<Table> <Tr> <Td> "Grandma's Hands" (1971) </Td> <Td> "Lean on Me" (1972) </Td> <Td> "Use Me" (1972) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> "Grandma's Hands" (1971) </Td> <Td> "Lean on Me" (1972) </Td> <Td> "Use Me" (1972) </Td> </Tr> <P> "Lean on Me" is a song written and recorded by African American singer - songwriter Bill Withers . It was released in April 1972 as the first single from his second album, Still Bill . It was his first and only number one single on both the soul singles and the Billboard Hot 100 . Billboard ranked it as the No. 7 song of 1972 . It is ranked number 208 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Numerous cover versions have been recorded, and it is one of only nine songs to have reached No. 1 in the US Singles Charts with versions recorded by two different artists . </P> <P> Withers' childhood in the coal mining town of Slab Fork, West Virginia, was the inspiration for "Lean on Me", which he wrote after he had moved to Los Angeles and found himself missing the strong community ethic of his hometown . He lived in a decrepit house in the poor section of town . </P>

When was the song lean on me written