Ain't No Sunshine

"Ain't No Sunshine"
Single by Bill Withers
from the album Just as I Am
B-side	"Harlem"
Released	September 1971
Format	7" record
Genre	Soul, R&B, blues
Length	2:04
Label	Sussex Records
Writer(s)	Bill Withers
Producer	Booker T. Jones
Bill Withers singles chronology
- "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971) "Grandma's Hands" (1971)

"Ain't No Sunshine" is a song by Bill Withers from his 1971 album Just as I Am, produced by Booker T. Jones. The record featured musicians Donald "Duck" Dunn on bass guitar and Al Jackson, Jr. on drums, as well as Withers on lead vocals and guitar. The song was released as a single in September 1971, becoming a breakthrough hit for Withers, reaching number six on the U.S. R&B chart and number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

History

Withers was inspired to write this song after watching the 1962 movie Days of Wine and Roses. He explained, in reference to the characters played by Lee Remick and Jack Lemmon, "They were both alcoholics who were alternately weak and strong. It's like going back for seconds on rat poison. Sometimes you miss things that weren't particularly good for you. It's just something that crossed my mind from watching that movie, and probably something else that happened in my life that I'm not aware of."^[1]

For the song's third verse, Withers had intended to write more lyrics instead of repeating the phrase "I know" over and over again, but then followed the advice of the other musicians to leave it that way: "I was this factory worker puttering around," Withers said. "So when they said to leave it like that, I left it."^[2] (Withers, then thirty-one years old, was working at a factory making toilet seats for 747s at the time.^[2])

The song was originally released as the B-side to another song called "Harlem". Disc jockeys played "Ain't No Sunshine" as the single instead, and it became a huge hit,^[1] the first hit for Withers.^[2]

"Ain't No Sunshine" is ranked 280th on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.^[3] The song won the Grammy for Best R&B Song in 1972.^[1]

Covers

The song has also been covered by many other (at least 144) artists, including:

• Aaron Kelly
• Aaron Neville
• Abramo
• Adam Again
• Akon
• Airto Moreira & Flora Purim
• Al Green
• Al Jarreau
• Ali Zafar
• Amos Lee
• Andy Abraham
• Anomie Belle
• At Last
• Augustus Pablo
• Aynsley Lister
• A-mei
• Barry White
• B.B. King
• Betty Wright
• BoA
• Bobby Blue Bland
• Boney James
• Boris Gardiner
• Buddy Guy
• Budka Suflera
• Cat Stevens
• Chenoa
• Christina Christian
• D'Angelo
• DMX (sampled/interpolated in "No Sunshine", from Exit Wounds)
• Daphne's Flight
• Dave McPherson
• David Cassidy
• David Sanborn
• Des'ree & Ladysmith Black Mambazo
• Dopethrone
• Emily King
• Eva Cassidy
• Everlast
• Fable
• Fall Out Boy
• Finger Eleven
• Freddie Foxxx
• Freddie King
• Giorgia
• Gomez (band)
• Grover Washington, Jr.
• Hanson
• Heather Peace
• Horace Andy
• Intars Busulis
• Isaac Hayes
• Jars of Clay
• Ja Rule
• James Taylor
• Jazzamor
• Jeff Beck
• Joan Osborne
• Joe Cocker
• Johnny Clarke
• John Mayer
• John Waite
• Jose Feliciano
• Joss Stone
• Junior Murvin
• Justin Nozuka
• Justin Timberlake & Robyn Troup
• Kashmere Stage Band
• Ken Boothe
• Kenny Rogers
• Khalil Fong
• Kid Frost
• Kris Allen
• Lee DeWyze
• Lenny Kravitz
• Leonard Cohen
• Lighthouse Family
• Lionel Hampton
• Lucero
• Lyn Collins
• Mark Knopfler & Al Jarreau
• Mark Eitzel
• Maroon 5
• Marvin Gaye
• Matt Andersen
• Max Mutzke
• Maynard Ferguson
• Maysa
• Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
• Melanie Safka
• Melody Gardot
• Merrill Osmond
• Michael Bolton
• Michael Chapdelaine
• Michael Jackson
• Montezuma's Revenge
• Naná Vasconcelos
• Nancy Sinatra
• Nataly Dawn
• Neil Diamond
• New York Voices
• Nivea
• Olivia Ong
• Overboard
• Pastor Troy
• Paul Carrack
• Paul McCartney
• Percy Sledge
• Rachel Z
• Rahsaan Roland Kirk
• Richard Marx
• Rhymefest
• Rob Thomas Ft. Carlos Santana
• Rockmelons & Deni Hines
• Rodney Jones
• Roy Ayers
• Sakis Rouvas
• Savoy Brown
• Scott Walker
• Selah Sue feat. Ronny Mosuse
• Shaun Smith
• Sivuca
• Slavi Trifonov
• Soul For Real
• Steven Houghton
• Sting
• Subsonica
• Sydney Youngblood
• Taufik Batisah
• TC Carson
• Ted Levine
• Tereza Kerndlová
• The Police
• The Temptations
• The Slackers
• Tim Johnson
• Tom Jones
• Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
• Tori Amos
• Tracy Chapman
• Tyrone Wells
• UB40
• Umphrey's McGee
• Van Morrison
• Victor Wooten
• Will Hoge
• Will Young
• Woven Hand
• Wynonna Judd
• Ysabella Brave
• Ziggy Marley

There are also several songs that share the same title of "Ain't No Sunshine," and borrow lyrics from the hook, but they aren't true covers. Examples include versions by Akon, Cuban Link, Kid Frost, DMX and Boxcutter. DMX's 2001 cover, using the title "No Sunshine", was included in the soundtrack for the film Exit Wounds.^[4]

The song has also been translated into German by songwriter Lukas Hilbert; this version, entitled "Mein Tag, Mein Licht," has been performed by artists such as Jazzkantine and Yvonne Catterfeld.

Use in pop culture

In addition to DMX's "No Sunshine," the song has also been in the soundtracks of films Notting Hill, Old School, Amy, Crooklyn, and Munich.

On television, the song is briefly heard in the animated series Drawn Together (episode "Dirty Pranking No. 2"), during the sound analysis in the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation episode "Anonymous," and LAX (episode "Secret Santa"). It was sung karaoke-style on the USA Network show, Monk, by Captain Leland Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine) in the episode "Mr. Monk Goes to Vegas." The song was also briefly played at the end of an episode of One on One, with Kyla Pratt.

In The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air season 4 finale The Philadelphia Story Will played it on a diner jukebox and danced to it eventually striking the unit with one hand at the end of the repetitive chorus, which made it sound as if the record was skipping.

The song was heard in the background in the conclusion of the first season finale of The Bernie Mac Show, "Sweet Home Chicago, Part 2", where Vanessa was in downtown Chicago, trying to search for her mother.

"Ain't No Sunshine" was used as music for a rumba in So You Think You Can Dance during season 3, performed by Lauren Gottlieb and Dominic Sandoval. Kris Allen covered the song during the eighth season and also the finale of American Idol. Fellow Idol contestants Christina Christian (Season 1) and Aaron Kelly (Season 9) also performed the song on the show. At Last sung their version on the talent showcase America's Got Talent, and later released it as a single on the web.

• In Europe, finalist Shaun Smith sang "Ain't No Sunshine" for his audition and in the final for Britain's Got Talent.
• In Italy's version of X Factor, Noemi sang the song during the sixth episode.
• In Deutschland sucht den Superstar, Mark Medlock, Nevio Passaro and Daniel Schuhmacher sang this song.

"Ain't No Sunshine" was used in a major television public service announcement in Australia for skin cancer. Current UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell have both used the song as entrance music for their fights.

• In 2007 the track was sampled by Drum & Bass artists Bachelors of Science.^[5]
• Featured in CSI: NY episode "Manhattanhenge".
• It is used in promotions for The Closer.
• Featured in German action series Alarm für Cobra 11 episode "Alte Freunde" (2009).
• In 2010, track "Then Days Went By" by 50 Cent from his album Before I Self Destruct samples the Michael Jackson version.
• Plays during the 2010 Super Bowl XLIV commercial for the video game Dante's Inferno. EA Games wanted the advertisement to go "beyond masses" with the song.
• Neil Diamond sang the song with the Season 2 finalists of the reality show The Sing-Off

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "Ain't No Sunshine". Songfacts.com. http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=664. Retrieved 2009-04-03. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Ain't No Sunshine : Rolling Stone
3. ^ [1]^{[dead link]}
4. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0242445/soundtrack
5. ^ "Anytime She Goes Away - Bachelors of science - [320kbps MP3/WAV File] at Trackitdown". Trackitdown.net. http://www.trackitdown.net/genre/drum_and_bass/track/380454.html. Retrieved 2011-11-04.