Bill Withers
ListenThree Nights and a Morning · 1967
Bill Withers — Three Nights and a Morning, original 1967 recording.
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1967 · Lotus Records
Three Nights and a Morning / What’ll I Do?
A plane ticket from his girlfriend helped Bill Withers take an early step toward making records. Visiting his sister in New York, he met her landlord, music-business figure Clarence “C. B.” Bullard, who arranged the opportunity that led to this 1967 debut. [2]
| Accession | OMMA-0046 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Bill Withers |
| Release | 1967 · United States |
| Label | Lotus Records · LO 3601 |
| Format | 7-inch vinyl single · 45 rpm |
| Issue | Original US promotional issue |
| Runouts | Not documented |
| Recorded grade | NM · generic sleeve |
Release history and significance
Withers had left the Navy and was working in California, singing in clubs when he could. Bullard’s introduction brought him to arranger and producer Mort Garson. Withers moved to Los Angeles in 1967 to work with him, and “Three Nights and a Morning” became his first single. [2]
Lotus was a new venture by Garson and Hy Weiss. A notice in Record World on 29 July 1967 announced Withers as its first artist and named this pairing as the label’s first release. The business was based in New York, while Garson continued working in California. [3]
The record brought no breakthrough. Withers kept working in aircraft manufacturing and used his wages to pay for further demos; those recordings eventually reached Sussex Records founder Clarence Avant. [2] The lively Lotus A-side also had a second life: Withers reworked it as “Harlem” for his 1971 debut album, Just As I Am. [4]
Market context
The Lotus single has circulated among soul collectors as an early, faster version of the familiar “Harlem.” In a May 2008 Soul Source discussion, listeners identified the connection and noted the record’s use in DJ sets. One owner recalled buying a copy for £20 roughly a year earlier. [5]
Physical Description
Black vinyl with white promotional Lotus labels. The reverse label misprints Irving Berlin’s “What’ll I Do” as “What I’ll Do.” Mort Garson produced and arranged both sides. [1] [4]
Condition
The vinyl is graded Near Mint, with glossy surfaces and clean, sharply printed labels.
Provenance
Acquired through Discogs on 12 September 2025.
Sources
- Discogs, Bill Withers – Three Nights and a Morning, release 4654323. 1967 Lotus promotional edition and reverse-label title error.
- Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Bill Withers, 2015 induction essay. Bullard’s introduction, Garson’s production and Withers’s early working life.
- Record World, 29 July 1967, page 4: Weiss & Garson Form Lotus. Contemporary announcement of the label and its first release.
- 45cat, Bill Withers – Three Nights and a Morning / What’ll I Do. Credits, label images and the connection with Harlem.
- Soul Source, Three Nights and a Morning discussion, 11–12 May 2008. Collectors’ recollections of the single and its circulation.
Catalogue text reviewed 13 September 2026.