Song Clearance Sheet
5 sources citedAin’t No Sunshine
See all Bill Withers in the catalogue →
Soul1970s80BPM
UnconfirmedKey
Tempo/key via Deezer →
The verdict
Documented Sampling History
Confirmed songwriter of record (Bill Withers), no dispute found — connected to Booker T. Jones (“Melting Pot”) via shared M.G.’s musicians; note the documented Sussex Records collapse in Rights Status.
Quick Facts
Released1971
AlbumJust As I Am
GenreSoul, R&B
LabelSussex Records
ProducerBooker T. Jones
More infoWikipedia → · Discogs →
Who you need to ask
The songwriter of record — Bill Withers
Wikipedia → · checked Jul 2026
The current administrator — Not confirmed — Sussex folded in 1975; needs a Songview/Discogs lookup
Unknown · checked Jul 2026
Has it been reused?
A much-covered soul standard (Michael Jackson recorded it in 1971); connected to Booker T. Jones’ “Melting Pot” in this catalogue via the shared M.G.’s rhythm section.
Do they allow reuse?
No standalone policy found; confirmed songwriter of record and no dispute found.
Related Songs
Same album, answer records, and songs worth knowing about
Producer Booker T. Jones brought his M.G.’s bandmates (Duck Dunn, Al Jackson Jr.) to this session (already in this catalogue)
Same artist (this batch)
Who Owns It
Licenses explained →The two permissions you need, and who holds them
The song itself (the writing)Bill Withers
A documented label collapse (a recurring pattern here)Sussex Records folded in July 1975 over $62,000 in unpaid state and federal taxes — the IRS padlocked its offices and auctioned its assets, with many master tapes reportedly disappearing and presumed destroyed. A real parallel to other label-collapse situations already in this catalogue (Amen Brother, Synthetic Substitution).
The recording (current administrator)Not confirmed, given the label’s historical collapse
Receipts
Every public mention of terms, policy, or past deals we've found
He kept his factory job after the hit
Withers had spent nine years in the US Navy and was assembling airplane parts in a factory when his demo won over Clarence Avant of Sussex Records — he refused to quit the factory job even after this became a hit, believing the music business too fickle to rely on. No lyrics reproduced.
The Geyser · read it →
The “I know” refrain was a placeholder
The famous extended repeated refrain near the end was originally meant as a placeholder Withers expected to replace with real lyrics — Booker T. Jones convinced him to keep it as-is.
Library of Congress (National Recording Registry) · read it →
Can You Use It for Free?
How to check PD →Is it public domain?No
Sample History
—
Times sampled
A Grammy-winning soul standard (National Recording Registry)
Covers
—
First flip
Big names who used itMichael Jackson
Who to Contact
AS
Bill Withers (Sussex, now defunct)
The confirmed songwriter of record
What they'll chargeNobody's shared numbers yet
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References
Every source cited on this page — 5 in total
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Page history · 3 updates
Jul 2026BPM set to 80 (feel tempo) — the two-source pass read the 160 double-time octave; halved to this song’s natural tempo. Key left Unconfirmed.
Jul 2026Page created — full research (Research Queue Batch 14)
Jul 2026BPM/Key pending the automated GetSongBPM/Deezer pass