Bill Withers, R&B singer of 'Lean On Me' and 'Ain't No Sunshine', dead at 81

R&B singer-songwriter Bill Withers died from heart complications on Monday in Los Angeles, his family said in a statement. He was 81. Photo: 2006 filepic, AP

R&B singer-songwriter Bill Withers, whose belated career in music burned briefly but brightly in the early '70s via a string of highly personalised hits, died from heart complications on Monday in Los Angeles, his family told the Associated Press. He was 81.

"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," the family said in a statement to AP.

"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."

Withers was 33 years old and working on an aircraft assembly line in 1971 when his first hit, the self-penned, Grammy-winning Ain't No Sunshine, soared up the charts. He quickly followed up that success with a quick run of hit singles that included Use Me and the gospel-soul smash Lean On Me, which won a belated Grammy Award as best R&B song in 1987.

While those songs are recognised today as classics, Withers was not able to top the surprise commercial success of his early career. His subdued, introspective, often acoustic-based style grew increasingly at odds with the hard funk and disco of the '70s, and disputes with his record labels slowed his production at the height of his popularity.

He essentially retired from performing and recording in the mid-'80s. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015. – Reuters