The beloved Phyllis Hyman revealed in her book, “Strength of a Woman,” why she and “Lean on Me” singer, Bill Withers, once had a very public and heated argument.

Ms. Hyman was a beautiful and incredibly talented woman, but when you got on her last nerve (like they say down South), she had NO problem giving you a piece of her mind at the drop of a dime. This was the case one night on tour with Phyllis, Bill Withers and singer, Regina Belle.

Embed from Getty Images

Phyllis said that she and Bill somehow got into a loud, heated argument backstage in front of Regina Belle and others, and that she didn’t hesitate to throw a verbal jab at him when she said this to him:

‘Come on motherf*cker…what are you gonna do, beat me the way you beat Denise Nicholas?!’

Ouch! Now of course, Bill was not by any means going to do that to her, but Phyllis admittedly was just making sure she hit him where it hurts, so to speak.

Embed from Getty Images

Drama With His Ex, Denise Nicholas That Hampered His Career

For those who don’t know, Denise Nicholas is the actress best known for her role in “In The Heat of the Night” and Bill Withers was dead smack in the middle of a media frenzy, as rumors were spreading like wildfire after his divorce from Denise. Denise and Bill were allegedly involved in a really stormy relationship and there were rumors that there was a domestic violence incident, although that was never proven as far as we know. So needless to say, Bill was pissed and I guess he learned that day that nobody better not EVER get on Phyllis’ bad side because homegirl didn’t play that.

Bill was typically a very laid-back and logical kind of guy though, so it must have been pretty bad to get him all hyped up like that. What Bill eventually said about the incident was that people, like Phyllis and a bunch of other folks, were giving him so much backlash about those domestic violence rumors, that shortly after that argument he isolated himself from the music industry. The reputation he had acquired caused him to not tour for seven years, and he was only able to record 9 albums within a 15-year span. He explained why below:

Embed from Getty Images

“People chose her (Denise Nicholas’) side….That’s all I could make (at the time), I didn’t make any albums between 1978 and 1985 because I couldn’t get any music past anybody’s desk at CBS Records.”

Wow, this was like a scene from Empire. I could see “Cookie” (Taraji P. Henson) blurting out something similar to what Phyllis said, to “Lucious” (Terence Howard) in front of everyone at an ‘Empire Records’ meeting.

On the serious note, I hope Phyllis and Bill were eventually able to shake hands and forgive each other. Either way, it’s still a good thing that they each graced us with timeless classics. If there’s one thing we’ve learned from all of this, it’s that Phyllis didn’t take no mess!

Thank you to these two music legends for helping to create the beautiful soundtracks of our lives. May they continue to rest peacefully.

The post Here’s Why Phyllis Hyman Reportedly Once Went Off On Bill Withers About His Actress Ex-Wife appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Bill Withers is best known for his 70’s and 80’s hits that had some of the most poetic lyrics in the history of soul music. Songs like “Lean On Me,” Grandma’s Hands,” “Ain’t No Sunshine,” Lovely Day,” just to name a few, were all instrumental in shaping the soul music era, but Withers never once let that go to his head. In the beginning of his career he was working a regular job that he simply refused to clock out of permanently, because he said that he wasn’t convinced that being a music artist was as stable as this job he’d been clocking into for years, earning $3 per hour.

Withers’ Regular Job Came Before The Superstar Status

Withers worked as a mechanic for an aircraft company in California and he even stated that when he shot the infamous 1971 album cover for his first album, Just As I Am, which included the hits “Ain’t No Sunshine” and “Grandma’s Hands,” he was standing right outside of his job on his lunch break because he refused to take a day off for the photoshoot and cut into his paycheck…wow. Now that’s true dedication to the 9-5 and we can’t say that we blame him for that. Here’s what Bill recently told CBS News about that:

“So it was funny because my first album cover picture was actually taken on my lunch break. Cause I didn’t want to take time off, so I said, ‘Send somebody up here.’ You know, they can take my picture. So, I’m standing in the door with my actual lunch box. And so guys are in the back yelling, ‘Hey Hollywood!'” Withers said.

He further explained how he eventually ending up leaving his job as a mechanic:

“My co-workers were making fun of me,” he says. “They thought it was a joke.” Still unconvinced that music would pay off, he held on to his day job until he was laid off in the months before the album’s release. Then, one day, “two letters came in the mail. One was asking me to come back to my job. The other was inviting me on to Johnny Carson.” The Tonight Show appearance, in November 1971, helped propel “Ain’t No Sunshine” into the Top 10, and the follow-up, “Grandma’s Hands,” reached Number 42. [Rolling Stone]

So basically after his job kicked him to the curb, he was like “Peace out!” and realized it was probably best for him to put all of his energy into the new opportunities that were presenting themselves…very wise man.

Here is the album cover that went on to sell millions of records. He’s right, in this photo he was holding a lunch pail and probably laughing at his co-workers’ “Hollywood” jokes…

For a man who is now living very well off of his songs’ publishing royalties and other investments outside of music, it’s clear to see that this Rock N’ Roll Hall of Famer was never one to be frivolous with his earnings, so good for him.

The post Many Surprised By Day Job “Lean On Me” Singer Bill Withers Refused To Quit After Fame appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Bill Withers is best known for his 70’s and 80’s hits that had some of the most poetic lyrics in the history of soul music. Songs like “Lean On Me,” Grandma’s Hands,” “Ain’t No Sunshine,” Lovely Day,” just to name a few, were all instrumental in shaping the soul music era, but Withers never once let that go to his head. In the beginning of his career he was working a very regular job that he simply refused to clock out of permanently. Why? Because he said he wasn’t convinced that being a music artist was just as stable as the job he’d been clocking into for years, earning $3 per hour.

Withers’ Regular Job Came Before The Superstar Status

Embed from Getty Images

Withers worked as a mechanic for an aircraft company in California and he even stated that when he shot the infamous 1971 album cover for his first album, Just As I Am, which included the hits “Ain’t No Sunshine” and “Grandma’s Hands,” he was standing right outside of his job on his lunch break because he refused to take a day off for the photoshoot and cut into his paycheck…wow. Now that’s true dedication to the 9-5 and we can’t say that we blame him for that. Here’s what Bill recently told CBS News about that:

“So it was funny because my first album cover picture was actually taken on my lunch break. Cause I didn’t want to take time off, so I said, ‘Send somebody up here.’ You know, they can take my picture. So, I’m standing in the door with my actual lunch box. And so guys are in the back yelling, ‘Hey Hollywood!'” Withers said.

He further explained how he eventually ending up leaving his job as a mechanic:

“My co-workers were making fun of me,” he says. “They thought it was a joke.” Still unconvinced that music would pay off, he held on to his day job until he was laid off in the months before the album’s release. Then, one day, “two letters came in the mail. One was asking me to come back to my job. The other was inviting me on to Johnny Carson.” The Tonight Show appearance, in November 1971, helped propel “Ain’t No Sunshine” into the Top 10, and the follow-up, “Grandma’s Hands,” reached Number 42. [Rolling Stone]

So basically after his job kicked him to the curb, Bill pretty much said “Peace out!” and realized it was probably best for him to put all of his energy into the new opportunities that were presenting themselves…very wise man.

Below is Bill Withers’ album cover that went on to sell millions of records. He’s right, in this photo he was holding a lunch pail and probably laughing at his co-workers’ “Hollywood” jokes…

For a man who later went on to live very well off of his songs’ publishing royalties and other investments outside of music, it’s clear to see that this Rock N’ Roll Hall of Famer was never one to be frivolous with his earnings – good for him. As you know, Mr. Withers’ passed away in March 2020, at the age of 82. May this soul music icon continue to rest in peace and power.

The post Wise Man: After Fame, “Lean On Me” Singer Bill Withers Refused To Quit Very Regular Day Job appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

The beloved Phyllis Hyman revealed in her book, “Strength of a Woman,” why she and “Lean on Me” singer, Bill Withers, once had a very public and heated argument.

Ms. Hyman was a beautiful and incredibly talented woman, but when you got on her last nerve (like they say down South), she had NO problem giving you a piece of her mind at the drop of a dime. This was the case one night on tour with Phyllis, Bill Withers and singer, Regina Belle.

Embed from Getty Images

Phyllis said that she and Bill somehow got into a loud, heated argument backstage in front of Regina Belle and others, and that she didn’t hesitate to throw a verbal jab at him when she said this to him:

‘Come on motherf*cker…what are you gonna do, beat me the way you beat Denise Nicholas?!’

Ouch! Now of course, Bill was not by any means going to do that to her, but Phyllis admittedly was just making sure she hit him where it hurts, so to speak.

Drama With His Ex, Denise Nicholas That Hampered His Career

For those who don’t know, Denise Nicholas is the actress best known for her role in “In The Heat of the Night” and Bill Withers was dead smack in the middle of a media frenzy, as rumors were spreading like wildfire after his divorce from Denise. Denise and Bill were allegedly involved in a really stormy relationship and there were rumors that there was a domestic violence incident, although that was never proven as far as we know. So needless to say, Bill was pissed and I guess he learned that day that nobody better not EVER get on Phyllis’ bad side because homegirl didn’t play that.

Embed from Getty Images

Bill is typically a really laid back and logical kind of guy though, so it must have been pretty bad to get him all hyped up like that. What Bill eventually said about the incident was that people like Phyllis and a bunch of other folks were giving him so much backlash about those domestic violence rumors that shortly after that argument , he isolated himself from the music industry. The reputation he had acquired caused him to not tour for seven whole years and he was only able to record 9 albums within a 15 year span because he said:

“People chose her (Denise Nicholas’) side….That’s all I could make (at the time), I didn’t make any albums between 1978 and 1985 because I couldn’t get any music past anybody’s desk at CBS Records.”

Wow, this was like a scene off of Empire. I could see “Cookie” (Taraji P. Henson) blurting out something similar to what Phyllis said, to “Lucious” (Terence Howard) in front of everyone at an ‘Empire Records’ meeting…LOL.

On the serious note, I hope Phyllis and Bill were eventually able to shake hands and forgive each other. Either way I’m still glad that both of them graced us with some timeless classics and if there’s one thing we’ve learned from all of this, it’s that Phyllis didn’t take no mess! Thank you Bill and thank you Phyllis, may she continue to rest peacefully.

The post Phyllis Hyman Didn’t Play: Here’s Why She Went Off On Bill Withers Over His Actress Ex Wife appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

This young lady is the daughter of a true soul legend. Throughout the 70’s and the early 80’s her Dad gave us some of the smoothest, poetic soul songs in the history of soul music. He has a very distinctive sound that is unmatched and he was recently inducted into the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame.

Okay ILOSM fam’ let’s see who passed this Old School soul trivia. Scroll down to find out who her Pops is…

Her Pops Is None Other Than…

Embed from Getty Images

Her name is Kori Withers and her Daddy is the legendary Mr. “Lean On Me,” Mr. “Use Me,” Mr. “Grandma’s Hands,” Mr. “Ain’t No Sunshine,” Mr. “Just The Two Of Us”- I could keep going, but y’all get what I’m saying- he’s Mr. Bill Withers!

“That just pissed me off, because I don’t know nothing ’bout no ghetto and Elvis don’t either. I did ‘Grandma’s hands’, I had a grandma. I did ‘Harlem’ and I went to Harlem. If you see me in the ghetto, brother, I’m passing through.”-WatchLoud

“I really stopped recording because I couldn’t get in the studio. For seven years, I was at CBS records and I couldn’t get a purchase order to go in the studio. There was a guy over there in A&R, Mickey Eichner, and he wouldn’t take my phone calls for three years. [A&R rep] George Butler, that used to work there, he told me when Eichner was in the building he would hide from me. Eichner came up with such brilliant suggestions like I should cover Elvis Presley’s “In the Ghetto.” I don’t cover Elvis Presley. For what? I got my own things. The songs that I’ve written did well for themselves, and brothers don’t cover Elvis, Elvis covers us. So that kinda turned me off to the whole process.”-Eurweb

His Daughter Is Just Like Him

Bill’s daughter, Kori Withers is following  in her dad’s footsteps. She’s a singer who has been slowly, but surely building a fan base of her own with her own style of R&B music. Kori looks up to her Dad immensely, which was evident in the 2009 documentary about her Dad titled Still Bill. Kori also said this about her admiration for her father:

“It’s such a blessing to have a father who you admire and respect, and I’m such a huge fan of his, I have to make sure that I don’t get too in awe of him because it would be so easy to do,” said Kori.

“He’s always be very up front with me and we always had a very special bond,” said Kori. “It’s been useful to me as a person and also as a writer to have someone else’s voice floating in your head.”[via 947TheWave]

Kori’s mother and also Bill’s wife of 39 years is… Marcia Withers, whom he met at a Gil Scott-Heron concert, she didn’t even know who he was. Marcia now manages Bill’s music publishing companies.

Bill has been laying back for the past few decades after he decided to step away from the music industry in the mid 80’s. In 2015 he was inducted into the Rock N’ Roll Hall Of Fame, which was a much deserving accolade.

The post Her Dad’s A Popular Outspoken Soul Legend Worth Multi-Millions & He’s No Fan Of Elvis appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Bill Withers is best known for his 70’s and 80’s hits that had some of the most poetic lyrics in the history of soul music. Songs like “Lean On Me,” Grandma’s Hands,” “Ain’t No Sunshine,” Lovely Day,” just to name a few, were all instrumental in shaping the soul music era, but Withers never once let that go to his head. In the beginning of his career he was working a regular job that he simply refused to clock out of permanently, because he said that he wasn’t convinced that being a music artist was as stable as this job he’d been clocking into for years, earning $3 per hour.

Withers’ Regular Job Came Before The Superstar Status

Withers worked as a mechanic for an aircraft company in California and he even stated that when he shot the infamous 1971 album cover for his first album, Just As I Am, which included the hits “Ain’t No Sunshine” and “Grandma’s Hands,” he was standing right outside of his job on his lunch break because he refused to take a day off for the photoshoot and cut into his paycheck…wow. Now that’s true dedication to the 9-5 and we can’t say that we blame him for that. Here’s what Bill recently told CBS News about that:

“So it was funny because my first album cover picture was actually taken on my lunch break. Cause I didn’t want to take time off, so I said, ‘Send somebody up here.’ You know, they can take my picture. So, I’m standing in the door with my actual lunch box. And so guys are in the back yelling, ‘Hey Hollywood!'” Withers said.

He further explained how he eventually ending up leaving his job as a mechanic:

“My co-workers were making fun of me,” he says. “They thought it was a joke.” Still unconvinced that music would pay off, he held on to his day job until he was laid off in the months before the album’s release. Then, one day, “two letters came in the mail. One was asking me to come back to my job. The other was inviting me on to Johnny Carson.” The Tonight Show appearance, in November 1971, helped propel “Ain’t No Sunshine” into the Top 10, and the follow-up, “Grandma’s Hands,” reached Number 42. [Rolling Stone]

So basically after his job kicked him to the curb, he was like “Peace out!” and realized it was probably best for him to put all of his energy into the new opportunities that were presenting themselves…very wise man.

Here is the album cover that went on to sell millions of records. He’s right, in this photo he was holding a lunch pail and probably laughing at his co-workers’ “Hollywood” jokes…

For a man who is now living very well off of his songs’ publishing royalties and other investments outside of music, it’s clear to see that this Rock N’ Roll Hall of Famer was never one to be frivolous with his earnings, so good for him.

The post Many Surprised By Day Job “Lean On Me” Singer Bill Withers Refused To Quit After Fame appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Our beloved Ms. Hyman was a beautiful and incredibly talented woman, but when you got on her last nerve (like they say down South), she had NO problem giving you a piece of her mind at the drop of a dime. This was the case one night on tour with Phyllis, Bill Withers and singer, Regina Belle.

Phyllis said that she and Bill somehow got into a loud, heated argument backstage in front of Regina Belle and others, and that she didn’t hesitate to throw a verbal jab at him when she said this to him:

[quote_box_center]Come on motherf*cker…what are you gonna do, beat me the way you beat Denise Nicholas?! [/quote_box_center]

Ouch! Now of course, Bill was not by any means going to do that to her, but Phyllis admittedly was just making sure she hit him where it hurts, so to speak. For those who don’t know, Denise Nicholas is the actress best known for her role in “In The Heat of the Night” and Bill Withers was dead smack in the middle of a media frenzy, as rumors were spreading like wildfire after his divorce from Denise. Denise and Bill were allegedly involved in a really stormy relationship and there were rumors that there was a domestic violence incident, although that was never proven as far as we know. So needless to say, Bill was pissed and I guess he learned that day that nobody better not EVER get on Phyllis’ bad side because our girl didn’t play that…LOL.

Bill is typically a really laid back and logical kind of guy though, so it must have been pretty bad to get him all hyped up like that. What Bill eventually said about the incident was that people like Phyllis and a bunch of…

The post Phyllis Hyman Didn’t Play: Here’s Why She Once Went Off On Bill Withers In The Worst Way appeared first on I Love Old School Music.