f it weren't for the tardiness of Lou Rawls, Bill Withers might never have embarked on the career that gave him the #2 hit "Use Me."

After a nine-year stint in the Navy, Bill Withers returned to America and took a job in an automobile factory. However, he still pursued his music career, spending his evenings at various nightclubs. After he overheard a club manager complaining about singer Lou Rawls, Withers saw that he was passing up a golden opportunity. Moving to California, he saved his money to buy some studio time to record demo tapes. As he told the Los Angeles Times, "I spent $2,500 on the records. By my standards it was quite an investment -- my wages usually hovered around $3.50 an hour. But if you live frugally, you can save. I never spent a lot on night life and wasn't hung up on liquor or anything. In fact, I always considered myself to be living pretty good."

Slab Fork, West Virginia native Bill Withers scored his third Top 5 hit in 1972 with "Use Me," which first charted on Sept. 9, 1972 and remained on the charts for 10 weeks. It was the second single from his second LP Still Bill, which rose to No. 4 and stayed on the charts for 43 weeks. It was certified gold by the RIAA on Sept. 7, 1972.

The demo tapes didn't get much attention, but a chance meeting with Booker T. Jones of Booker T & The MGs led to a recording career on Sussex Records. Withers's first release, produced by Booker T., was the #3 hit "Ain't No Sunshine," which earned Withers a Grammy for Best R&B Song. His second album, Still Bill, rewarded him with the #1 hit "Lean On Me." For a follow-up Withers released another self-penned single called "Use Me." The single entered the charts at #80, while "Lean On Me" was still in the Top 40. In its eighth week, the single rose to #2, reaching gold status. The song also reached #2 on the R&B charts.

Withers's chart success showed his determination to establish himself quickly in his new career. He stated in the liner notes of his hits collection, The Best Of Bill Withers, "I made up my mind I wanted to sing but I also knew that I didn't want to knock around for a long time, working in little clubs and the like, because that seemed like it would be an emotional strain, just to keep myself employed. I thought it would be nice to come into the business through records because they seemed like the quickest way to get really involved."

Unfortunately "Use Me" marked the end to Withers's fast start. With his attention divided between his recent divorce (from actress Denise Nicholas) and his financial troubles with his record label, he couldn't get any of his subsequent hits -- "Kissing My Love" (1973) and "Lovely Day" (1978) -- any higher than #30. Withers himself commented on his creative slump, stating, "I have to compose before I record and I have a very hard time being creative when I'm worried about business problems.... In order to write, you have to be vulnerable and open. I haven't been vulnerable often in the past few years. The part of my mind I write with has been closed off a lot of the time." However, nine years later he would find a kindred spirit in a saxophonist named Grover Washington, Jr., and another #2 single, "Just The Two Of Us." One of 1981's most popular singles, the song won a Best R&B Song Grammy the following year.

A staunch proponent of creative freedom, Withers at one point destroyed the masters for an album in a standoff with Sussex Records. His legacy only flourished since his '70s and '80s heyday, with the likes of Barbra Streisand, Mick Jagger, Aretha Franklin, Paul McCartney, Maroon 5, John Mayer, Tupac Shakur and John Legend either covering or sampling his songs. In 1985, he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame by Roots drummer Questlove, who noted Withers was "the closest thing black people have to a Bruce Springsteen." He died on March 30, 2020, in Los Angeles from heart complications. He was 81.

- Christopher G. Feldman, The Billboard Book of No. 2 Singles, Billboard, 2000.