bigfoot hunters say reported sighting was actually a moose, Lost B.C. To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. Canadian artists come together in ‘Lean on Me’ cover for coronavirus relief. Life as a marathon of losses, loves that might never return. His death has not been linked to the Covid-19 virus. Bill Withers’ ‘Lean on Me’ Is a Song for Every Crisis — Especially This One From earthquakes to hurricanes to COVID-19, singer’s 1972 single remains an anthem of togetherness and resilience And because even my friends who aren’t miles away feel miles away. https://www.stanthonysfoundation.org/CoronavirusResponseCover of Bill Withers' "Lean on Me" featuring Dr. Jamii St. Julien. Withers, in both formal interviews and informally recorded banter, could sometimes be crass, even abrasive, but rarely was he oversentimental. Even before a pandemic caused this endless ache for the community of the outside world; before the puddles on my city block no longer reflected the buzzy lights from open shops at night; and before I spoke to everyone I loved through a parade of various screens (“Zooms,” “Hangouts,” “FaceTimes”), I had gotten in the habit of watching old concert videos in the mornings. There’s a healthy chance you too will find yourself nodding along or whispering the signature, circular moan of “I know, I know, I know” employed in “Ain’t No Sunshine.” A moment which, to me, has never sounded like anguish, but what comes after anguish — the understanding that this heartbreak is just one in an ever-growing tapestry of them. “Thank you first responders,” read a number of signs, which paid homage to the front-line health-care workers fighting the novel coronavirus across not just Canada but the rest of the globe, too. Withers kept working, installing toilet seats for commercial airplanes. Bill Withers is the closest thing black people have to a Bruce Springsteen.” Withers was born July 4th, 1938, and grew up in Slab Fork, West Virginia, in the final years of the Great Depression. Earlier this month, the two enlisted the massive, star-studded roster of Canadian musicians to record Lean On Me from the comfort of their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Withers was known for his earnest delivery of music and lyrics that spoke to millions across the decades. Rolling Stones drop ‘Living in a Ghost Town,’ 1st song in 8 years. https://heavy.com/entertainment/2020/04/bill-withers-cause-of-death What I have always lamented about Bill Withers is that he often isn’t included in the mainstream pantheon of the Great Black Soul Singers. https://globalnews.ca/news/6871779/lean-on-me-charity-cover-coronavirus-relief His latest book is “A Fortune For Your Disaster.”. Bill Withers in Beverley Hills, Calif., in 2015. Withers died as the coronavirus was spreading across the country and people were in quarantine. So this is a way to help because by just streaming the song, or watching the video, the proceeds go directly to the Canadian Red Cross to help fight this virus.”. This version has always been the version I return to. Withers died Monday at 81 of what his family has described as "heart complications." Your musical legacy lives on through us.”. “In this current climate, the lyrics seem more profound than ever. For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, click here. Others, like Bubbles from Trailer Park Boys (portrayed by Mike Smith), were seen holding pieces of paper with messages to the country. The Leon On Me singer, who also wrote Lovely Day and Ain't No Sunshine, passed away … It began sometime late last year, with my desire to see aging artists as they once were — the ones who could no longer dance or slide across a stage as they could in their younger days. I know I’ll miss Bill Withers, even though I know I’d been missing him for most of my life. READ MORE: Mike Smith (Bubbles) of the ‘Trailer Park Boys’ in ArtistsCAN’s ‘Lean On Me’ charity video for the Canadian Red Cross’s COVID-19 relief efforts on April 26, 2020. BILL WITHERS has died aged 81 following heart complications. Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram. He was 81 years old. Here are some tips. By the time he plays “Grandma’s Hands,” the plodding of his guitar becomes a transportation device, and viewers — in that audience in ’73 or watching from home now — are in church with clapping grandmothers. He was the first man in his family to not work in the coal mines of West Virginia. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out. Sometimes shyly rambling. For this, the sentimental moments within his music feel more vulnerable and float above the emptiness of the feel-good machinery within so much of the celebrity-media industrial complex — the mutually assured sanitized reproduction of life. Bill Withers, who wrote and sang a string of soulful songs in the 1970s that have stood the test of time, including “ Lean on Me, ” “Lovely Day” and “Ain’t No Sunshine,” has died from heart complications, his family said in a statement to The Associated Press. Norway warns of vaccination side-effects, deaths in some patients over 80, Trump preparing to issue over 100 pardons, commutations on Tuesday: source. Here are some things you need to know: Health officials caution against all international travel. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. On putting together ArtistsCAN, Shaw, 27, said: “When I heard of Bill Withers’ passing, I was listening to all his legendary music and I really dove into the lyrics of Lean On Me — a song I’ve heard hundreds of times. What’s cancelled or postponed amid the coronavirus pandemic? Ron DeSantis spars with CNN reporter over state's COVID-19 … Bill Withers, famed ‘Lean On Me’ singer-songwriter, dies at 81. Sign up here. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities. Bill Withers during the photo session for his 1974 album, “+‘Justments,” where he wrote on glass the meaning of the title. Some provinces and territories have also implemented additional recommendations or enforcement measures to ensure those returning to the area self-isolate. What’s cancelled or postponed amid the coronavirus pandemic? Want to discuss? – Mar 12, 2020, 13 ‘Hugs Over Masks’ protestors charged after another demonstration at Hamilton city hall, B.C. As a final musical treat during Sunday evening’s all-Canadian charity TV special Stronger Together, Tous Ensemble, more than two dozen artists — old and new — banded together for a virtual ensemble of the late Bill Withers‘ Lean On Me. But the recording of this BBC set, extant via YouTube, cuts straight to the meat of the Withers catalog. Near the end of the 1973 BBC concert, Withers shifts from his guitar over to a piano to play a singular rendition of “Lean On Me,” his ode to the selfless and shared duty of friendship, written after he moved to Los Angeles and longed for everyone he loved back in West Virginia. He was 81. Bill Withers, the legendary performer who delivered timeless hits like "Ain't No Sunshine" with silky yet funkified vocals and came to define 1970s soul, has died. These parts glow because of how comfortable Withers grows with speaking as the show goes on — with a voice that sounds, even back then, like a patient and anxious but wise elder you or I have known. I know there is more than enough grief in today’s world to fill all of our glasses today, tomorrow and the next day. © 2020 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc. (L-R) Canadian musicians Bryan Adams, Avril Lavigne and Justin Bieber. And he had enough of a life before music to know how to walk away from it when he’d had enough. He refused to quit his job at Weber Aircraft, even after he got signed to Sussex Records in 1970. We are grateful to lean on music during our time of need. Artwork cover for the ArtistsCAN ‘Lean On Me’ cover for COVID-19 relief efforts. The version that sends me running to my phone to call someone I miss, just to hear their voice. Details on how to donate to the Canadian Red Cross can be found here. He was 81. But his loss, coming at … It opens, immediately, with “Ain’t No Sunshine.” Just Withers plucking guitar strings with his thumb, while minimalist bass and percussion grow at his back. An audience to the joyful slapping of tambourines and the maternal, stern warnings evoked in the song all at once. I notice how at the end of the BBC performance, seconds after Withers flicks the final note on “Harlem,” the set’s closing song, he barely waits for the audience to clap. https://www.tmz.com/2020/04/03/bill-withers-dead-dies-at-81-lean-on-me Canadian superstars like environmental activist David Suzuki and broadcaster George Stroumboulopoulos were seen throughout the video. Entertainment So I did, pulling up a YouTube video of him playing live in concert for the BBC in 1973. Bill Withers’s ‘Lean on Me’ Has Been a Constant Comfort Through the Coronavirus Zoe Haylock 4/4/2020 Florida Gov. In this story, there is no romantic mythology of a childhood prodigy, or someone who blew the roof off a church in a small town before being driven off in a Cadillac to go make hit records. I wanted to cover it; I wanted to help.”, “ArtistsCAN is true artist-to-artist connection,” said Dobson, 35. I know it has rained so much this spring that I couldn’t go outside most days even if I wanted to. Returning travellers are legally obligated to self-isolate for 14 days, beginning March 26, in case they develop symptoms and to prevent spreading the virus to others. The singer is resigned, having endured enough to know that endurance is often rewarded with fresh upsets to endure. And I did. His read “#CanadaStrong” and “#NovaScotiaStrong,” acknowledging the horrific shooting that took place in Portapique, N.S., on April 18 and 19. Please read our Commenting Policy first. He didn’t release any new music for the last 35 years of his life. ArtistsCAN’s Lean On Me Canadian charity single is now available through all major streaming platforms. And yet, with the loss of Withers, I’m grieving anew. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. I know when that BBC camera zooms in on Withers while he sings “Lean On Me,” it looks, briefly, like he’s crossed over from pain to gratitude. Legendary singer Bill Withers dies 03:44 Legendary soul artist Bill Withers has died from heart complications, his family confirmed in a statement to The Associated Press. Bill Withers, ‘Lean on Me,’ ‘Lovely Day’ singer, dies at 81 His family said in a statement that the three-time Grammy Award winner died on Monday in Los Angeles. He began adulthood in the military, joining in 1956 at age 17, before moving to Los Angeles in 1967. In one of those heartwarming bits of insight, he humbly talks to the audience about how it’s “fun to be traveling from one large city to another large city all over the world.” But that for a small town West Virginian like him, “When you first come to a very large place you feel a little odd.” Before finding out that knowing all “800 people” in your town leaves you, “maybe,” much better off than being in a place with “eight million people and you didn’t really know anybody.” Then, after a half-pause, he starts up “Lonely Town Lonely Street.”. Today, in hearing Bill Withers sing “If there is a load you have to bear / That you can’t carry / I’m right up the road / I’ll share your load,” it feels like an entire universe of grief is colliding. Hanif Abdurraqib (@NifMuhammad) is a writer from the east side of Columbus, Ohio. He hops out of his chair and walks into the all-consuming darkness offstage, as if despite the applause and newfound fame he couldn’t wait to get gone. 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