Music icon Bill Withers has died aged 81 (Credits: AP)

US singer-songwriter Bill Withers, whose hits include Lean On Me and Ain’t No Sunshine, has died at the age of 81.

The performer, who also sings Lovely Day and Just The Two Of Us, passed from heart complications, according to Associated Press, with his family confirming the news today.

He died in Los Angeles on Monday.

A statement from his family read: ‘We are devastated by the loss of our beloved, devoted husband and father.


‘A solitary man with a heart driven to connect to the world at large, with his poetry and music, he spoke honestly to people and connected them to each other.



‘As private a life as he lived close to intimate family and friends, his music forever belongs to the world. In this difficult time, we pray his music offers comfort and entertainment as fans hold tight to loved ones.’

Even though the performer withdrew from making music in the 80s, during his short career in the spotlight his songs won three Grammy Awards.

Going down in history, Lean On Me, an iconic paean to friendship, was performed at the inaugurations of both Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.

He has won three Grammys (Picture: Antidoteusa/Kobal/REX)

With daughter Kori and wife Marcia (Picture: Rex Features)

The song was originally released as the B-side of his debut single, Harlem. However after radio DJs flipped the disc, the song climbed to No. 3 on the Billboard charts and spent a total of 16 weeks in the top 40.

In 2007, the hit was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Lean On Me, along with Ain’t No Sunshine, are also among Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, with the former used as the title theme of a 1989 movie starring Morgan Freeman.

Withers was awarded Grammys as a songwriter for Ain’t No Sunshine in 1972 and for Just The Two Of Us in 1981.

He won the Grammy for Ain’t No Sunshine in 1972 (Picture: Getty Images)

Six years later, in 1987, he landed his ninth Grammy nomination and third win as a songwriter for the re-recording of the 1972 hit Lean On Me by Club Nouveau.

The legend was eventually inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015 by Stevie Wonder.

Accepting the plaudit, Withers thanked his wife as well as the R&B pioneers who helped his career like Ray Jackson, Al Bell and Booker T. Jones.

Still, he also got in a few jabs at the record industry, saying A&R (which is short for artists and repertoire) stood for ‘antagonistic and redundant.’

Withers performing in 2008 (Picture: Rex)

He emulated the success of Ain’t No Sunshine and Lean On Me with Lovely Day, which was co-written with Skip Scarborough and featured Withers holding the word ‘day’ for almost 19 seconds. Similarly, on Ain’t No Sunshine, he famously repeated the words ‘I know’ 26 times scarcely stopping for breath.

Withers also delivered Just The Two Of Us, while his Live at Carnegie Hall in 1973 made Rolling Stone’s 50 Greatest Live Albums of All Time.

His music has been sampled and covered by such artists as BlackStreet for hit No Diggity, Will Smith’s version of Just The Two Of Us, Black Eyed Peas’ song Bridging The Gap and Twista’s Sunshine.



His songs have appeared in countless films, including The Hangover, 28 Days, American Beauty, Jerry Maguire, Crooklyn, Flight, Beauty Shop, The Secret Life of Pets and Flight.

‘The hardest thing in songwriting is to be simple and yet profound. And Bill seemed to understand, intrinsically and instinctively, how to do that,’ Sting said in 2010 documentary Still Bill.

Speaking to Rolling Stone in 2015, Withers said: ‘What few songs I wrote during my brief career, there ain’t a genre that somebody didn’t record them in.

‘I’m not a virtuoso, but I was able to write songs that people could identify with. I don’t think I’ve done bad for a guy from Slab Fork, West Virginia.’

He is survived by his wife, Marcia, and children, Todd and Kori.