''I'll Lead You Home'' is a 1995 album by

Michael W. Smith Michael Whitaker Smith (born October 7, 1957) is an American musician who has charted in both contemporary Christian and mainstream charts. His biggest success in mainstream music was in 1991 when " Place in This World" hit No. 6 on the '' ...

released by Reunion Records.

Sales and charts

The album entered the ''Billboard'' 200 at number 16, making it the highest-debuting Christian album in the history of the chart.Erlewine, Stephen Thomas
''I'll Lead You Home'' Review
,

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

. Retrieved November 2, 2013Hardy, Lawrence (1995) "Box Office", ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...

'', September 5, 1995, p. 1D It also topped the 'Top Contemporary Christian' chart. Released in August 1995, by December of that year it had sold over 51,500 copies in the Christian Bookstore market alone.Evans Price, Deborah (1995)
Higher Ground: From SoundScan to Christian Label Acquisitions, it was a Notable Year
, '' Billboard'', December 23, 1995, p. 55. Retrieved November 2, 2013

Reception

The album received a four and a half out of five star review from

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

, with Stephen Thomas Erlewine commenting on the "gospel songs with glistening, immaculate pop production". James Lloyd, reviewing the album for the ''

Dayton Daily News The ''Dayton Daily News'' (''DDN'') is a daily newspaper published in Dayton, Ohio, United States. It is owned by Cox Enterprises, Inc., a privately held global conglomerate headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, with approximately ...

'' considered it "his best work to date".Lloyd, James (1995) "Recordings on Review: Michael W. Smith ''I'll Lead You Home''", ''

'', September 1, 1995, p. 17 The album won the 1996

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

in the 'Best Pop-Contemporary Gospel Album' category, giving Smith his second Grammy win."God Gets Credit for Guiding Top Artist", ''

Worcester Telegram and Gazette The ''Telegram & Gazette'' (and ''Sunday Telegram'') is the only daily newspaper of Worcester, Massachusetts. The paper, headquartered at 100 Front Street and known locally as ''the Telegram'' or the ''T & G'', offers coverage of all of Worceste ...

'', April 18, 1996"Michael W. Smith among Grammy winners in gospel categories", '' Dallas Morning News'', March 2, 1996

Tour

Smith toured in support of the album in 1996."Opening Acts, Smith Perfectly Paired", ''

The Pantagraph ''The Pantagraph'' is a daily newspaper that serves Bloomington–Normal, Illinois, along with 60 communities and eight counties in the Central Illinois area. Its headquarters are in Bloomington and it is owned by Lee Enterprises. The name is ...

'', February 24, 1996 Support came from Lori and Micah Wilshire (who he subsequently signed to his Rocketown Records label),

Three Crosses Three Crosses ( lt, Trys kryžiai, pl, Góra Trzykrzyska) is a prominent monument in Vilnius, Lithuania, on the Hill of Three Crosses, originally known as the Bald Hill ( lt, Plikasis kalnas), in Kalnai Park. According to a legend, which find ...

, and Jars of Clay.Evans Price, Deborah (1998)
Christian Duo Wilshire Finds a Label Home in Smith's Rocketown
, '' Billboard'', January 31, 1998, p. 16Powell, Mark Allen (2002) ''Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music'', Hendrickson Publishers, , p. 1044Jensen, Katherine (1996) "Michael W. Smith gives a great concert in Ames", ''

Cedar Rapids Gazette ''The Gazette'' is a daily print newspaper and online news source published in the American city of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The first paper was published as an evening journal, branded the ''Evening Gazette'', on Wednesday, January 10, 1883. The new ...

'', March 7, 1996, p. 6 Micah Wilshire had contributed backing vocals to the album.

Track listing

Personnel

Musicians * Michael W. Smith – vocals, keyboards (1–7, 11–14), programming (4, 11), acoustic piano (8, 9, 10, 13) *

Patrick Leonard Patrick Ray Leonard (born March 14, 1956) is an American songwriter, keyboardist, film composer, and music producer, best known for his longtime collaboration with Madonna. His work with Madonna includes her albums '' True Blue'' (1986), ''Who's ...

– keyboards (1, 2), drum programming (2), organ (5, 10, 12, 13), synthesizer programming (14) * Dennis Patton – programming (2, 4, 7) *

Dann Huff Dann Lee Huff (born November 15, 1960) is an American record producer and songwriter. For his work as a producer in the country music genre, he has won several awards, including the ''Musician of the Year'' award in 2001, 2004, and 2016 at the Co ...

– guitars (1–3, 5–7, 11–13) *

Bruce Gaitsch Bruce R. Gaitsch (; born February 7, 1953) is an American guitarist, composer, and producer. He is best known for working with notable bands and musicians such Chicago, Peter Cetera, Madonna, and Agnetha Fältskog as a session musician and songwri ...

– acoustic guitar (5) * Paul Franklin – steel guitar (5, 11, 14) *

Tommy Sims Tommy Sims is an American bassist, songwriter, record producer and bandleader. Music career From 1987 to 1989 Sims was the bassist for the Christian rock band White Heart, which he left to become a studio musician and producer. During 1992 ...

– bass (1, 3, 5–7, 11–13) *

Leland Sklar Leland Bruce Sklar (born May 28, 1947) is an American bassist and session musician. Sklar rose to prominence as a member of James Taylor's backing band, which coaleced into a group in its own right, The Section. This group of musicians so frequ ...

– bass (10, 14) * Steve Brewster – drums (1, 3, 5, 6, 12, 13) *

Chris McHugh Chris McHugh (born 1964) is an American musician. He began his career as the drummer of Christian rock band White Heart from 1986 to 1989. He also worked in the recording of several of their later albums. Chris McHugh is on the Nashville "A" li ...

– drums (2) * Marc Moreau – drum programming (6) *

Vinnie Colaiuta Vincent Peter Colaiuta (born February 5, 1956) is an American drummer who has worked as a session musician in many genres. He was inducted into the '' Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 1996 and the ''Classic Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 2014. Cola ...

– drums (7) * Brian MacLeod – drums (10, 11), additional programming (11) *

Luis Conte Luis Conte (born 16 November 1954) is a Cuban percussionist best-known for his performances in the bands of artists including James Taylor, Madonna, Pat Metheny Group, Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Phil Collins, Rod Stewart and Shakira. He began ...

– percussion (1, 3, 5–7, 10–13) * Jeremy Lubbock – orchestra arrangements and conductor (8, 9, 10) *

Brent Bourgeois Brent Thomas Bourgeois (born June 16, 1958) is an American rock musician, songwriter, and producer. He was co-leader of the band Bourgeois Tagg with Larry Tagg, and has released several solo albums. His later work has been classified in the gen ...

– backing vocals (1, 4, 6) * Tim Erwin – backing vocals (1) * Molly Felder – backing vocals (1) * Chris Rodriguez – backing vocals (1, 12) * Susan Ashton – harmony vocals (5) * Lisa Cochran – backing vocals (5, 11, 12) * Reneé Garcia-Bliss – backing vocals (5) * Micah Wilshire – backing vocals (5) * Natalie Jackson – backing vocals (6, 10) * Louis Johnson – backing vocals (6, 7, 10) *

Richard Page Richard Lewis Page (born 22 February 1941) is a former Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and from December 1979 to 2005. Early life Born the son of Victor Charles Page, he went to the independent H ...

– backing vocals (6, 7, 10) * Whitney Smith – guest vocal (10) * Gardner Cole – backing vocals (11) * Chris Harris – backing vocals (12) *

Anointed Anointing is the ritual act of pouring aromatic oil over a person's head or entire body. By extension, the term is also applied to related acts of sprinkling, dousing, or smearing a person or object with any perfumed oil, milk, butter, or oth ...

(Nee-C Walls, Steve Crawford, Da'dra Crawford and Mary Tiller) – featured vocals (13) * Bob Bailey – choir (3, 7, 12, 13) * Kim Fleming – choir (3, 7, 12, 13) * Vicki Hampton – choir (3, 7, 12, 13) * Chris Harris – choir (3, 7, 12, 13) * Donna McElroy – vocal coordinator, choir (3, 7, 12, 13) * Michael Mellett – choir (3, 7, 12, 13) * Nicole C. Mullen – choir (3, 7, 12, 13) * Angelo and Veronica Petrucci – choir (3, 7, 12, 13) * Chris Rodriguez – choir (3, 7, 12, 13) * Micah Wilshire – choir (3, 7, 12, 13)

Production

* Patrick Leonard – producer * Michael W. Smith – executive producer * Michael Blanton – executive producer * Don Donahue – A&R * Keith Compton – engineer * Craig Hansen – engineer, mixing (1, 4) * Jerry Jordan – engineer, mixing (11, 14) * Bryan Lenox – engineer * Marc Moreau – engineer * David Thoener – mixing (2, 3, 5–10) * Bill Deaton – mixing (12, 13) * Rob Burrell – second engineer * Dave Dillbeck – second engineer * David Faulkner – second engineer * Mike Janas – second engineer * Patrick Kelly – second engineer * Scott Lenox – second engineer * Al Lay – second engineer * Paula Montondo – second engineer * Greg Parker – second engineer * Dennis Patton – second engineer * Krish Sharma – second engineer * Darren Smith – second engineer * J.T. Thomas – second engineer * Jason Wilder – second engineer * Jeff Wright – second engineer *

Caribou Ranch Caribou Ranch was a recording studio built by producer James William Guercio in 1972 in a converted barn on ranch property in the Rocky Mountains near Nederland, Colorado, on the road that leads to the ghost town of Caribou. The studio was in op ...

(Nederland, Colorado) – recording studio * Johnny Yuma (Burbank, California) – recording studio *

A&M Studios The Jim Henson Company Lot, formerly A&M Studios, is a studio property located just south of the southeast corner of North La Brea Avenue and Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Originally established by film star Charlie Chaplin, the property serv ...

(Los Angeles, California) – recording studio * The Sound Kitchen (Franklin, Tennessee) – recording studio * Deer Valley (Franklin, Tennessee) – recording studio * The Castle (Franklin, Tennessee) – recording studio * Studio at Mole End (Franklin, Tennessee) – recording studio * Masterfonics (Nashville, Tennessee) – recording studio * Sixteenth Avenue Sound (Nashville, Tennessee) – recording studio * Gambit Studio (Gallatin, Tennessee) – recording studio *

Doug Sax Doug Lionel Sax (April 26, 1936 – April 2, 2015) was an American mastering engineer from Los Angeles, California. He mastered three of The Doors' albums, including their 1967 debut; six of Pink Floyd's albums, including ''The Wall''; Ray Charl ...

– mastering at The Mastering Lab (North Hollywood, California) * Pat Dorn – production coordinator * Derek Jones – production coordinator * Sandra Tomes – production coordinator * Rob Birkhead – art direction * Buddy Jackson – design, for Jackson Design * Karrine Caulkins – design, for Jackson Design * Diana Lussenden – creative assistant * Timothy White – cover photography * Ben Pearson – tray card photo, inside photos * Russ Harrington – inside photos

Chart performance

References

{{Authority control Michael W. Smith albums 1995 albums Grammy Award for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album Reunion Records albums