Ain't No Sunshine

Ain't No Sunshine is a song by Bill Withers, from his album Just As I Am in 1971. The song was produced by Booker T. Jones . It has countless times been covered by other artists.

Contents

 * 1 Original version (1971)
 * 2 The eclipse mix (1988)
 * 3 Cover by Michael Jackson (1972)
 * 4 Other covers
 * 5 Other versions
 * 4 Other covers
 * 5 Other versions

Original Version (1971)
Ain't No Sunshine is one of Withers' most famous songs and was his first big hit. It reached number three in the Billboard Hot 100 and won a Grammy Award for Best R & B Song in 1972 . It is on the 285th place on Rolling Stone's list of 500 best songs ever.

Withers recorded the song together with Donald Dunn (bass) and Al Jackson Jr. (Drummer). He wrote Ain't No Sunshine itself. He got inspiration for the song when you see the film Days of Wine and Roses in 1962. Withers worked when he composed the song still in a factory, where toilets for Boeing 747s were made.

Withers wished the third verse actually give more text instead of just a constant repetition of the words "I know", but he got the advice of other musicians to leave it that way.

Ain't No Sunshine was originally released as a B-side of another song, Harlem, but became much more popular than that number. DJs invariably played Ain't No Sunshine off as the single.

Ain't No Sunshine is included in the soundtrack of the film Notting Hill , Exit Wounds , Old School , Amy , Crooklyn and Munich . Furthermore, it was heard in the television series Drawn Together , CSI: Crime Scene Investigation , LAX, " One on One , The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and CSI: NY .

The eclipse mix (1988)
In 1988 made ​​the Dutch DJ Ben Liebrand a remix of the song. In early 1989, the number in the Dutch charts justified.

Cover by Michael Jackson (1972)
The song was covered in 1972 by the then 14-year-old singer Michael Jackson for his debut album Got to Be There . It was the fourth track of the album, which was released as a single.

Other covers
At least 167 artists have covered the song:
 * Aaron Kelly
 * Aaron Neville
 * Abramo
 * Adam Again
 * Akon
 * Airto Moreira and Flora Purim
 * Al Green
 * Al Jarreau
 * Amos Lee
 * Andy Abraham
 * Anomie Belle
 * At Last
 * Augustus Pablo
 * Aynsley Lister
 * Azul project
 * A-mei
 * Barry White
 * BB King
 * Betty Wright
 * Black Label Society
 * BoA
 * Bob Marley
 * Bobby Blue Bland
 * Boney James
 * Boris Gardiner
 * Buddy Guy
 * Stven robb
 * Budka Suflera
 * Cat Stevens
 * Chenoa
 * Christina Christian
 * D'Angelo
 * DMX
 * Daphne's Flight
 * Dave McPherson
 * David Cassidy
 * David Sanborn
 * Des'ree & Ladysmith Black Mambazo
 * Emily King
 * Eva Cassidy
 * Everlast
 * Fable


 * FaithSFX
 * Fall Out Boy
 * Finger Eleven
 * Freddie Foxxx
 * Freddie King
 * Giorgia
 * The Gearheads
 * Gomez
 * Grace Kelly
 * Grover Washington, Jr.
 * Hanson
 * Horace Andy
 * Intars Busulis
 * Isaac Hayes
 * Ivan "Boogaloo Joe" Jones
 * Idiot Glee
 * Jars of Clay
 * Ja Rule
 * James Taylor
 * Jeff Beck
 * Joan Osborne
 * Joe Cocker
 * Johnny Clarke
 * John Mayer
 * John Waite
 * Jose Feliciano
 * Joss Stone
 * Junior Murvin
 * Justin Nozuka
 * Justin Timberlake & Robyn Troup
 * Kainalu Busque
 * Kashmere Stage Band
 * Ken Boothe
 * Kenny Rogers
 * Khalil Fong
 * Kid Frost
 * Kris Allen
 * Ladysmith Black Mambazo
 * Lee DeWyze
 * Lenny Kravitz
 * Leonard Cohen
 * Lighthouse Family
 * Lionel Hampton


 * Lucero
 * Lyn Collins
 * Mama Lion
 * Mark Knopfler & Al Jarreau
 * Mark Eitzel
 * Maroon 5
 * Marvin Gaye
 * Matt Andersen
 * Max Mutzke
 * Maynard Ferguson
 * Maysa
 * Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
 * Melanie Safka
 * Melody Gardot
 * Merrill Osmond
 * Michael Bolton
 * Michael Chapdelaine
 * Michael Jackson
 * Montezuma's Revenge
 * Mother Funk
 * Naná Vasconcelos
 * Neil Diamond
 * New Found Road
 * New York Voices
 * Overboard
 * Olivia Ong
 * Pastor Troy
 * Paul Brown
 * Paul Carrack
 * Paul McCartney
 * Percy Sledge
 * Prophets Of Soul
 * Rachel Z
 * Rahsaan Roland Kirk
 * Reverend and the B's WannaB
 * Richard Marx
 * Rhymefest
 * Rob Thomas Ft. Carlos Santana
 * Rockmelons & Deni Hines
 * Rodney Jones
 * Roy Ayers
 * Ryder Blood'z


 * Sabrina Starke
 * Sakis Rouvas
 * Savoy Brown
 * Scott Walker
 * Selah Sue feat. Ronny Mosuse
 * Shazad Habib
 * Shaun Smith
 * Sileas
 * Sivuca
 * Slavi Trifonov
 * Smoma
 * Soul For Real
 * Steven Houghton
 * Sting
 * Subsonica
 * Sydney Youngblood
 * Taufik Batisah
 * TC Carson
 * Ted Levine
 * Tereza Kerndlová
 * The Police
 * The Temptations
 * The Lushtones
 * The Slackers
 * Tim Johnson
 * Tom Jones
 * Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
 * Tori Amos
 * Tracy Chapman
 * Tyrone Wells
 * UB40
 * Umphrey's McGee
 * Van Morrison
 * Victor Wooten
 * Will Hoge
 * Will Young
 * Woven Hand
 * Wynonna Judd
 * Ysabella Brave
 * Young Kiss
 * Ziggy Marley

Other versions
There are also some other songs titled "Ain't No Sunshine," but these are not real covers. Examples come from Akon , Cuban Link , Kid Frost , DMX and boxcutter .

The song was also translated into German by Lukas Hilbert . This version is called "Mein Tag, Mein Light," and include recorded by Jazzkantine and Yvonne Catterfeld . Another German-language version, "Allem Anschein nach bist Du's", was released in 2003 by Stefan Gwildis .