| Hero | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Kirk Franklin | ||||
| Released | October 4, 2005 | |||
| Recorded | July 2005 | |||
| Genre | Urban contemporary gospel | |||
| Length | 77:26 | |||
| Label | B-Rite, GospoCentric, J Records | |||
| Producer | Kirk Franklin, J Moss | |||
| Kirk Franklin chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
Hero is the eighth album by Kirk Franklin, released October 4, 2005 on GospoCentric Records.
Hero was certified as Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on December 2, 2005 (2005-12-02) and Platinum on December 14, 2006 (2006-12-14). it is one of the best-selling gospel albums of all time.
In 2007 Hero won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album and "Imagine Me" won the Grammy Award for Best Gospel Song.
Synopsis
Produced by Franklin and J. Moss, the album features songs with several urban contemporary gospel and R&B artists including Dorinda Clark-Cole, Tye Tribbett, Marvin Winans (member of the Winans), Stevie Wonder, Yolanda Adams, and Moss himself.
Track listing
| # | Title | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Intro (America the Beautiful)" | 0:45 | Vocals by the African Children’s Choir |
| 2. | "Looking for You" | 4:06 | Samples "Haven't You Heard" by Patrice Rushen and appears on the soundtrack to "Norbit". |
| 3. | "Hero" (featuring Dorinda Clark Cole) | 5:20 | |
| 4. | "Interlude #1" (featuring Fred Hammond) | 0:55 | |
| 5. | "Let It Go" (featuring Sonny Sandoval of P.O.D. and tobyMac) | 4:59 | Samples "Shout" by Tears for Fears |
| 6. | "The Process" | 1:08 | |
| 7. | "Imagine Me" | 5:18 | 2007 Grammy Award for Best Gospel Song |
| 8. | "Could've Been" (featuring J Moss and Tye Tribbett) | 6:47 | |
| 9. | "Better" | 4:00 | Produced By Dre & Vidal |
| 10. | "Afterwhile" (featuring Yolanda Adams) | 2:51 | |
| 11. | "Brokenhearted" (featuring Marvin L. Winans) | 6:01 | |
| 12. | "Without You" | 5:02 | |
| 13. | "Keep Your Head" | 4:36 | Samples Keep Your Head to the Sky by Earth, Wind, and Fire |
| 14. | "Why" (featuring Stevie Wonder) | 4:36 | Samples Free by Deniece Williams |
| 15. | "First Love" | 5:52 | |
| 16. | "The Appeal" | 7:21 | |
| 17. | "Brokenhearted (Reprise)" | 1:09 | |
| 18. | "Interlude #2" | 0:30 | |
| 19. | "Sunshine" | 4:59 | Samples "You Bring The Sun Out" by Randy Crawford |
| 20. | "Outro" | 1:11 | Kerrion Franklin |
Personnel
*Note: Personnel listing from Hero album liner.
Vocalists
- Ashley Guilbert
- Nikki Ross
- Daphanie Wright
- Anaysha Figueroa
- Faith Anderson
- Erica Davis
- Jana Bell
- Charmaine Swimpson
- Isaac Carree
- Eric Moore
- Jason Champion
- Anthony Evans
- Myron Butler
Instrumentalists
- Kirk Franklin - Keyboards, Minimoog, Piano, Drum Programming
- Terry Baker - Drums
- Shaun Martin - Keyboards, Drum Programming, Minimoog, Programming, Drums
- Jerome Harmon - Keyboards, Hammond B3
- Braylon Lacy - Bass Guitar
- Doc Powell - Lead Guitar, Acoustic Guitar
- Ernie G - DJ, Keyboards, Programming
- Jason Bell - Lead Guitar
- Sheila E. - Percussion, Percussion Color
- Chris Godbey - Programming
- Vidal Davis - Percussion, Additional Instruments
- Andre Harris - Percussion, Additional Instruments
- Ryan Toby - Percussion
- Jason Boyd - Percussion
- Humberto Ruiz - Trombone
- Lee Thornburg - Trumpet
- Paul Cerra - Saxophone
- Dave Monsch - Baritone Sax
- Jamie Hovorka - Trumpet
Orchestra
- Assa Drori – Violin
- Agnes Gottschewsky – Violin
- Armen Garabedian – Violin
- Elizabeth Wilson – Violin
- Sally Berman – Violin
- Brian Benning – Violin
- Irma Neumann – Violin
- Berj Garabedian – Violin
- Robert Brosseau – Violin
- Shari Zippert – Violin
- Kazi Pitelka – Viola
- Jorge Moraga – Viola
- Renita Koven – Viola
- Karie Prescott – Viola
- Cecilia Tsan – Cello
- Dan Smith – Cello
- Miguel Martinez – Cello
- Earl Madison – Cello
- Frances Liu – Contrabass
- Nicholas Phillippon – Contrabass
- Katie Kirkpatrick – Harp
- Gary Foster – Flute
- Sheridan Stokes – Flute
- Vince Trombetta, Jr. – Flute
- Larry Caplan – Flute
- Don Shelton – Clarinet
- Jeff Driskill – Alto Clarinet
- Phil Feather – Bass Clarinet/Oboe
- John Mitchell – E♭ Contrabass Clarinet/Bassoon
- David Duke – French horn
- John Reynolds – French horn
- Loren Marstellar – Baritone horn
- Chuck Koontz – Tuba
- Brent Fischer – cymbals/Timpani
Notable Singles
Hero featured the singles "Looking for You" and "Imagine Me". "Looking for You" was released as a single on September 20, 2005 in the U.S. and was a top-five hit on the Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
Charts
Hero peaked at No. 13 on The Billboard 200 chart on October 22, 2005 (2005-10-22), It also reached No. 4 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
|
Awards
In 2006, the album won a Dove Award for Urban Album of the Year at the 37th GMA Dove Awards. The song "Looking for You" also won a Dove Award for Urban Recorded Song of the Year.
References
- Allmusic review
- "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
- "49th Annual Grammy Award Winners".
- ^ "Looking for You". Hero (CD liner). Kirk Franklin. Inglewood, CA: GospoCentric Records. 2005. p. 1.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - Hero at AllMusic
- ^ "Billboard.com - Artist Chart History - Kirk Franklin". Retrieved 2008-01-14.
- "Kirk Franklin Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
- "Kirk Franklin Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
- "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2006". Billboard. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
- "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2006". Billboard. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
- "Best of the 2000s: Gospel Albums". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 6, 2010. Retrieved February 11, 2024 – via Wayback Machine.
- 37th Annual GMA Dove Awards Nominations & Winners Archived 2011-07-07 at the Wayback Machine on About.com; Jones, Kim