Why I Reacted To This Song
This is soul music. They just don’t make these anymore. Bill Withers was a musical genius and “Ain’t No Sunshine” is proof of it in under two and a half minutes.
Original by Artist
About This Song
“Ain’t No Sunshine” was written and performed by Bill Withers, released in 1971 on his debut album Just As I Am. It reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and won the Grammy Award for Best Rhythm & Blues Song. Withers famously repeated the line “I know” 26 times in place of a third verse he hadn’t finished writing; his producers convinced him to leave it in, and it became one of the most memorable moments in soul music.
First Impressions
That guitar line and Withers’ voice come in together and it just aches. There’s no excess, no filler; every note is doing exactly what it needs to do.
My Reaction
“Ain’t No Sunshine” is soul songwriting at its most economical and devastating. Bill Withers says more with restraint than most singers manage with everything they’ve got. The “I know” refrain shouldn’t work as well as it does, but it turns into the emotional core of the song. The only calamity about this song is that it ends.
Rating
92/100