In the weeks following beloved soul singer Bill Withers’s death on March 30, one of his most enduring hits has never seemed so timely. During Global Citizen’s One World: Together at Home concert Saturday, for which musicians from Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and Lizzo to The Rolling Stones sang from their living rooms and home studios, Stevie Wonder performed Withers’ “Lean on Me,†in honor of his late friend and musical peer.
“During hardships like this, we have to lean on each other for help,†Wonder said as he began to play. “My friend, the late Bill Withers, has a perfect song about that, and I want us to remember him tonight.†After launching into “Lean on Me,†he segued into one of his own songs, “Love’s In Need of Love Today.†Sang Wonder, “I have serious news to pass on to everybody/What I’m about to say/Could mean the world’s disaster/Could change your joy and laughter/To tears and pain/It’s that/Love’s in need of love today.â€