Hometown that Bill Withers never forgot honors him

Yahoo

04-04-2025

Apr. 3—Big city life never altered the inner soul of Slab Fork-born Bill Withers, says his daughter, Kori Withers.
Kori and her brother, Todd Withers, and Kori's daughter, Lily Dawn, as well as Marcia Withers, Bill Withers' wife, were among those in Beckley Friday as a large crowd gathered at the newly-minted Bill Withers Plaza at Beckley Intermodal Gateway for the unveiling of the Bill Withers Memorial Statue.
"So, to come here where he was a kid and see that the dream came true (is special)," Kori Withers said following the ceremony, which was attended by city and county officials, musicians including the Beckley-Stratton Middle School choir, students and staff, who performed "Lean on Me," friends and family, Stratton High classmates of Withers' and many others. "The dream was to go to the Navy, keep yourself alive, get out there and sing your songs, and tell people your perspective — a perspective that's different from the city life perspective — but also have the wisdom to speak about city life.
GALLERY: Bill Withers Statue Unveiling
"And he talked about that a lot. Coming from here and going to a city, he could see it with much more wisdom than the people that were in there just dealing with all these silly hustles. So, he wrote songs about that, like 'Harlem' or 'Lonely Town, Lonely Street.'
"And the (West Virginia) landscape," she continued. "The fact that you can stand up here and look out like this; it's really a luxury to be able to commune with nature like this.
"(It was) the fact that he never lost that. He always had to live in the mountains. He always was doing woodwork, brick masonry. He was always that blue-collar, coal mining town person. That was the most important part of him. When he went home, it was to be with his tools, it was to be with his family, it was to talk about faith. He never forgot about his civic responsibility."
She said that, no matter where he went, her father remained true to his Appalachia roots. She recalled him "talking about Appalachia and the old songs that everybody sang, the church songs that everybody sang, and the community.
"Here, he took English, bricklaying and civics (as classes)." Bill Withers was always aware of what was going on around him, she said. "He would talk to us about what we needed to know. 'Don't just be out here worrying about yourself. Think about people in other places, think about the person that you see on the side of the road. See their faces, look them in the eye. And, if it makes you cry, then go ahead and do it, because they're there. Don't be someone that looks past them.'"
Bill Withers, Kori said, stressed self-reliance, work ethic and the importance of community, among other values, throughout his life.
"Those were his values, so if you listen to the songs (you'll hear those messages)," she said. "He kind of, to me, represents the quiet, private inner thoughts that everyone has, but maybe everyone isn't empowered to let them out, and he just had that poet-troubadour spirit that he wanted to say these things.
"He felt the words came to him and the music came to him, but what he was feeling everyone must feel, and that's what excited him.
"He was very proud of Appalachia; it's in the sound of the music," Kori continued. "You could go to New York where he recorded, you could go to LA where he recorded, but if you want to be inspired or find a sense of where the music came from, you have to come here. And, we have to come here as the family to stay connected to it. These are our family reunions, really."
Her mother, Marcia Withers, said Friday she and the family were "so, so happy to be here." They endured a long trip from Los Angeles for the occasion, "but it's so worth it to see all your faces coming out here to support this wonderful, wonderful tribute to Bill."
Marcia Withers thanked all those who worked to make the day a reality, and she acknowledged some of her husband's Stratton High schoolmates who were present.
"We as a family are committed to protecting Bill's legacy and bringing his music to new generations of fans, young people, artists and musicians," she said. ... "I wondered, 'Could this small town, his hometown, make such a bold statement of his importance, to offer a statue that will last forever?' Well, today, here it stands as your answer. This small town did it."
The Friday ceremony featured several musical selections, including Kori Withers singing "Grandma's Hands," accompanied by Matt Mullins. Others on the musical lineup included Lars Swanson, Drew Lawrence and Lorenzo Wood.
Those making remarks included Beckley Mayor Ryan Neal, former Mayor Rob Rappold, the sculptor, Pastor Frederick Hightower, Lisa Strader of Visit Southern WV, Martha Evans Montgomery on behalf of Stratton Alumni, and Delores Robinson, who was a Bill Withers classmate at Stratton.
During the event, Michelle Rotellini, of the Beckley-Raleigh County Chamber of Commerce, and Jill Moorefield, of Beckley Events, thanked the various donors who made the statue possible, as well as others who worked behind the scenes.
Among the double platinum record level ($10,000 and above) donors recognized were the City of Beckley, Carter Family Foundation, National Coal Heritage Area Authority, Office of the Governor of West Virginia — Jim Justice, and Ernest and Carol Oakes.
Diamond record level ($5,000 to $9,999) donors were Beckley Area Foundation and Beckley-Raleigh County Tourism Marketing Committee (Visit Southern WV).
Platinum record level ($2,000 to $4,999) donors included Beckley-Raleigh County Chamber of Commerce, William Harris Memorial Fund, Richard and Beth Jarrell Family Fund, the Los Angeles Lakers and Pendleton Community Bank.
Kori Withers said her father delivered much well-received advice and knowledge over the years. "He talked about reality, he talked about common sense, he talked about humanity, and he talked about wisdom," she said. "The funny thing is, when you get out, you realize the exposure to wisdom is a luxury.
It's not exposure to all the fancy books, and everything everybody's chattering about. It's really the truths of life: Take care of yourself, love the people who love you, have a relationship with God ... . That's where the music came from; the music didn't come from ambition. Ambition got the music heard, but the music itself came from this sensibility.
"This day is a victory party for me," she added. "I know that he carried with him what he called the 9-year-old boy, playful, kind of mischievous, brave, daring, around with him all the time."
She discussed her father's "rites of passage, manhood stories" that he offered, saying "he left here a man, feeling that he could be a man and go face the world, and not just deal with protecting himself but have something to give. That was what he left here with, saying, 'I want to go give something to people, and I want to share the spirit that I have in me and I know it's not out there.'
"This is very significant, because I think Dad is a hero for the everyman. He said, 'I'm a regular person. Whatever this music business is, I was a regular complete person before the music, and I'm going to leave this still me, and like who I am.'"
She concluded: "He represents somebody that didn't have any advantages, didn't have anybody do it for him, and it can actually happen. And, then here you are and you have a statue, and it's with a guitar. You just walk in there with a guitar and your voice ... Whatever it is you have, the big dream, go ahead and go for it."
Hightower, of Excellent Images Creations, said afterward he was happy he could make a significant contribution to the project. Statues help leave a legacy and help future generations recall history, he said. Plus, sculptures such as the Withers project aid in tourism efforts, he stressed.
Hightower said he turned to Withers' music and some good historical photographs for inspiration as he completed the statue. "His wife was a very good inspiration, too," he said.
All of that source material helped him "get the essence of his spirit," he said.
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