Amir “Questlove” Thompson, in Rolling Stone in 2015, called Bill Withers the “last African-American Everyman … the closest thing black people have to a Bruce Springsteen.”
Withers’ Just As I Am was once referred to as “middlebrow soul.” That is to say, it was easily accessible at a time when music was becoming increasingly complex.
In this episode, we find out what it means to be a populist musician when popular music was quickly turning its eye to more complicated compositions.
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
More episodes from "The Opus"
Don't miss an episode of “The Opus” and subscribe to it in the GetPodcast app.