Bill Withers – Use Me
Timeless souljazz from the man from Slab Fork, 75 today.
Happy birthday Bill Withers! Yes, Mr Withers is 75 years young today and we invite you to celebrate the occasion with us by grooving along to this live-in-the-studio version of his 1972 (US) Number 2 hit Use Me. The song, from his classic second album Still Bill, made a strong follow-up to the Number 1 worldwide smash Lean On Me. That was a paean to the dependable; Use Me, though, painted a rather darker, more nuanced picture of a relationship – man apparently willing to take all manner of slights for the good good love of his not always good woman. “Sometimes it’s true,” he sings, “you really do abuse me…Get me among your high class friends and you act real rude to me.”
Pulsing along atop a bed of funky keyboards and guitar, his own acoustic strumming, and the on-time session drummer James Gadson, Bill is damn sure he’s getting the best of the deal. Here’s hoping Bill ain’t all used up just yet.