Bill Text: WV SCR29 | 2014 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Requesting DOH erect sign in Raleigh County "Home of Bill Withers"
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-1)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2014-02-25 - To House Rules [SCR29 Detail]
Download: West_Virginia-2014-SCR29-Comm_Sub.html
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 29
(By Senators D. Hall, Green, Jenkins, Beach, Stollings and Cole)
[Originating in the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure]
Requesting the Division of Highways to erect a sign near the intersection of Slab Fork Road, Amy Lane and Harlock Lane in Slab Fork, Raleigh County, West Virginia, on County Route 28/1 that states “Home of Bill Withers”, noted Grammy Award-winning recording artist.
Whereas, William Harrison “Bill” Withers, Jr., a singer, songwriter and musician, was born on July 4, 1938, in the small coal mining town of Slab Fork, West Virginia. He was the youngest of six children and raised in nearby Beckley, West Virginia. His father died when Bill was thirteen; and
Whereas, Bill Withers enlisted in the United States Navy at age seventeen and served for nine years, during which time he became interested in singing and writing songs. Bill was discharged from the Navy in 1965, and he relocated to Los Angeles in 1967 to begin a musical career; and
Whereas, Bill Withers worked as an assembler for several different companies, including Douglas Aircraft Corporation, while recording demo tapes with his own money and performing in clubs at night. Bill would keep his day job as an assembler well after his subsequent breakthrough success in the music business because of his belief that it was a fickle industry; and
Whereas, On the strength of Bill's demonstration tapes, he was signed to a record deal by Sussex Records in 1970 and Booker T. Jones was assigned to produce his first album. “Just as I Am” was released in 1971 and included the single tracks, “Ain’t No Sunshine” and “Grandma’s Hands”; and
Whereas, Bill Withers won the 1972 Grammy Award for best R&B Song for “Ain't No Sunshine” and he was also awarded a R. I. A. A. platinum disc for the song. Bill Wither's second album, “Still Bill”, which was described as “a stone-soul masterpiece” by Rolling Stone magazine, was released in 1972 and included the hit singles “Lean on Me” and “Use Me”. The single "Lean on Me" went to number one the week of July 8, 1972, and Bill was awarded a R. I. A. A. gold disc for the song. The single “Use Me” became his third million seller and brought him another gold disc award. Bill won a second Grammy Award in 1982 for Best R&B Song for “Just the Two of Us”, which was recorded with Grover Washington, Jr.; and
Whereas, Bill Withers was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005, and he was honored by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers in 2006 with the society’s Rhythm & Soul Heritage Award, which is presented to ASCAP members who have had a major impact on the legacy of rhythm and soul music. Additional honors include multiple Millionaires citations from Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI); a Soul Train Hall of Fame award; two NAACP Image awards; induction into the inaugural class of the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame; and a Clio award. In 2007 “Lean On Me” was enshrined in the Grammy Hall of Fame; and
Whereas, In addition to his outstanding musical contributions, Bill Withers has also done good works for his native area, including generously donating to help restore Greenwood Memorial Park Cemetery in Beckley and commissioning a painting entitled “Grandma’s Hands” for display at Tamarack in Beckley; and
Whereas, It is only fitting that we recognize Bill Withers for his many accomplishments and for the pride he has instilled in all West Virginians by placing this marker in the town of his birth; therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Division of Highways is hereby requested to erect a sign near the intersection of Slab Fork Road, Amy Lane and Harlock Lane in Slab Fork, Raleigh County, West Virginia, on County Route 28/1 that states “Home of Bill Withers”, noted Grammy Award- winning recording artist; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the Senate is hereby directed to forward a copy of this resolution to the Secretary of the Department of Transportation and to Bill Withers.
