| "Lean on Me" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Bill Withers | ||||
| from the album Still Bill | ||||
| Released | April 21, 1972 | |||
| Recorded | 1971 | |||
| Genre | Soul | |||
| Length | 4:17 | |||
| Label | Sussex Records | |||
| Writer(s) | Bill Withers | |||
| Producer | Bill Withers | |||
| Bill Withers singles chronology | ||||
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"Lean on Me" is a song written and released by Bill Withers in 1972.
It was his first and only number one on both the soul singles and the Billboard Hot 100.[1] It is ranked number 205 on the Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[2] Numerous cover versions have been recorded, and it is one of only nine songs to have scored No. 1 with versions recorded by two different artists.[3] Withers' childhood in the coal mining town of Slab Fork, West Virginia[4] was the inspiration for "Lean on Me", which he wrote after he had moved to Los Angeles and found himself missing the strong community ethic of his hometown. He lived in a decrepit house in the poor section of town.
Withers recalled to Songfacts the original inspiration for the song; "I bought a little piano and I was sitting there just running my fingers up and down the piano. In the course of doing the music, that phrase crossed my mind, so then you go back and say, 'OK, I like the way that phrase, Lean On Me, sounds with this song.'" [5]
Several members of the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band were used for the recording session in 1972.
Contents |
7" Single
| Chart (1972) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary | 4 |
| UK Singles Chart | 18 |
| Preceded by "Song Sung Blue" by Neil Diamond |
Billboard Hot 100 number-one single July 8, 1972 – July 22, 1972 (3 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Alone Again (Naturally)" by Gilbert O'Sullivan |
| Preceded by "Woman's Gotta Have It" by Bobby Womack |
Billboard Best Selling Soul Singles number-one single June 24, 1972 |
Succeeded by "Outa-Space" by Billy Preston |
| "Lean on Me" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Club Nouveau | ||||
| from the album Life, Love & Pain | ||||
| Released | March 20, 1987 | |||
| Recorded | 1986 | |||
| Genre | Soul, Funk, Hip hop, R&B, New jack swing, New Wave | |||
| Length | 4:00 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Writer(s) | Bill Withers | |||
| Producer | Jay King | |||
| Club Nouveau singles chronology | ||||
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R&B group Club Nouveau covered the song and took it to number one for two weeks on the Billboard charts in 1987.[6] It also scored number one on the dance charts,[6] and won a Grammy award in 1987 for Bill Withers, as the writer, for Best R&B Song.[7]
7" Single
12" Single
| Chart (1987) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs | 2 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 1 |
| UK Singles Chart | 3 |
| German Singles Chart | 9 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 22 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 7[8] |
| Dutch Top 40 | 4 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 1 |
| Preceded by "Jacob's Ladder" by Huey Lewis and the News |
Billboard Hot 100 number-one single March 21, 1987 – March 28, 1987 (2 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" by Starship |
| Preceded by "Looking for a New Love" by Jody Watley |
Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single April 18, 1987 |
Succeeded by "The Telephone Call" by Kraftwerk |
| Preceded by "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" by Starship |
Canadian Singles Chart April 11, 1987 – April 25, 1987 |
Succeeded by "Don't Dream It's Over" by Crowded House |
| Preceded by "Don't Dream It's Over" by Crowded House |
New Zealand Singles Chart May 1, 1987 – June 5, 1987 |
Succeeded by "Livin' on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi |
| "Lean on Me (with the Family)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by 2-4 Family | ||||
| from the album Family Business | ||||
| Released | 30 January 1999 | |||
| Recorded | 1998 | |||
| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 3:38 (Radio Version) | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Writer(s) | Bill Withers | |||
| Producer | Alex Trime, Sven "Delgado" Jordan | |||
| 2-4 Family singles chronology | ||||
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In 1999, 2-4 Family released "Lean on Me (with the Family)", a cover version with a hip hop arrangement and additional lyrics. Epic Records published a 12-inch single and a CD maxi single in Germany.[9]
In 2008, several years after the dissolution of 2-4 Family, founding band-member Mike Johnson performed the song with backing vocalists and dancers at the Eurovision Song Content in Bulgaria.
| Chart (1999) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| German Singles Chart | 9 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 6 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 7[10] |
The song is frequently played at charity events. Avril Lavigne and Heart made a duet singing this song at the 17th Race To Erase MS event in May 2010.[11] Kid Rock, Sheryl Crow, and Keith Urban performed the song at the 2010 Hope for Haiti earthquake relief telethon.
The song was used in a 1970s drug awareness film titled Dead Is Dead, hosted and produced by actor Godfrey Cambridge.
Mary J. Blige performed this song at the HBO We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial.[12] The next day, a crowd spontaneously began singing the song in the Purple Tunnel of Doom under the National Mall as they waited to gain entrance to the inauguration ceremonies.[13]
The song features at the end of Radioactive Man, an episode of The Simpsons, when two film producers return to Hollywood after a movie failure.
Paula Abdul and The Muppets performed this song on a 1997 episode of Muppets Tonight.
On the fourth season of Martin, Martin and the crew sang the song in the hospital in the episode, "Why Can't We Be Friends" that was aired in 1996.
Brian Eno, Michael Stipe, and Stephen Colbert sang an a capella version of the song on The Colbert Report that first aired on November 10, 2011.
"Lean on Me" has been interpreted by various other artists including Mud (1976), Al Jarreau (1985), DC Talk (1992), Michael Bolton (1993), Bonnie Tyler (1999), Anne Murray (1999), and The Temptations.
In 1989, covers of "Lean on Me" by The Winans and Sandra Reaves-Phillips provided the emotional uplift for a motion picture of the same name. Additionally, for the same film, the song was adapted by Big Daddy Kane in "hip hop" form.[14]
In Denmark, rapper Majid featuring Burhan G made a rap song entitled "Lean On Me".[15] The song contains the same introduction words as the original, with Burhan G doing the refrain from the song however otherwise has different lyrics.
Mitchel Musso recorded a version of the song for the 2008 film Snow Buddies.[16]
Glee recorded a version of the song for their "Ballad" episode, in which the glee club sings it to fellow members Finn and Quinn.[17]
On the fourth season of Martin, Martin and the crew sang the song in the hospital in the episode, "Why Can't We Be Friends" that was aired in 1996.
Brian Eno, Michael Stipe, and Stephen Colbert sang an a capella version of the song on The Colbert Report that first aired on November 10, 2011.