Well, 2020 is just going to continue to kick our ass it seems. I woke up this morning, started with my new routine, where I am a teacher and a father at the same time, and after getting my kids started on their school work for the day, I sat down to check out some stuff on my phone. I played a game like I do every morning, I checked Bleacher Report to see if there was any kind of sports news and then I checked Facebook. I check Facebook twice a day, to post my blog and to see my memories. Some mornings I like to meander around Facebook for a minute and today was one of those days. As I scrolled through my feed I kept seeing my friends posting videos and pictures of Bill Withers with the letters RIP next to it.

I did not want to believe it. I am a big time Bill Withers fan, have been since my oldest brother introduced me to him my senior year of high school, and like many others right now, I have found myself listening to his songs to help reduce stress during this pandemic. Like so many others, I of course had heard "Lean On Me" well before I even knew who Bill Withers was. And that song is a true classic. It never has gotten stale. It will always be one of those beacon of hopes in the darkest of times. It is not only a great song to lift you up, it is one of the songs that you hear at so many weddings. "Lean On Me" is one of those rare perfect songs. It has also been covered by countless musicians over many years. So, yeah I knew of "Lean On Me". But, I didn't know anything else. Then, when I went up to visit my brother and sister in law about 20 years ago one weekend, he asked me if I had heard anything else by Withers. I must have been singing "Lean On Me", and that must have caught his attention. That night he had me listen to a bunch of his other songs. He started with the hits. He played me "Lovely Day", "Use Me", "Just the 2 of Us", "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Let Me in Your Life". I loved them all so much. I loved his voice. I loved how simplistic yet profound the songs were. I loved his band. It was like love at first sight, except with sound. I wanted more and more. My brother let me borrow the CD's he had to burn, yes I am that old, and I devoured his music. "Menagerie" is a wonderful album. "Still Bill" is a classic that is filled with hits. Any live recordings were phenomenal listens. I was so happy that I now had Withers music in my life.

A few years after I first heard all of Withers stuff, I know this may seem like I am jumping around, but it will all lead back to Withers, my grandma passed away. We were all very close to her, and like any family, we were devastated that she was gone. She was old, but it was sudden and out of the blue. We made the trek up to the UP for the funeral, and while we were sitting around and talking about her, my brother played "Grandma's Hand's" by Withers. This hit all the feelings. This song said whatever we couldn't, or didn't, want to say at the time. This was when Withers jumped into the pantheon of legends for me. That song will forever be my favorite Bill Withers song, and one of my favorite songs of all time. I still tear up when I hear it to this day.

Even though Withers catalog is small in comparison to some other musicians, his legacy is going to live on forever. The fact that he decided to walk away, to live a quiet life, makes him even more of a legend than I may have expected. Bill Withers is also wildly renowned as one of the biggest influencers in the history of modern pop music. His songs are almost always covered by a large number of professional musicians. He is a legend.

Bill Withers was old, and had heart complications which caused his death, but it was still a punch to the gut when I found out for sure that he had passed. I still have his music, which I will be forever grateful for, and there have been countless stories online today talking about how great of a man he was. He was able to straddle the line of both a great musician and person. Bill Withers will be missed, but at least we have a catalog of wonderful music to listen to for the rest of our lives.

Rest In Peace Mr Withers.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.