Ain't No Sunshine: History and Key Facts

"Ain't No Sunshine" is a song by American singer and songwriter Bill Withers, from his 1971 debut album Just As I Am. The song was produced by Booker T. Jones, with Donald "Duck" Dunn on bass guitar, Al Jackson Jr. on drums and Stephen Stills on guitar. The song's strings were arranged by Jones. It was recorded in Los Angeles, with overdubs in Memphis by the track's engineer Terry Manning.

Released as a single in 1971, the song became the breakthrough hit for Withers and one of his best known tracks, reaching number six on the U.S. R&B Chart and number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Billboard ranked it as the 23rd biggest hit single of 1971.

The song reached the Top 40 again in 2009 in the United Kingdom after a version was performed by Kris Allen on the eighth season of American Idol.

In 2024, the single was added to the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress for it being "culturally, historically, and/or aesthetically significant".

Source and attribution

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