Bill Withers, the influential soul singer who wrote “Aint No Sunshine” and “Lean on Me,” died at age 81.
A statement from his family said his cause of death was related to heart complications.
Withers won three Grammy awards over his career and also was named in the Rock and Roll Hall of fame several years ago. He largely stopped making music in the 1980s.
He is survived by his wife Marcia Johnson and their two children.
The 2009 documentary, “Still Bill,” revealed why he stopped making music after a short career. Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert wrote of the documentary: “[Withers] still lives and survives as a happy man. Still Bill is about a man who topped the charts, walked away from it all in 1985 and is pleased that he did.”
His famed song “Lean On Me” was based on his experiences growing up in a West Virginia coal-mining town. When times got rough, his neighbors would lend each other assistance.