“Three Nights and a Morning” by Bill Withers

We lost another landmark musician last week with the passing of Bill Withers. He was most known for his smash hits, “Ain’t No Sunshine,” “Lean on Me,” “Use Me,” “Lovely Day,” and “Just the Two of Us.” He was also known for joining forces with members from the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band while living in LA.

Withers was originally from Slab Fork West Virginia, and considered a late bloomer to the music business as he first spent nine years in the US Navy and another six working in assembly plants. In fact, he was so concerned with the instability of the music biz, and the importance of keeping his “day job,” that the cover photo from his debut album was actually taken during his lunch break at the Douglas Aircraft Company where he made toilets for their 747s.

“Three Nights and a Morning” was one of these early recordings while he was working at the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was recorded and released in 1967 on Lotus Records with an extremely limited release. It’s an early example of the musical diversity that Withers possessed and reflective of the Rock'N'Soul sound that swept the nation during the mid to late 60’s.
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I still love his second album Still Bill. It’s the perfect mix of excellent songwriting and fantastic funk. His music will forever be cherished and he will be greatly missed.