Song · Bill Withers
“Lean on Me” by Bill Withers
From the album Still Bill (1972)
“Lean on Me” by Bill Withers appears on 7 radio countdowns from 5 stations between 2014 and 2026. It was first released in 1972 on the album Still Bill. Its best result is #28 on the 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #921 indie & aaa song of all time and #197 of the '70s.
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"Lean on Me" came out in April 1972 on Sussex as the lead single from Still Bill, Bill Withers' second album, and it's about as plain-spoken as friendship songs get. Withers wrote it, sings it and plays the piano, and the band that made it with him also produced it alongside him: Benorce Blackmon on electric guitar, Melvin Dunlap on bass, James Gadson on drums and percussion and Raymond Jackson on Wurlitzer electric piano.
It topped both the soul chart and the Billboard Hot 100, holding the top spot there for three weeks that July, and Billboard later ranked it the No. 7 song of 1972. The Grammy Hall of Fame took in Withers' recording in 2007, and Rolling Stone placed it at No. 208 on its list of the greatest songs in 2010.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 793 | WXPN | WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2014) | 885 |
| 2020 | 122 | WXPN | WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2020 |
| 2022 | 198 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s | 908 |
| 2022 | 209 | KEXP | KEXP Top Songs of the Last 50 Years (1972-2022) | 491 |
| 2023 | 28 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time | 909 |
| 2026 | 678 | WYEP | WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time | 1180 |
| 2026 | 860 | KXT | KXT 917 Song Countdown | 917 |
Also listed as: Lean On Me.
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