art is the new religion: Wherefore Bill Withers?

Ah, but dear members of Camp 2, you do know Bill Withers. You have undoubtedly heard Club Nouveau's rendition of Withers' "Lean On Me" far too many times to count. If you're like me, you may even have a vaguely sad or embarrassing memory attached to the song. Mine involves a gradeschool birthday party in Brooke Blass' garage where we stood around singing along to the radio, eating cake and dreaming up reasons to mix and mingle with the boys in attendance. When "Lean On Me" was blasted over the boom box speakers, someone had the bright idea to stand in a huge circle and put our arms around each others' shoulders. Yes, Withers' songwriting gave us that exciting and elusive reason to touch each other, which is kind of a big deal when you're twelve. A much better anecdote about this song is that Withers wrote it before he became a recording star, penning it as an ode to the camaraderie he experienced growing up in a West Virginia coal mining town (source). The sentiment in the song is real, and Withers' version is obviously way better than anything Club Nouveau could ever imagine. (Henceforth, I will never mention Club Nouveau again.)