"Lean on Me" is a song by American

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

artist

Kirk Franklin Kirk Dewayne Franklin (born January 26, 1970) is an American songwriter, choir director, gospel singer, and rapper. He is best known for leading urban contemporary gospel ensembles such as The Family, God's Property, and One Nation Crew (1NC) a ...

. Released in 1998, the song greatly helped ascend Kirk Franklin's album ''

The Nu Nation Project ''The Nu Nation Project'' is the fifth studio album by Kirk Franklin. It is his final album in collaboration with The Family and God's Property, the first to feature One Nation Crew, and the only one to feature Nu Nation. Its sequel entitled "Som ...

''. The Nu Nation Project went on to top the Billboard Contemporary Christian Albums chart for 23 weeks and the Billboard Gospel Albums chart for 49 weeks, and brought Franklin his third Grammy.

History

Released as the first

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

in 1998, "Lean on Me" helped catapult The Nu Nation Project to becoming a 2× platinum gospel album.RIAA website
/ref> The single is also an interpretation of the

Bill Withers William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He had several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), " Use Me" (1972) ...

song “ "Lean on Me”. The song was a collaboration with artists

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Born and raised in Dublin, he attended M ...

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

Crystal Lewis Crystal Lynn Lewis (born September 11, 1969) is an American contemporary Christian and jazz singer, songwriter and actress. Lewis has been nominated for several Grammy Awards, and has won multiple GMA Dove Awards. Additionally, she has release ...

, and

R. Kelly Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and sex offender convicted of racketeering and multiple sex offenses. During his recording career, Kelly sold over 75 million records worldwid ...

. The song was heavily praised for reaching both the gospel and secular radio. 1.5 million copies of the single have been sold to date and the single was nominated for Song of the Year Category for the 41st Grammy Awards. The single was also nominated for Best R&B Song and Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. Kirk performed "Lean On Me" at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on 24 February before a TV audience of 1.5 billion people alongside

Gerald Levert Gerald Edward Levert (July 13, 1966 – November 10, 2006) was an Americans, American singer-songwriter and producer. Levert was best known for singing with his brother, Sean Levert, and friend Marc Gordon of the vocal group LeVert. Levert ...

, and

Live performances

*"Lean on Me" was performed at the

41st Grammy Awards The 41st Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 24, 1999, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1998. Lauryn Hill received the most nominations with 10, setting a record for the most no ...

References

{{authority control 1998 singles Kirk Franklin songs 1998 songs RCA Records singles

History

Live performances

See also

References