Bill Withers Tribute At Carnegie Hall #SETLIST - Noise11.com
Bill Withers, music news, noise11.com

Bill Withers

Bill Withers Tribute At Carnegie Hall #SETLIST

by Roger Wink, VVN Music on October 5, 2015

in News

Bill Withers was honored on Thursday night at Carnegie Hall with an all-star lineup recreating his 1972 album Live at Carnegie Hall. The show, a yearly event, was put on by City Winery CEO Michael Dorf as a benefit for the Stuttering Association for the Young.

Withers, who was inducted last year into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, bucked the trends in the music business in the early 70’s. At a time when R&B was funk or smooth vocal groups, Withers held strong to become a successful singer/songwriter with hits like Ain’t No Sunshine, Use Me and Lean On Me. While his biggest success came with his first two albums, which contained all three hits, he occasionally re-surged back into the top ten into the 80’s.

The original Carnegie Hall album was featured in the middle of the evening although a number of his later songs were performed both before and after. Jonathan Butler opened the evening with the 1977 hit Lovely Day while Aloe Blacc closed out the show prior to an encore with the 1981 song Just the Two of Us with Branford Marsalis taking over the Grover Washington, Jr. part.

Many of the artists took on two songs over the course of the night with Dr. John getting his second performance when he sat in for an ailing D’Angelo on Use Me, the first song in the Live at Carnegie Hall portion of the show.

While it was veteran artists that performed over much of the evening (Jonathan Butler, Michael McDonald, Valerie Simpson, Dr. John, Keb’ Mo’, Kathy Mattea) there was a healthy dose of newer singers including blistering heartfelt songs from Aloe Blacc and one of the world’s biggest artists, Ed Sheeran, with Ain’t No Sunshine (which he regularly plays in concert) and Lonely Town, Lonely Street.

Even though they tried, they couldn’t get the reluctant Withers to sing. He came on stage during the encore and approached the mic but only thanked the crowd for coming out.

Bill Withers Tribute set list

Lovely Day – Jonathan Butler
Hello Like Before – Michael McDonald
Who is He (And What is He to You) – Ledisi
Let Me Be the One You Need – Valerie Simpson and Gregory Porter
Use Me – Dr. John
Friend of Mine – Greg Phillinganes
Ain’t No Sunshine – Ed Sheeran
Grandma’s Hands – Amos Lee
World Keeps Going Around
Let Me In Your Life – Jonathan Butler
Better Off Dead – Anthony Hamilton
For My Friend – Dr. John
I Can’t Write Left Handed – Keb’ Mo’
Lean on Me – Michael McDonald and choir from the Stuttering Association For the Young
Lonely Town, Lonely Street – Ed Sheeran
Hope She’ll Be Happier – Aloe Blacc
Let Us Love – Kori Withers and Kathy Mattea
Harlem/Cold Baloney – Anthony Hamilton
Just the Two of Us – Aloe Blacc with Branford Marsalis
I Wish You Well – Keb’ Mo with the rest of the cast

——————————————————————————————————————————————

Never miss a story! Get your free Noise11.com daily music news email alert. Subscribe to the Noise11 Music Newsletter here

Listen to the Noise11 Music News channel now at iHeartRadio

Follow Noise11.com on Facebook and Twitter

more from vvnmusic.com

Related Posts

John Fogerty and Keith Urban photo by Ros O'Gorman
John Fogerty Covers Bill Withers

John Fogerty and his sons and daughter Shane and Tyler (Hearty Har) and Kelsy have recorded a cover of Bill Withers’ classic ‘Lean On Me’ with a special message for the world.

June 20, 2020
Justin-Bieber-performs-at-Cockatoo-Island-photo-by-Ros-OGorman
Justin Bieber and Michael Buble Cover Bill Withers

Justin Bieber, Avril Lavigne, and Michael Buble were among the stars teaming up on Sunday for a virtual sing-along to Bill Withers classic Lean on Me for Canada's coronavirus relief fundraiser.

April 28, 2020
Sheryl Crow performs at Margaret Court Arena on Friday 6 April 2018. Photo by Ros O'Gorman
Sheryl Crow Releases Bill Withers Cover of ‘Lonely Town Lonely Street’ With Citizen Cope

Sheryl Crow recorded and released a cover of Bill Withers ‘Lonely Town Lonely Street’ over the weekend with Citizen Cope.

April 6, 2020
Bill Withers
Bill Withers Passes Away At Age 81

Soul legend Bill Withers has died from heart complications at the age of 81.

April 4, 2020
Sheryl Crow - Image By Ros O'Gorman, Noise11, Photo
Sheryl Crow, D’Angelo To Play Bill Withers Tribute

A long list of musicians including Sheryl Crow and D'Angelo will come together on October 1 at Carnegie Hall for Lean on Him: A Tribute to Bill Withers.

August 5, 2015
Ringo-Starrs-All-Starr-Band-Festival-Hall-Photo-By-Ros-OGorman
Green Day, Ringo Starr, Joan Jett Added To Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame

Ringo Starr, Green Day, Joan Jett, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Bill Withers, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band and The 5 Royals are now all members of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

April 19, 2015
Ralph MacDonald
Ralph MacDonald Dies Aged 67

Ralph McDonald, who had the track Calypso Breakdown on Saturday Night Fever, has died at 67.

December 19, 2011