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Staff pick: Soul Power

Melissa Starker, Creative Content & PR Manager

Apr 06, 2020

Musician Bill Withers sings into a microphone in a scene from the documentary Soul Power

Last week, soul artist Bill Withers passed away at the age of 81. For some reason, unlike some of his contemporaries such as Al Green and Marvin Gaye, Withers wasn't generally as well known as his hits, which include Lean on Me and Ain't No Sunshine. Maybe it's because, as John Pareles wrote in The New York Times Saturday, "The music of Bill Withers radiated a quality that’s rare in pop songs and, really, anywhere else: selflessness."

His passing offers an opportunity to lift up the artist behind the strong, clear, emotive voice, and one of the most unforgettable moments captured in his career is a solo performance during the three-night Zaire 74 Music Festival, the subject of Jeff Levy-Hinte's 2008 documentary Soul Power. The concert doc is crafted from archival footage shot of the event and its inspiration, the October 1974 "Rumble in the Jungle" between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman (also the foundation for the Oscar-winning doc When We Were Kings). Withers performs "Hope She'll Be Happier," a sad, selfless ballad about a broken relationship. In watching, you can't help but be struck by the fact that in a film full of ecstatic crowd noise (estimates put the total at 80,000 attendees), a silence surrounds Withers' performance. The audience hangs on every note 'til the end.

Soul Power also boasts performances from James Brown, B.B. King, Celia Cruz and African music giant Miriam Makeba.

Watch Soul Power on Amazon. (rental fee required)

 

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