...
.
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 Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
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
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 un ...
'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
Benjamin Joseph Levin (born March 8, 1988), known professionally as Benny Blanco (stylized in all lowercase), is an American record producer and songwriter. He is the recipient of the 2013 Hal David Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall ...
for the 2009 release ''
The Remix Suite''. The song's drum break was sampled in "Gonna Love Me" by
Teyana Taylor
Teyana Me Shay Jacqueli Taylor (born December 10, 1990) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, model, dancer, choreographer, and music video director. After choreographing the video for Beyoncé's 2006 single " Ring the Alarm," she signed ...
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 (Teyana Taylor alb ...
''.
Charts
Other charted versions
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
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, f ...
. The Polish lyrics were written by Adam Sikorski. It peaked at number 14 on Poland's
LP3 chart in 1983
In November 1991, Australian 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) released a version as the lead single of their second studio album, ''
Form 1 Planet'' (1992). The version peaked at number five and was certified Gold in Australia.
It also peaked at number eight in New Zealand.
The Nylons 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 Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
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 (genre), mbube''. They became known internationally after singing with American Paul Simon on his 1986 album ''Grace ...
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 and soul recording artist and songwriter, who rose to prominence during the 1990s. Known for her distinctive contralto voice and uplifting l ...
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 covered the song entitled "Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone" for their 2013 album ''
Unblackened''. 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
Ladysmith Black Mambazo songs
United States National Recording Registry recordings
Michael Jackson songs