Hero (Kirk Franklin album)
Hero is the eighth album by Kirk Franklin, released October 4, 2005 on GospoCentric Records.
| Hero | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 4, 2005 | |||
| Recorded | July 2005 | |||
| Genre | Urban contemporary gospel | |||
| Length | 73:13 | |||
| Label | B-Rite, GospoCentric, J Records | |||
| Producer | Kirk Franklin, J Moss | |||
| Kirk Franklin chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
Hero was certified as Gold by the RIAA on December 2, 2005 and Platinum on December 14, 2006.[2]
In 2007 Hero won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album and "Imagine Me" won the Grammy Award for Best Gospel Song.[3]
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, and Yolanda Adams.[4]
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" (with Dorinda Clark Cole) | 5:20 | |
| 4. | "Interlude #1" (with Fred Hammond) | 0:55 | |
| 5. | "Let It Go" (with 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" (with J Moss and Tye Tribbett) | 6:47 | |
| 9. | "Better" | 4:00 | Produced By Dre & Vidal |
| 10. | "Afterwhile" (with Yolanda Adams) | 2:51 | |
| 11. | "Brokenhearted" (with 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" (with Stevie Wonder) | 4:36 | |
| 15. | "First Love" | 5:52 | |
| 16. | "The Appeal" | 7:21 | |
| 17. | "Brokenhearted (Reprise)" | 1:09 | |
| 18. | "Interlude #2" | 0:30 | |
| 19. | "Sunshine" | 4:59 | |
| 20. | "Outro" | 1:11 | |
Personnel
*Note: Personnel listing from Hero album liner.[4]
Vocalists
- Ashley Guilbert
- Nikki Ross
- Daphanie Wright
- Anashya 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 – Eb 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.[5][6]
Charts
Hero peaked at No. 13 on The Billboard 200 chart on October 22, 2005, [6] It also reached No. 4 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[6]
Weekly charts
|
Year-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.[11]
References
- Allmusic review
- RIAA official website
- "49th Annual Grammy Award Winners".
- "Looking for You". Hero (CD liner). Kirk Franklin. Inglewood, CA: GospoCentric Records. 2005. p. 1.CS1 maint: others (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.
- 37th Annual GMA Dove Awards Nominations & Winners Archived 2011-07-07 at the Wayback Machine on About.com; Jones, Kim