LOVE TRAX: It Just Needed Lyrics

Our THROWBACK LOVE TRAX feature goes back to 1981 – and a song that probably would never have been a hit had it not been for two strategic moves!

Two songwriters, Ralph MacDonald and William Salter, wrote an instrumental song.

MacDonald got in touch with a singer named Bill Withers, and asked him to write some lyrics for the song.

Withers already had a reputation as a singer/songwriter, having hits like “Ain’t No Sunshine,” “Lean on Me,” and “Lovely Day.”

Withers got to work on the song, and then teamed up with famed saxophonist Grover Washington, Jr.

The result?

“Just the Two of Us,” a hit song that climbed to No. 2 on the Billboard chart and won two Grammys – for Best R&B Song and Best Jazz Fusion Performance.