Ain't No Sunshine

"Ain't No Sunshine" is a song by Bill Withers from his 1971 album Just As I Am, produced by Booker T. Jones. The record featured musicians Donald "Duck" Dunn on bass and Al Jackson, Jr. on drums. The song was released as a single in September of 1971, becoming a breakthrough hit for Withers, reaching number six on the U.S. R&B chart and number three on the U.S. Pop chart.

Withers was still working at a factory that made toilet seats for Boeing 747s when he recorded the song. He originally intended to write more lyrics for the portion of the song where he repeats the phrase "I know" twenty-six times, but the other musicians told him to leave it the way it was. "I was this factory worker puttering around," Withers said. "So when they said to leave it like that, I left it."

Withers told Songfacts.com that he was inspired to write this song after watching the 1962 movie Days of Wine and Roses. He said that "I was watching..."Days Of Wine And Roses," with Lee Remick and Jack Lemmon. They were both alcoholics who were alternately weak and strong. It's like going back for seconds on rat poison. Sometimes you miss things that weren't particularly good for you. It's just something that crossed my mind from watching that movie, and probably something else that happened in my life that I'm not aware of."

"Ain't No Sunshine" was originally released as the B-side to another song called "Harlem." Disc jockeys played "Ain't No Sunshine" as the single instead, and it became a huge hit.

"Ain't No Sunshine" is ranked 280th on Rolling Stones list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The song won the Grammy for Best R&B Song in 1972.