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Lean on Me (song)

"Lean on Me" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Bill Withers. It was released in April 1972 as the first single from his second album, Still Bill. It was a number one single on both the soul and Billboard Hot 100 charts, the latter chart for three weeks in July 1972.[2] Billboard ranked it as the No. 7 song of 1972.[3] It was ranked number 208 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2010.[4] Numerous other versions have been recorded, and it is one of only nine songs to have reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with versions recorded by two different artists.[5] In 2007, the 1972 recording of the song by Bill Withers on Sussex Records was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[6]

This article is about the Bill Withers song. For other uses, see Lean on Me.

"Lean on Me"

"Better Off Dead"

April 21, 1972 (1972-04-21)

1972

  • 4:17 (album version)
  • 3:45 (single version)

Sussex

Bill Withers

Bill Withers

– Piano, vocals

Bill Withers

Benorce Blackmon – Guitar

Raymond Jackson – , string arrangement

Wurlitzer electric piano

– Bass

Melvin Dunlap

– Drums

James Gadson

"Lean on Me"

"Pump it Up (Reprise)"

March 20, 1987

1986

  • 6:01 (LP version)
  • 3:58 (radio edit)

Warner Bros.

Bill Withers

Jay King

January 30, 1999 (1999-01-30)

1998

Hip hop

3:38 (radio version)

Epic

Bill Withers

Alex Trime, Sven "Delgado" Jordan

The song is used in the ending scene of the Season 7 episode of titled "Radioactive Man".[54]

The Simpsons

performed this song at the HBO We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial (January 18, 2009).[55] 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.[56]

Mary J. Blige

On October 3, 2015, , during her presidential campaign, made a cameo appearance on Saturday Night Live in a comedy sketch alongside Kate McKinnon, who regularly parodied Clinton for the show. At the end of the sketch, the duo sang "Lean on Me" together.[57]

Hillary Clinton

In the animated series , the song plays at the climax of the first-season finale "Reunion".

Amphibia

In 1989, remakes of "Lean on Me" by and Sandra Reaves-Phillips provided the emotional uplift for the film Lean on Me. For the same film, the song was adapted by Big Daddy Kane in "hip hop" form.[58]

the Winans

In 2020, the song was recorded by an ad hoc supergroup of Canadian musicians credited as ArtistsCAN, both in tribute to Withers' recent death and to raise funds for the during the COVID-19 pandemic.[59] Participating artists included Bryan Adams, Jann Arden, Justin Bieber, Michael Bublé, Fefe Dobson, Scott Helman, Shawn Hook, Avril Lavigne, Geddy Lee, Marie-Mai, Sarah McLachlan, Johnny Orlando, Josh Ramsay, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Tyler Shaw, Walk Off the Earth, Donovan Woods, and Olivia Lunny.[60]

Canadian Red Cross

In 2023, Japanese-American singer performed the song live at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park during the 49th G7 summit.[61][62] Ai additionally covered "Lean on Me" during a surprise appearance at the G7's youth symposium that took place later the same day.[63] Her cover of "Lean on Me" later was included on her thirteenth studio album, Respect All.[64]

Ai

on YouTube

"Lean On Me" at the 2015 Induction Ceremony