2014R2167
1 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 29
2 (By Senators D. Hall, Green, Jenkins, Beach, Stollings and Cole)
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6 Requesting the Division of Highways to erect a sign at the
7 intersection of Slab Fork Road, Amy Lane and Harlock Lane in
8 Slab Fork, Raleigh County, West Virginia, on County Route 28/1
9 that states “Birthplace of Bill Withers, noted Grammy Award-
10 winning recording artist”.
11 Whereas, William Harrison “Bill” Withers, Jr., a singer,
12 songwriter and musician, was born July 4, 1938, in the small coal
13 mining town of Slab Fork, West Virginia. He was the youngest of
14 six children and raised in nearby Beckley, West Virginia. His
15 father died when Bill was thirteen; and
16 Whereas, Bill Withers enlisted in the United States Navy at
17 age seventeen and served for nine years, during which time he
18 became interested in singing and writing songs. Bill was discharged
19 from the Navy in 1965, and he relocated to Los Angeles in 1967 to
20 begin a musical career. He worked as an assembler for several
21 different companies, including Douglas Aircraft Corporation, while
22 recording demo tapes with his own money and performing in clubs at
23 night. Bill would keep his day job as an assembler well after his
24 subsequent breakthrough success in the music business because of
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1 his belief that it was a fickle industry; and
2 Whereas, On the strength of Bill's demonstration tapes, he was
3 signed to a record deal by Sussex Records in 1970 and Booker T.
4 Jones was assigned to produce his first album. "Just as I Am" was
5 released in 1971 and included the single tracks, “Ain’t No
6 Sunshine” and “Grandma’s Hands”. Bill won the 1972 Grammy Award
7 for best R&B Song for "Ain't No Sunshine" and he was also awarded
8 a R. I. A. A. platinum disc for the song. Bill Wither's second
9 album, "Still Bill", which was described as “a stone-soul
10 masterpiece” by Rolling Stone magazine, was released in 1972 and
11 included the hit singles “Lean on Me” and “Use Me”. The single
12 "Lean on Me" went to number one the week of July 8, 1972, and Bill
13 was awarded a R. I. A. A. gold disc for the song. The single "Use
14 Me" became his third million seller and brought him another gold
15 disc award. Bill won a second Grammy Award in 1982 for Best R&B
16 Song for “Just the Two of Us”, which was recorded with Grover
17 Washington, Jr.; and
18 Whereas, Bill Withers was inducted into the Songwriters Hall
19 of Fame in 2005, and he was honored by the American Society of
20 Composers, Authors and Publishers in 2006 with the society’s Rhythm
21 & Soul Heritage Award, which is presented to ASCAP members who have
22 had a major impact on the legacy of rhythm and soul music.
23 Additional honors include multiple Millionaires citations from
24 Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI); a Soul Train Hall of Fame
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1 award; two NAACP Image awards; induction into the inaugural class
2 of the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame; and a Clio award. In 2007
3 “Lean On Me” was enshrined in the Grammy Hall of Fame; and
4 Whereas, In addition to his outstanding musical contributions,
5 Bill Withers has also done good works for his native area,
6 including generously donating to help restore Greenwood Memorial
7 Park Cemetery in Beckley and commissioning a painting entitled
8 "Grandma’s Hands" for display at Tamarack in Beckley; and
9 Whereas, It is only fitting that we recognize Bill Withers for
10 his many accomplishments and for the pride he has instilled in all
11 West Virginians by placing this marker in the town of his birth;
12 therefore, be it
13 Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
14 That the Division of Highways is hereby requested to erect a
15 sign at the intersection of Slab Fork Road, Amy Lane and Harlock
16 Lane in Slab Fork, Raleigh County, West Virginia, on County Route
17 28/1 that states “Birthplace of Bill Withers, noted Grammy Award-
18 winning recording artist”; and, be it
19 Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the Senate is hereby
20 directed to forward a copy of this resolution to the Secretary of
21 the Department of Transportation and to Bill Withers.
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