Lean on Me (4:17)

“Lean on Me” is a hit song written and performed by Bill Withers on the 1972 album Still Bill. It is ranked number 208 on the Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Bill Withers’ original version of the song has become a popular inspirational anthem and was his first (and only) Billboard Hot 100 number one single to date. Numerous cover versions have been recorded, and it is one of only nine songs to have hit #1 with versions recorded by two different artists.

Withers’ hardscrabble childhood in the coal mining town of Slab Fork, West Virginia 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 lived in a house that was broken down and was on the poor side of town.