Ain't no sunshine
| Ain't no sunshine | |
|---|---|
| Bill Withers | |
| publication | September 1971 |
| length | 2:04 |
| Genre (s) | Soul , R&B , blues |
| Author (s) | Bill Withers |
| Producer (s) | Booker T. Jones |
| Publisher (s) | Sussex Records |
| album | Just As I Am |
| Cover version | |
| 1972 | Michael Jackson |
Ain't No Sunshine is a 1971 song by Bill Withers . The track was released on the album Just as I Am , which was produced by Booker T. Jones . The single was released in July 1971 and was the breakthrough for Withers. The song was covered very often, the most successful cover version comes from Michael Jackson .
History and use
Bill Withers wrote this song after watching the 1962 film Days of Wine and Roses . The song appeared as the B-side of the single Harlem , but disc jockeys played Ain't No Sunshine instead of the A-side.
The song was used as the soundtrack for the films Notting Hill , Old School , Amy , Crooklyn , Flight and Munich . Ain't No Sunshine could also be heard in many series such as The Prince of Bel Air , The Boys or Drawn Together . The song was also often sung in casting shows, for example by Mark Medlock at Deutschland sucht den Superstar .
Charts and awards
The song was sixth on the US R&B charts and third on the Billboard Hot 100 . The song reached number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 annual charts .
In 1972 Michael Jackson released a cover version of the piece on his album Got to Be There . The single, which was released for the British market, reached number 8 in the British charts and number 16 in the Netherlands. In Switzerland, the version was listed at number 99 for a week shortly after Michael Jackson's death in 2009.
In 1992, the rapper Kid Frost was able to reach number 95 in the US singles charts with his version of the song, which was released under the title No Sunshine .
The band 4 the Cause released a cover version as a single in 1998, which also made it into the charts of German-speaking countries.
In 2012 Mic Donet sang the title in the talent show The Voice of Germany , his version reached number 78 in the German charts as a download.
Ain't No Sunshine was put on the list of the 500 best songs of all time by Rolling Stone and is number 280. The song was awarded a Grammy for best R&B song in 1972. In his review, Robert Christgau praised Booker T.'s flawless production technique and the appropriate instrumentation and summarized his judgment with “unusually likeable” and “listenable middlebrow soul”.
More cover versions
The song has been covered more than 130 times:
Aaron Neville , Akon , Airto Moreira & Flora Purim , Al Green , Al Jarreau , Amos Lee , Andy Abraham , At Last , Augustus Pablo , Aynsley Lister , Barry White , BB King , Betty Wright , Black Label Society , BoA , Bobby Blue Bland , Bobbi Humphrey , Boney James , Boris Gardiner , Buddy Guy , Budka Suflera , Cat Stevens , Chenoa , D'Angelo , DMX , David Cassidy , David Sanborn , Des'ree & Ladysmith Black Mambazo , Eva Cassidy , Everlast , Fable , Fall Out Boy , Finger Eleven , Freddie King , Giorgia , Gomez (Band) , Grover Washington, Jr. , Hanson , Horace Andy , Intars Busulis , Isaac Hayes , Jars of Clay , Ja Rule , James Taylor , Jeff Beck , Joan Osborne , Joe Cocker , John Mayer , John Waite , Jose Feliciano , Joss Stone , Justin Nozuka , Justin Timberlake Ken Boothe , Kenny Rogers , Kris Allen , Lee DeWyze , Lenny Kravitz , Leonard Cohen , Lighthouse Family , Lionel Hampton , Lyn Collins , Mark Knopfler & Al Jarreau , Maroon 5 , Marvin Gaye , Max Mutzke , Maynard Ferguson , Me Firs t and the Gimme Gimmes , Melanie Safka , Melody Gardot , Merrill Osmond , Michael Bolton , Michael Chapdelaine , Mobb Deep , Montezuma's Revenge , Naná Vasconcelos , Nancy Sinatra , Nataly Dawn , Neil Diamond , Pastor Troy , Paul Carrack , Paul McCartney , Percy Sledge , Rachel Z , Rahsaan Roland Kirk , Richard Marx , Rhymefest , Rob Thomas Ft. Carlos Santana , Rodney Jones , Roy Ayers , Sakis Rouvas , Savoy Brown , Scott Walker , Selah Sue Sivuca , Slavi Trifonov , Smile Empty Soul , Stefan Gwildis , Sting , Subsonica , Sydney Youngblood , Tereza Kerndlová , The Police , The Temptations , The Slackers , Tom Jones , Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers , Tori Amos , Tracy Chapman , UB40 , Van Morrison , Victor Wooten , Will Hoge , Will Young , Woven Hand , Wynonna Judd , Ziggy Marley
Individual evidence
- ^ US catalog number: Sussex 219
- ↑ Ain't No Sunshine by Bill Withers. In: songfacts.com. Accessed August 9, 2019 .
- ^ Ain't no sunshine in Motion Picture , accessed June 16, 2013
- ^ Whitburn, Joel: Top Pop Singles 1955-1993 . Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Ltd., 1994, p. 656
- ↑ US catalog number: Motown 747; Whitburn, Joel: Top Pop Albums 1955-1996 . Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Ltd., 1996, p. 374
- ↑ Rice, Jo / Rice, Tim / Gambacini, Paul / Read, Mike: The Guinness Book of the Hits of the 70’s . London: Guinness Superlatives Ltd., 1980, p. 91; UK catalog number: Tamla Motown TMG 826
- ↑ Chart performance "Ain't No Sunshine" by Michael Jackson on chartsurfer.de; Retrieved December 8, 2013
- ^ Whitburn, Joel: Top Pop Singles 1955-1993 . Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Ltd., 1994, p. 328; US catalog number: Virgin 98583
- ↑ Chart performance Aint No Sunshine by 4 the Cause on chartsurfer.de; Retrieved December 8, 2013
- ↑ Christgau, Robert: Rock Albums of the 70's. A critical guide . New York City, New York: Da Capo Press Inc., 1981, p. 426
- ↑ List of cover versions and quotes on coverinfo.de; Retrieved December 7, 2013
Web links
- Ain't No Sunshine by Bill Withers. In: songfacts.com. (English).