Bill Withers, Calvin Simon among those to be honored with Beckley mural

By Matthew Young, Black By God Community, Donate here.

The City of Beckley, on Saturday, hosted its first-ever Hometown Hall of Fame concert event, during which a rendering of five new hall of fame banners was unveiled. 

The banners – which feature new Hometown Hall of Fame inductees and West Virginia Music Hall of Fame members Bill Withers, Calvin Simon, Hazel Dickens, Little Jimmy Dickens, and Everett Lilly – will be installed on the Word Park-facing side of the state’s Neville Street office building.

“This big ol’ wall[ … ] it’s been ugly, but [it’s] about to be pretty,” Matt Mullins, whose band The Holler Generals performed at the event, told those in attendance. “The state has decided that they’re going to paint this building for us, so [there is] not as much rush to get [the banners] up.”

Mullins pointed to the displayed foamboard mock-up of what the wall will look like with the banners installed, adding that, “I think that is so cool.”

“You have Calvin Simon from the Parliament Funkadelic, who actually founded it with another West Virginia, Fuzzy Haskins, and a guy named George Clinton,” Mullins noted. “And, of course, Mr. William Withers – Bill Withers.”

“I think we should petition to change Woodrow Wilson High School to William Withers High School,” Mullins added. “They can keep the ‘WWHS,’ I’m just sayin.’ It would be great. We’re already gonna be the music capital of West Virginia – we’ve got the big mural and the Bill (Withers) statue, why not name the high school something positive?”

While no timeframe for completion of the painting has been announced, city workers anticipate the murals will be installed prior to Labor Day, Sept. 7. 

Bill Withers

Born in 1938 in Slab Fork, Bill Withers was the youngest of six children. Withers moved to Beckley during his early teenage-years, after the death of his coal miner father. 

As noted by the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame, Withers “enlisted in the Navy in hopes of escaping the culture of coal and cycle of poverty,” and it was during his time in the service that Witheres would develop his love of songwriting. 

After leaving the Navy in 1965, Withers relocated to Los Angeles, California, where he began actively pursuing a career in the music industry. In 1971, Withers released his debut record, “Just As I Am,” which featured the Grammy-winning hit single, “Ain’t No Sunshine.” Withers released his second studio album, “Still Bill,” the following year, which included the song Withers is best remembered for, “Lean on Me.”

Withers was inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame in 2007, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015. Withers died in Los Angeles in 2020, at the age of 81. 

Known as one half of West Virginia’s “Funk Brothers,” Calvin Simon was born in Beckley, on May 22, 1942. Simon got his start in music during the late 1950s as part of George Clinton’s barbershop quintet, The Parliament, before his 1966 drafting into the United States Army. 

The Parliament – which along with Simon and Clinton – included West Virginia’s other “Funk Brother” Fuzzy Haskins, as well as Faraday Thomas, would eventually evolve into the legendary Parliament Funkadelic. Simon would remain a member of the group until 1981. 

In his later career, Simon produced gospel music for his own label, Simon Says Records. In 2019, Simon was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award, and is a 2023 inductee into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame. Calvin Simon died in San Antonio, Florida, in 2022. He was 70-years-old at the time of his death. 

Additional 2026 Beckley Hometown Hall of Fame honorees:

Hazel Dickens

Born on June 1, 1925 in the small coal-town of Montcalm, Mercer County, Hazel Dickens was a celebrated bluegrass musician and advocate for workers’ rights. Dickens joined Withers as part of the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame’s inaugural class of inductees in 2007. Dickens passed away on April 22, 2011.

Little Jimmy Dickens

Also a 2007 inductee of the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame, Little Jimmy Dickens was born in the town of Bolt, on Dec. 19, 1920. Dickens was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1983, and had been the longest living member of the Grand Ole Opry until his death in 2015. 

Everett Lilly

Born in Clear Creek in 1924, Everett Lilly was a member of musical duo, The Lilly Brothers, along with his brother, “B.” In 2002, the Lilly Brothers were inducted into the International BluegrassMusic Hall of Fame. Joined by fellow Clear Creek-native Don Stover, the brothers would be inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame in 2007.