Sunday Cinema | Bill Withers – 1973 BBC Concert

Soul legend Bill Withers was just three years into his recording career when he headed to London with his band to record a live session that would be filmed for broadcast on BBC in 1973. Withers had only released two studio albums up until that point -1971’s Just As I Am and 1972’s Still Bill -but they each contained a handful of songs that are still staples on oldies radio over 40 years later.

Bill performed seven songs for his BBC session and they include such iconic classics as “Ain’t No Sunshine,” “Grandma’s Hands,” “Use Me” and “Lean On Me.” Yet it’s not just Withers’ exceptional musical performance that makes the video below a must-watch, it’s also the stories he tells about his songs. More than 20 years before VH1 debuted Storytellers, Withers shows the beauty of its format with his Live On BBC set from 1973. Take a look:

00:00:00:00 Ain`t No Sunshine
00:03:18:11 Lonely Town, Lonely Street
00:09:14:16 Grandma`s Hands
00:11:40:18 Use Me
00:16:01:00 Let Me In Your Life
00:20:15:18 Lean On Me
00:24:47:08 Harlem
00:29:19:00 end