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Legendary Soul Singer Bill Withers Will Be Posthumously Honored With Navy Award
Legendary Soul Singer Bill Withers Will Be Posthumously Honored With Navy Award
4 Apr 2020
Military.com | By Richard Sisk
Legendary soul singer and composer Bill Withers, who recorded a string of hits after serving nine years in the Navy, has died at age 81.
Withers, a three-time Grammy award winner and 2015 inductee to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, died April 30 in Los Angeles of heart complications, his family said in a statement to the Associated Press.
{snip}
In a posted tribute, retired Rear Adm. Frank Long IV, president and CEO of the U.S. Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C., said Withers, from Slab Fork, West Virginia, joined the Navy at age 17 and served for nine years as an aviation mechanic.
"He famously and courageously overcame a childhood stutter while serving in the Navy," Long said. "There are stories about Withers going on liberty with his fellow sailors as he developed his musical talent and became interested in singing and writing songs."
"He literally touched every American's life over the last fifty years and, through his music and his example, has made our world a better place," Long said.
Withers had been selected to receive the Lone Sailor Award by the US Navy Memorial Board of Directors and he was to receive the award at the 2021 Lone Sailor Awards Dinner in Washington, D.C.
{snip}
- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.
4 Apr 2020
Military.com | By Richard Sisk
Legendary soul singer and composer Bill Withers, who recorded a string of hits after serving nine years in the Navy, has died at age 81.
Withers, a three-time Grammy award winner and 2015 inductee to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, died April 30 in Los Angeles of heart complications, his family said in a statement to the Associated Press.
{snip}
In a posted tribute, retired Rear Adm. Frank Long IV, president and CEO of the U.S. Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C., said Withers, from Slab Fork, West Virginia, joined the Navy at age 17 and served for nine years as an aviation mechanic.
"He famously and courageously overcame a childhood stutter while serving in the Navy," Long said. "There are stories about Withers going on liberty with his fellow sailors as he developed his musical talent and became interested in singing and writing songs."
"He literally touched every American's life over the last fifty years and, through his music and his example, has made our world a better place," Long said.
Withers had been selected to receive the Lone Sailor Award by the US Navy Memorial Board of Directors and he was to receive the award at the 2021 Lone Sailor Awards Dinner in Washington, D.C.
{snip}
- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.
