About this episode
For the Season Seven finale, Kirk takes a look at Bill Withers' enduring hit "Lean On Me." In the process, he takes a broader look at a bunch of Withers' other most famous songs to better understand how this plainspoken, seemingly ordinary guy managed to write so many extraordinary songs. Written by: Bill Withers Album: Still Bill , 1972 Listen/Buy via Album.Link ALSO REFERENCED/DISCUSSED: “Ain’t No Sunshine” and “Grandma’s Hands” by Bill Withers from Just As I Am, 1971 “Lonely Town, Lonely Street,” “Let Me In Your Life,” and “Use Me,” by Bill Withers, and “Who Is He (And What Is He To You)” by Bill Withers/Stan McKenny from Still Bill , 1972 “Lovely Day” by Bill Withers and Skip Scarborough, 1977 “Just The Two of Us” by Bill Withers, William Salter, and Ralph MacDonald, recorded by Grover Washington Jr., 1981 “The Way” by Meshell Ndegeocello and “Who Is He (And What Is He To You)” recorded by Ndegeocello on Peace Beyond Passion , 1996 Excerpts from Live at Carnegie Hall , released 1972 Excerpts from the 2010 documentary “Still Bill,” dir. Damani Baker and Alex Vlack 2004 Songfacts interview w/ Withers Withers' 2015 Rock Hall of Fame acceptance speech Record needle sound via Sounds Recorded ----LINKS----- 💰 SUPPORT STRONG SONGS! Patreon | Paypal 🏠 HOMEPAGE strongsongspodcast.com 👚 MERCH strongsongspodcast.com/store 📬 KIRK'S NEWSLETTER newsletter.kirkhamilton.com 📷 SOCIAL MEDIA Instagram: @Kirk_Hamilton Bluesky: @kirkhamilton.com 💬 STRONG SONGS DISCORD SERVER strongsongspodcast.com/discord 🎧 STRONG SONGS PLAYLISTS Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music 🎸 KIRK'S GEAR & INSTRUMENTS kirkhamilton.com/gear 🎶 KIRK'S MUSIC kirkhamilton.com/music 🎨 SHOW ART Tom Deja, Bossman Graphics -------------------- JUNE 2025 WHOLE-NOTE PATRONS Thomas McIlheran Andy Lisa Crotty Rick Keeler Elizabeth Culver Meryl Allison Robyn Metcalfe Cesar Corpus Frisky Ben Barron Catherine Warner Damon White Jay Swartz Rush Daniel Hannon-Barry Christopher Miller Jamie White Christopher McConnell David Mascetti Joe Laska Ken Hirsh Melanie Andrich Jenness Gardner Nathaniel Bauernfeind Paul Delaney Sami Samhuri Jeremy Dawson AccessViolation Dave Florey JUNE 2025 HALF-NOTE PATRONS Ian Steding Margaret McReynolds Alison Dugan Princess of Whales Dave Douglass Suzanne Crawford PhantomMare Kym Griffith Rachel Aruni Jayatilleke Ryan Gillen TB Daniel Kaberon Wiggy Hash Whit Sidener Julie Kellman Simon Hellman Bea Claudia Carty Dani Glenn Jackson Christopher Selby Spink Philip Kelly Daniel Nervo Kevin Stafford Lawrence Sy Jacobs irritable Ian Pidd Andrew Hofer Jordan Gatenby Melissa Kuhns Ashley Seattle Trans And Nonbinary Choral Ensemble Kevin Marcelo Samantha Coates James Jeff Dan Cutter Joseph Romero Ol Parker John Berry Danielle Kriz Clint McElroy Mordok’s Vape Pen Inmar Givoni Michael Singer Merv Adrian Joe Gallo Lauren Knotts Dave Kolas Henry Mindlin Monica St. Angelo Stephen Wolkwitz Rand LeShay Max eric sp Matthew Jones Thomas Anthony Mentz James McMurry Ethan Laser Brian John Peter Chris Remo Aaron Wilson Dent Earl Carlos Lerner Misty Haisfield Abraham Benrubi Lee R. Callum Webb Dick Morgan Ben Stein Grettir Asmundarson Sean Murphy Randal Vegter Kellen Steffen Kaya Woodall Robert Granat dave malloy Alan Maass john halpin Peter Harding David Kayla Russell John Bauman Martín Salías Stu Baker Steve Martino Dr Arthur A Gray Gary Pierce Matt Baxter Luigi Boccia E Margaret Warton Tim Sheehan Charles McGee Catherine Clause Ethan Bauman KenIsWearingAHat Jordan Block Aaron Wade Jeff Ulm David Futter Jamie Deebs Portland Eye Care Richard Sneddon Janice Berry Doreen Carlson Wendy Gilchrist Lisa Turner Paul Wayper Miles Forman Bruno Gaeta Kenneth Jung Adam Stofsky Zak Remer Rishi Sahay Jeffrey Bean JRRJ Ailie Fraser Rob Tsuk Josh Singer Amy Lynn Thornsen Adam W Kelli Brockington Victoria Yu mino capossela Steve Paquin Donald Mackie David Joske Bernard Khoo Robert Heuer David Noah Geraldine Butler Madeleine Mader Jason Pratt Abbie Berg Doug Belew Dermot Crowley Achint Srivastava Ryan Rairigh Michael Berman Linda Duffy Bonnie Prinsen Eoin de Burca Kevin Potter M Shane Borders Dallas Hockley Jason Gerry Nell Morse Nathan Gouwens Lauren Reay Eric Prestemon cbalmain Angela Livingstone Diane Hughes Michael Casner Lowell Meyer Stephen Tsoneff Joshua Hill Pascal Rueger Randy Souza Clare Holberton Diane Turner Tom Coleman Dhu Wik Melmaniac Eric Helm Jonathan Daniels Caro Field Dave Sharpe Naomi Watson David Alexander Jeff Patterson Chris K Gavin Doig Sam Fenn Tanner Morton AJ Schuster Jennifer Bush David Stroud Brad Callahan Amanda Furlotti Andrew Baker Andrew Fair L.B. Morse Bill Thornton Brian Amoebas Brett Douville Jeffrey Olson Matt Betzel Nate from Kalamazoo Melanie Stivers Richard Toller Alexander Polson Justin McElroy Arjun Sharma James Johnson Kevin Morrell Colin Hodo ----LINKS----- 💰 SUPPORT STRONG SONGS! Patreon | One-Time Donation 🏠 HOMEPAGE 👚 MERCH 💬 DISCORD SERVER 📬 KIRK'S NEWSLETTER 🎸 KIRK'S GEAR & INSTRUMENTS 🎶 KIRK'S MUSIC 📷 KIRK’S SOCIAL MEDIA: Instagram | Bluesky 🎧 EVERY STRONG SONG: Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music 🎨 SHOW ART: Tom Deja, Bossman Graphics