(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please CLICK HERE)
Bill Withers - "Lean on Me"
Hit Number 1: July 8, 1972
Stay at Number 1: 3 Weeks
I have to think this is what James Taylor was going for on his song "You've Got a Friend". Taylor's song was a perfectly fine, forgettable piece of music about being there for a friend. It delivered the message clearly enough, but it has no staying power to it. It's something that could easily blend into the background without a second thought. Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" is another one of those "being there" songs, but it took the message and amplified it into a gospel-like masterpiece. While "Bridge Over Troubled Water" is still a great song, I want to find that middle ground. Something that tells me things will be okay, and there will always be a friend near by if I need one, but one that tells me that without being over-the-top or boring. Bill Withers' "Lean on Me", I think, is that perfect middle ground.
Part of why I think Withers was able to find the perfect way to deliver his message is because he'd been there before. No, he wasn't a recovering drug addict like Taylor, but he went through something that all of us do: He grew up. Withers grew up in the small coal mining town of Slab Fork, West Virginia. His family never had a lot of money and their house barely even stood up. Despite that, he noted how the whole community always looked out for each other. It was the stereotypical small town where everyone knew everyone, and they were all like one big family. When Withers was around 19 years old, he left Slab Fork to join the Navy, where he stayed for nine years. After that he started working at a factory in Los Angeles making parts for airplanes, while also getting his start in music recording demo tapes. It was during his time in the Navy and his move to Los Angeles to where he finally realized how special his time in Slab Fork was. His life while growing up there is what inspired him to write "Lean on Me".
"Lean on Me" was not Withers' first hit, and it wasn't even included on his first album. His breakthrough single was 1971's "Ain't No Sunshine", which peaked at #3 that year. (It's a 10) After the success of "Ain't No Sunshine" and Withers' debut album Just As I Am, he began to get to work on his next album Still Bill, which was to include "Lean on Me" on it. Withers' Slab Fork nostalgia was still getting to him, and it's why he decided to write a song as some kind of an ode to his old home and the friendships he once had there. The idea was that "Lean on Me" would be a simple song, and one that would be easy for everyone to understand. Withers has said before that while not everyone grows up in a small town like he did, with a whole community willing to help out at any given time, it's a message that everyone can appreciate.
Clearly, people in 1972 appreciated it, because "Lean on Me" became a #1 hit for 3 weeks that year. It's also not too hard to see why. Life is a bitch sometimes, and it can do some pretty horrible things to people. But sometimes, life doesn't necessarily suck, but you just want someone to talk to, or someone to rant to. Withers takes that image, he's the narrator and the person that's willing to be that person to "lean on." It's an overly simple song, but it's one that's meant to be overly simple. It's not the heavenly gospel storm that's "Bridge Over Troubled Water", but it's also not the pleasantly lethargic "You've Got a Friend". It's just a song about true friendship, and a damn good one at that. Withers doesn't have an amazing voice, but it's one that's great to listen to. He sounds approachable and friendly, and I love the "Just call on me brother if you need a hand/We all need somebody to lean on". Great lyric! The "call me" outro is also great too. It's like Withers can't stress enough how happy he is to help. The song's a giant blanket straight out of the dryer. It's warm and comforting.
Unfortunately, Withers didn't amount to much musically after "Lean on Me". He left the music industry entirely in 1985, instead focusing on his personal life and pursuing other work. He still would perform some live shows time and again, but health issues forced him to stop that later in his life. He died last year of heart complications, but people will still be celebrating the legacy of "Lean on Me" for many years to come.
GRADE: 10/10
JUST MISSED:
Billy Preston's fun and groovy instrumental "Outa Space" peaked at #2 behind "Lean on Me". It's an 8.
(Billy Preston will eventually appear in this blog)
ANOTHER JUST MISSED:
Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose's highest-charting single, the decent "Too Late to Turn Back Now" also peaked at #2 behind "Lean on Me". It's a 7.
Comments