Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Some Wisdom From Bill Withers, Part 1

(This is a guest post by my friend Matt Slaughter, which will be completed tomorrow.)

I'm a little late to the party on this one (as it came out over a year ago), but the documentary "Still Bill" about Bill Withers has truly rekindled my love affair with songwriting.

There is this certain wisdom about Withers. Here are a few takeaways…

• Investigate your vulnerabilities, strengths, and weaknesses. Instead of singing about romantic love all the time, write a love song about your grandma, or a friendship song (i.e. “Lean on Me”).

• Resist the validation of the mainstream. When interviewed, Withers spoke of how he ran into trouble because he didn’t fit into the loud R&B style of his day; to which he replied, “I’ve got a good job making these toilets, I don’t need your cash.”

Stay tuned for part 2 tomorrow...





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