Veteran soul singer Anthony David pays tribute to the legendary Bill Withers with a cover of his 1972 song “I Can’t Write Left Handed”. The song is set to appear on David’s anticipated new album “Hello Like Before”, which will be released by Shanachie Entertainment on September 21, 2018.
In speaking on his inspiration of the song, David adds:
“When I first heard this song, it stopped me in my tracks. I had gone to Desert Storm and the way he described the mentality of young men who go off, I don’t think anyone has ever really described in a song before. That was exactly it. The idea that the people that are driven that way, oftentimes are just young guys looking for something to do, and don’t have much of a take on the bigger picture. For me it was a way to do something my Dad did, and maybe travel. For my Dad, I believe it was a way to get out of small town Florida and see the world, maybe make some money to have a family. It’s not really a political thing. We learn that stuff later. Maybe. I met my best friends in life during that time, and we’re still family to this day.”
Like Withers, David plays the acoustic guitar and has a warm, resonant voice that imparts an earthy sincerity to his music. So it is no surprise that David has often been labeled as his generation’s Bill Withers. Now, Anthony David has made the album that so many have been urging him to make for years; a heartfelt tribute to Bill Withers, an entire album of interpretations of Withers’ compositions, both famous and obscure.