The Opus: Just as I Am
Bill Withers’ Songs and Booker T. Jones’ Mind Were a Match Made in Soul Heaven
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-06-03T19:30:56+00:00“>June 3, 2021 | 3:30pm ET Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS On the conclusion of Season 14 of The Opus from Consequence and Sony, host Jill Hopkins explores the magic created when Bill Withers entered the studio with Booker T. Jones to record Just as I Am. The production on Just as I Am is just as tight as you’d expect an album made with Booker T. Jones to be. Withers may have been a complete rookie singer-songwriter, but the plates on this record most certainly were not. Nor were the artists who performed with Withers during the sessions (Stephen Stills, Donald “Duck” Dunn, A...
Bill Withers Remains a Voice of Protest for the Disenfranchised
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-05-20T21:15:48+00:00“>May 20, 2021 | 5:15pm ET Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS Presented by Consequence and Sony, Season 14 of The Opus podcast is back to explore the legacy of one of soul music’s most iconic albums: Bill Withers’ landmark debut, Just as I Am. Even as we exited the era of the civil rights movement, the need for protest music was as prevalent as ever when Just as I Am was released in 1971. Fast forward 50 years, and those songs continue to be sung by voices gathering in the streets, most recently by those demanding justice under the Black Lives Matter banner. As our country continues to wrestle with racial inequity, ti...
Bill Withers Went from Blue-Collar Everyman to Soul Legend
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-05-13T19:45:16+00:00“>May 13, 2021 | 3:45pm ET Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS Consequence and Sony are back with Season 14 of The Opus, an exploration of legendary albums and their ongoing legacy. This time out, host Jill Hopkins explores how a “regular guy” like Bill Withers turned into a soul legend with his debut record, Just as I Am. When Withers began recording Just as I Am, he was still working in the Weber Aircraft factory in California; that picture on the album’s cover was literally shot during his lunch break. A year later, after being nominated for three Grammys and winning...
