Hero (Kirk Franklin album)
Hero is the eighth album by Kirk Franklin, released October 4, 2005 on GospoCentric Records.
| Hero | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| 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 | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating | 
| Allmusic | |
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
    
| # | 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.[4]
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 – 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.
{{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.
 - 37th Annual GMA Dove Awards Nominations & Winners Archived 2011-07-07 at the Wayback Machine on About.com; Jones, Kim
 
