Hero
Studio album by
Kirk Franklin
ReleasedOctober 4, 2005
RecordedJuly 2005
GenreUrban contemporary gospel
Length77:26
LabelB-Rite, GospoCentric, J Records
ProducerKirk Franklin, J Moss
Kirk Franklin chronology
A Season of Remixes
(2003)		 Hero
(2005)		 Songs for the Storm
(2006)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

Hero is the eighth album by Kirk Franklin, released October 4, 2005 on GospoCentric Records.

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, Yolanda Adams, and Moss himself.[4]

Track listing

#TitleTimeNotes
1."Intro (America the Beautiful)"0:45Vocals by the African Children’s Choir
2."Looking for You"4:06Samples "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) 4:59Samples "Shout" by Tears for Fears
6."The Process"1:08
7."Imagine Me"5:182007 Grammy Award for Best Gospel Song
8."Could've Been" (featuring J Moss and Tye Tribbett) 6:47
9."Better"4:00Produced 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"4:36Samples Keep Your Head to the Sky by Earth, Wind, and Fire
14."Why" (featuring Stevie Wonder) 4:36Samples 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"4:59Samples "You Bring The Sun Out" by Randy Crawford
20."Outro"1:11Kerrion Franklin

Personnel

*Note: Personnel listing from Hero album liner.[4]

Vocalists

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

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]

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

  1. ↑ Allmusic review
  2. ↑ RIAA official website
  3. ↑ "49th Annual Grammy Award Winners".
  4. 1 2 "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)
  5. ↑ Hero at AllMusic
  6. 1 2 3 "Billboard.com - Artist Chart History - Kirk Franklin". Retrieved 2008-01-14.
  7. ↑ "Kirk Franklin Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Kirk Franklin Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2006". Billboard. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2006". Billboard. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  11. ↑ 37th Annual GMA Dove Awards Nominations & Winners Archived 2011-07-07 at the Wayback Machine on About.com; Jones, Kim
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