''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 music, contemporary Christian and mainstream charts. His biggest success in mainstream music was in 1991 when "Place in This Worl ...

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 database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

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

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'', 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 A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', 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 database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, 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. It is owned by Cox Enterprises, Inc., a privately held global conglomerate headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, with approximately 55,000 employee ...

'' 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, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

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'', April 18, 1996"Michael W. Smith among Grammy winners in gospel categories", ''

Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation in 2022 of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885, by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ' ...

'', 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, and Jars of Clay.Evans Price, Deborah (1998)
Christian Duo Wilshire Finds a Label Home in Smith's Rocketown
, ''

'', 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'', 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 (8-10, 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 ...

– keyboards (1, 2), drum programming (2),

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

(5, 10, 12, 13), synthesizer programming (14) * Dennis Patton – programming (2, 4, 7) * Dann Huff – guitars (1-3, 5-7, 11-13) * Bruce Gaitsch – acoustic guitar (5) * Paul Franklin –

steel guitar A steel guitar () is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conventional guitar i ...

(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 Session musician, studio musician and pro ...

– bass (1, 3, 5-7, 11-13) *

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

– bass (10, 14) * Steve Brewster – drums (1, 3, 5, 6, 12, 13) * Chris McHugh – drums (2) * Marc Moreau – drum programming (6) *

Vinnie Colaiuta Vincent Peter Colaiuta (born February 5, 1956) is an American drummer known for his technical mastery 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 Drumme ...

– drums (7) * Brian MacLeod – drums (10, 11), additional programming (11) * Luis Conte – percussion (1, 3, 5-7, 10-13) * Jeremy Lubbock – orchestra arrangements and conductor (8-10) * Brent Bourgeois – backing vocals (1, 4, 6) * Tim Erwin – backing vocals (1) * Molly Felder – backing vocals (1) * Chris Rodriguez – backing vocals (1, 12) *

Susan Ashton Susan Ashton (born Susan Rae Hill; July 17, 1967) is an American contemporary Christian music and country music artist who topped the Christian charts throughout the 1990s. In 1991 she began using her mother's maiden name, Ashton, when she reco ...

– 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 – 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

* Michael Blanton – executive producer * Michael W. Smith – executive producer * Patrick Leonard – 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 *

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

– mastering at The Mastering Lab (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