Bill Withers from Jesse Thorn on Vimeo.
I was lucky enough to see the new documentary “Soul Power” a couple weeks ago. It was shot at Zaire ’74, a festival of soul music from the African diaspora that accompanied the Foreman-Ali fight that was the centerpiece of the film When We Were Kings.
It features musical performances from, among others, Celia Cruz & the Fania All-Stars, The Spinners, Miriam Makeba, James Brown and the great Bill Withers.
I can count on one hand the number of musicians as important to me as Bill Withers, and it was an amazing honor to get to speak with him for The Sound of Young America. Bill has been mostly retired for more than twenty years, but he’s very healthy and sharp as a tack at 70.
The interview will air next week. In the meantime, enjoy his performance from the film. And go see it when it opens near you in July — it’s AMAZING.