In early 1970, Withers's demonstration tape was auditioned favorably by Clarence Avant, owner of Sussex Records. Withers continued to work on his musicianship, learning guitar.
When he returned with the song " Ain't No Sunshine" in 1971, he refused to resign from his job because he believed the music business was a fickle industry. Withers worked as an assembler for several different companies, including Douglas Aircraft Corporation, IBM and Ford, while recording demo tapes with his own money, shopping them around and performing in clubs at night. Arranged by Mort Garson, the song went unnoticed at the time but was later reworked by Withers as the track "Harlem". His debut release was "Three Nights and a Morning" in 1967. He left the Navy in 1965, relocating to Los Angeles in 1967 to start a music career. Withers enlisted in the United States Navy at the age of 17, and served for nine years, during which time he became interested in singing and writing songs. He was 13 years old when his father died. His parents divorced when he was three, and he was raised by his mother's family in nearby Beckley, West Virginia. He was born with a stutter and later said he had a hard time fitting in.
He was the son of Mattie (Galloway), a maid, and William Withers, a miner. Withers, the youngest of six children, was born in the small coal-mining town of Slab Fork, West Virginia, on July 4, 1938.
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