Lean on Me (song)

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

"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 No. 1 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 No. 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 with a 1987 cover by Club Nouveau also reaching No. 1.^[5] In 2007, the 1972 recording of the song by Bill Withers on Sussex Records was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.^[6]

"Lean on Me"
Side A of the 1985 US Eric Records reissue
Single by Bill Withers
from the album Still Bill
B-side	"Better Off Dead"
Released	April 21, 1972 (1972-04-21)
Recorded	1972
Genre	Soul gospel[1]
Length	4:17 (album version) 3:45 (single version)
Label	Sussex
Songwriter(s)	Bill Withers
Producer(s)	Bill Withers
Bill Withers singles chronology
"Grandma's Hands" (1971) "Lean on Me" (1972) "Use Me" (1972)
Audio video
"Lean on Me" on YouTube

Background and writing

Bill Withers's childhood in the coal mining town of Slab Fork, West Virginia,^[7] was the inspiration for "Lean on Me", which he wrote for his album Still Bill 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

• Bill Withers – Piano, vocals
• Benorce Blackmon – Guitar
• Raymond Jackson – Wurlitzer electric piano, string arrangement
• Melvin Dunlap – Bass
• James Gadson – Drums

Track listings

7-inch single

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

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1972) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[10] 24 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[11] 20 UK Singles (OCC)[12] 18 US Billboard Hot 100[13] 1 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[14] 1 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[15] 4 US Cash Box Top 100[16] 1 Chart (2020) Peak position Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[17] 84

Year-end charts Chart (1972) Rank US Billboard Hot 100[18] 7 US Cash Box[19] 14

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[20]	Platinum	70,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[21]	Platinum	600,000‡
United States (RIAA)[22]	Gold	2,000,000[23]
‡ 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)"
Released	1987
Genre	R&B soul funk go-go[24] new jack swing[24]
Length	6:01 (LP version) 3:58 (radio edit)
Label	Warner 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 on their album Life, Love & Pain and took it to No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100 chart in March 1987.^[25] It also reached No. 1 on the Dance Club Play chart^[25] and No. 2 on the Hot Black Singles chart. It won a Grammy Award in 1987 for Bill Withers, as the writer, for Best R&B Song at the 30th Annual Grammy Awards.^[26] The song ranked at No. 94 in VH1's 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders of the 80s.^[27]

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) [28]	5
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[29]	22
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[30]	12
Canada (The Record)[31]	1
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[32]	1
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[33]	6
Ireland (IRMA)[34]	5
Italy Airplay (Music & Media)[35]	11
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[36]	5
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[37]	4
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[38]	1
South Africa (Springbok Radio)[39]	2
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[40]	7
UK Singles (OCC)[41]	3
US Billboard Hot 100[42]	1
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[43]	31
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[44] Remix	1
US Dance Singles Sales (Billboard)[45] Remix	1
US Hot Black Singles (Billboard)[46]	2
West Germany (GfK)[47]	9

Year-end charts

1987 year-end chart performance for Club Nouveau's cover

Chart (1987)	Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[48]	27
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[49]	4
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[50]	55
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[51]	7
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[52]	18
New Zealand (RIANZ)[53]	3
UK Singles (OCC)[54]	41
US Billboard Hot 100[55]	29
US 12-inch Singles Sales (Billboard)[56]	15
US Crossover Singles (Billboard)[57]	6
US Dance Club Play (Billboard)[56]	36
US Hot Black Singles (Billboard)[58]	39
West Germany (Media Control)[59]	61

Certifications

Certifications and sales for Club Nouveau's cover

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[60]	Silver	250,000^
United States (RIAA)[61]	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
Released	January 30, 1999 (1999-01-30)
Recorded	1998
Genre	Hip hop
Length	3:38 (radio version)
Label	Epic
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)
Audio video
"Lean on Me (With the Family)" on YouTube

In 1999, 2-4 Family released "Lean on Me (With the Family)", a remake with a hip hop arrangement and additional lyrics, from their album Family Business. 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)[62]	6
Germany (GfK)[63]	9
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[64]	7

Year-end charts

Chart (1999)	Position
Germany (Official German Charts) [65]	82

In popular culture

• The song is used in the ending scene of the 1995 season 7 episode of The Simpsons titled "Radioactive Man".^[66]
• Mary J. Blige performed this song on the HBO special We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial (January 18, 2009).^[67] 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 for President Barack Obama.^[68]
• On October 3, 2015, Hillary Clinton, 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.^[69]
• In the animated series Amphibia, the song plays at the climax of the first-season finale "Reunion".
• The German dramedy movie 791 km uses the song in a pivotal moment where all protagonists sing the song together. The end credits features a cover version by Little Swift and Larissa Pesch.

Notable cover versions

In 1989, remakes of "Lean on Me" by the Winans 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.^[70]

In 1976, English glam rock band Mud released their version which was a top 10 hit on both the UK singles chart and Irish singles chart, peaking at No. 7 and No. 6, respectively.^[71][72]

For BBC Children in Need in 2016, 1,580 children in choirs sang the song in unison, live from nine towns across the UK.^[73] The choirs started singing at the same time and on the telethon; starting in the studio it cut between the choirs giving them either one 20 second slot, or two 10 second slots on air before finishing in the studio. The choirs sang from Elstree at Elstree Studios (the studio just outside London where the main telethon was held),^[73] Liverpool at Sefton Park,^[73] Swansea from The Swansea University Bay Campus,^[73] Bridlington at Bridlington Spa,^[73] Dudley at the Black Country Living Museum,^[73] Glasgow at BBC Pacific Quay,^[73] Milton Keynes at Stadium MK,^[73] Salisbury at Salisbury Arts Centre^[73] and Belfast at Titanic.^[73]

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 Canadian Red Cross during the COVID-19 pandemic.^[74] 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.^[75]

In 2023, Japanese-American singer Ai performed the song live at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park during the 49th G7 summit.^[76][77] Ai additionally covered "Lean on Me" during a surprise appearance at the G7's youth symposium that took place later the same day.^[78] Her cover of "Lean on Me" later was included on her thirteenth studio album, Respect All.^[79]