''Hero'' is the eighth album by
Kirk Franklin
Kirk Dewayne Franklin (born January 26, 1970) is an American Gospel music, gospel musician. One of the List of best-selling gospel music artists, best-selling gospel music artists, his accolades include 20 Grammy Awards. ''Variety (magazine), Var ...
, released October 4, 2005 on
GospoCentric Records
GospoCentric Records was an Inglewood, California based Gospel music record label, started as an independent label by Vicki Mack Lataillade and Claude Lataillade in 1993. The label rose to prominence in the 1990s, largely on the runaway success o ...
. ''Hero'' was certified as
Gold
Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on and
Platinum
Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...
on .
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
The Grammy Award for Best Gospel Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the gospel music genre. Honors in seve ...
.
Synopsis
Produced by Franklin and
J. Moss, the album features songs with several
urban contemporary gospel
Urban/contemporary gospel, also known as urban gospel music, urban gospel pop, or just simply urban gospel, is a modern subgenre of gospel music. Although the style developed gradually, early forms are generally dated to the 1970s, and the gen ...
and
R&B artists including
Dorinda Clark-Cole
Dorinda Grace Clark-Cole (born Dorinda Grace Clark; October 19, 1957) is an American Grammy Award-winning gospel singer, songwriter, musician, talk show host, and evangelist. Clark–Cole is best known as a member of family vocal group The Clar ...
,
Tye Tribbett
Thomas Tyrone "Tye" Tribbett (born January 26, 1976) is an American gospel music singer, songwriter and a keyboardist. He is a choir director and founder of the Grammy-nominated and Stellar Award-winning gospel group Tye Tribbett & G.A. (short f ...
, Marvin Winans (member of the
Winans),
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...
,
Yolanda Adams
Yolanda Yvette Adams (born August 27, 1961) is an American gospel singer, actress, and host of her own nationally syndicated morning gospel show. She is one of the best-selling gospel artists of all time, having sold over 10 million albu ...
, and Moss himself.
Track listing
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
Myron Demond Butler (born July 27, 1974) is a gospel musician, record producer, singer-songwriter, music director, vocalist, organist and pianist. Most notably, he is known as the leader of the gospel choir, Myron Butler & Levi. Since 1997, he' ...
Instrumentalists
*Kirk Franklin - Keyboards, Minimoog, Piano, Drum Programming
*Terry Baker - Drums
*
Shaun Martin
Shaun Martin (August 23, 1978 – August 3, 2024) was an American composer, arranger, record producer, and multi-instrumental musician. Martin was a member of the jazz fusion band Snarky Puppy, as well as music director for Gospel music star Kirk ...
- 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
The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
*Agnes Gottschewsky –
Violin
The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
*Armen Garabedian –
Violin
The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
*Elizabeth Wilson –
Violin
The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
*Sally Berman –
Violin
The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
*Brian Benning –
Violin
The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
*Irma Neumann –
Violin
The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
*Berj Garabedian –
Violin
The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
*Robert Brosseau –
Violin
The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
*Shari Zippert –
Violin
The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
*Kazi Pitelka –
Viola
The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...
*Jorge Moraga –
Viola
The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...
*Renita Koven –
Viola
The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...
*Karie Prescott –
Viola
The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...
*Cecilia Tsan –
Cello
The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...
*Dan Smith –
Cello
The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...
*Miguel Martinez –
Cello
The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...
*Earl Madison –
Cello
The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...
*Frances Liu –
Contrabass
Contrabass (from ) refers to several musical instruments of very low pitch—generally one octave below bass register instruments. While the term most commonly refers to the double bass (which is the bass instrument in the orchestral string family ...
*Nicholas Phillippon –
Contrabass
Contrabass (from ) refers to several musical instruments of very low pitch—generally one octave below bass register instruments. While the term most commonly refers to the double bass (which is the bass instrument in the orchestral string family ...
*Katie Kirkpatrick –
Harp
The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...
*
Gary Foster –
Flute
The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...
*Sheridan Stokes –
Flute
The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...
*Vince Trombetta, Jr. –
Flute
The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...
*Larry Caplan –
Flute
The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...
*Don Shelton –
Clarinet
The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell.
Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...
*Jeff Driskill –
Alto Clarinet
The alto clarinet is a woodwind instrument of the clarinet family. It is a transposing instrument pitched in the key of E, though instruments in F have been made. In size it lies between the soprano clarinet and the bass clarinet. It bears a gr ...
*
Phil Feather –
Bass Clarinet
The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common Soprano clarinet, soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B), but it plays no ...
/
Oboe
The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites.
The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...
*John Mitchell –
E♭ Contrabass Clarinet/
Bassoon
The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...
*David Duke –
French horn
The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most o ...
*John Reynolds –
French horn
The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most o ...
*Loren Marstellar –
Baritone horn
The baritone horn, sometimes called baritone, is 3 or 4 valved tenor-voiced brass instrument in the saxhorn family.Robert Donington, "The Instruments of Music", (pp. 113ff ''The Family of Bugles'') 2nd ed., Methuen, London, 1962 It is a pist ...
*Chuck Koontz –
Tuba
The tuba (; ) is the largest and lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece (brass), mouthpiece. It first appeared in th ...
*
Brent Fischer –
cymbal
A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sou ...
s/
Timpani
Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion instrument, percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a Membranophone, membrane called a drumhead, ...
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 ''Billboards
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...
chart.
Charts
''Hero'' peaked at No. 13 on The
''Billboard'' 200 chart on ,
It also reached No. 4 on the ''Billboard''
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip-hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...
chart.
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
Awards
In 2006, the album won a
Dove Award
A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards ceremonies presented annually and have been held in Nashville, Tennessee exce ...
for Urban Album of the Year at the
37th GMA Dove Awards
The 37th Annual GMA Dove Awards, also called the 37th Annual GMA Music Awards, were held on April 5, 2006 recognizing accomplishments of Christian musicians for the year 2005. The show was held at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee, ...
. The song "
Looking for You" also won a Dove Award for Urban Recorded Song of the Year.
37th Annual GMA Dove Awards Nominations & Winners
on About.com; Jones, Kim
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hero - Kirk Franklin
2005 albums
Kirk Franklin albums
Albums produced by Dre & Vidal