"Lean on Me"
side-A label by Eric Records
Side A of the 1985 US Eric Records reissue
Single by Bill Withers
from the album Still Bill
B-side"Better Off Dead"
ReleasedApril 21, 1972 (1972-04-21)
Recorded1972
Genre
Length
  • 4:17 (album version)
  • 3:45 (single version)
LabelSussex
Songwriter(s)Bill Withers
Producer(s)Bill Withers
Bill Withers singles chronology
"Grandma's Hands"
(1971) 		"Lean on Me"
(1972) 		"Use Me"
(1972)
Audio
"Lean on Me" on YouTube

"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]

Background and writing

Bill Withers' childhood in the coal mining town of Slab Fork, West Virginia,[7] 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 had lived in a decrepit house in the poor section of his 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.'"[8]

Withers stated in the same interview that he made an effort to keep the lyrics simple.[8]

Several members of the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band[9] were used for the recording session in 1972. A string section was also included.

Personnel

Track listings

7-inch single

  1. "Lean on Me" – 3:45
  2. "Better Off Dead" – 2:13

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[16] Platinum 70,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[17] Platinum 600,000‡
United States (RIAA)[19] Gold 2,000,000[18]

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Club Nouveau version

"Lean on Me"
Single by Club Nouveau
from the album Life, Love & Pain
B-side"Pump it Up (Reprise)"
ReleasedMarch 20, 1987
Recorded1986
Genre
Length
  • 6:01 (LP version)
  • 3:58 (radio edit)
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)Bill Withers
Producer(s)Jay King
Club Nouveau singles chronology
"Situation #9"
(1986) 		"Lean on Me"
(1987) 		"Why You Treat Me So Bad"
(1987)
Music video
"Lean on Me" on YouTube

The R&B group Club Nouveau covered the song with go-go beat and took it to number one, for two weeks, on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in March 1987.[21] It also reached number one on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart,[21] and number two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, kept out of the top spot by Jody Watley's "Looking for a New Love". It won a Grammy Award in 1987 for Bill Withers, as the writer, for Best R&B Song.[22]

The song ranked at number 94 in VH1's 100 Greatest One-hit Wonders of the 80s.[23]

Track listings

7-inch single

  1. "Lean on Me" – 3:58
  2. "Pump It Up (Lean on Me)" (reprise) – 2:38

12-inch single

  1. "Lean on Me" (remix)" – 7:42
  2. "Lean on Me" (LP version) – 5:56
  3. "Pump It Up (Lean on Me)" (remix) – 4:51
  4. "Pump It Up (Lean on Me)" (reprise – LP version) – 2:38

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for Club Nouveau's cover
Chart (1987) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report) [24] 5
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[25] 22
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[26] 12
Canada Top Singles (RPM) 1
Ireland (IRMA) 5
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[27] 5
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[28] 4
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[29] 1
South Africa (Springbok) [30] 2
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[31] 7
UK Singles (OCC) 3
US Billboard Hot 100[32] 1
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[33] 31
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[34] 1
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[35] 2
West Germany (Official German Charts)[36] 9

Year-end charts

1987 year-end chart performance for Club Nouveau's cover
Chart (1987) Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[37] 27
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[38] 4
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[39] 55
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[40] 7
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[41] 18
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[42] 3
UK Singles (OCC)[43] 41
US Billboard Hot 100[44] 29
US Crossover Singles (Billboard)[45] 6
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[46] 39
West Germany (Official German Charts)[47] 61

Certifications

Certifications and sales for Club Nouveau's cover
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[48] Platinum 1,000,000^
United States (RIAA)[49] Gold 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

2-4 Family version

"Lean on Me (With the Family)"
Single by 2-4 Family
from the album Family Business
ReleasedJanuary 30, 1999 (1999-01-30)
Recorded1998
GenreHip hop
Length3:38 (radio version)
LabelEpic
Songwriter(s)Bill Withers
Producer(s)Alex Trime, Sven "Delgado" Jordan
2-4 Family singles chronology
"Stay"
(1998) 		"Lean on Me (With the Family)"
(1999) 		"Take Me Home"
(1999)

In 1999, 2-4 Family released "Lean on Me (With the Family)", a remake with a hip hop arrangement and additional lyrics. Epic Records published a 12-inch single and a CD maxi single in Germany.

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 Contest in Bulgaria.

Track listings

12-inch single

  1. "Lean on Me (With the Family)" (Special radio version) – 3:58
  2. "Lean on Me (With the Family)" (DSP mix) – 4:04
  3. "9 Lives" (Album Version) – 4:06
  4. "Stay" (Special Radio Version) – 4:12
  5. "Lean on Me (With the Family)" (Lounge mix) – 6:38
  6. "Stay" (Jay's D-Style Mix) – 4:15

CD maxi single

  1. "Lean on Me (With the Family)" (Radio version) – 3:38
  2. "Lean on Me (With the Family)" (DSP mix) – 4:04
  3. "Lean on Me (With the Family)" (Lounge mix) – 6:38
  4. "Lean on Me (With the Family)" (Special radio version) – 3:58
  5. "Stay" (Jay's D-Style mix) – 4:15
  6. "9 Lives" (Album version) – 4:06

Charts

Chart (1999) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[50] 6
Germany (Official German Charts)[51] 9
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[52] 7

Year-end charts

Chart (1999) Position
Germany (Official German Charts) [53] 82

In popular culture

Notable cover versions

References

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  2. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 633.
  3. ^ Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1972
  4. ^ "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 25, 2008. Retrieved November 22, 2007.
  5. ^ "Cover Me: Same Songs to Hit No. 1 By Two Different Artists". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 28, 2012.
  6. ^ https://www.grammy.com/awards/hall-of-fame-award#l
  7. ^ "Lean on Me: Bill Withers : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 1, 2007. Retrieved May 22, 2007.
  8. ^ a b "Songfacts Interview with Bill Withers". Songfacts.com. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  9. ^ Thompson, Dave (2001). "Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band." Funk. San Francisco: Backbeat Books. pp. 203-206.
  10. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 342. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
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External links

Bill Withers
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