Lead Me On (Amy Grant album)

Lead Me On
Lead Me On
Studio album by Amy Grant
Released	June 28, 1988
Recorded	1987–88
Studio	The Bennett House (Franklin, Tennessee); The Castle (Franklin, Tennessee); Digital Recorders (Nashville, Tennessee); Buchanan House (Vancouver); Riverstone Farm (Riverstone, Texas); A&M (Hollywood, California); Emerald Sound, Nashville; Lion Share (Hollywood, California);
Genre	Contemporary Christian music
Length	59:35
Label	Myrrh, A&M
Producer	Brown Bannister
Amy Grant chronology
Alternative cover
	20th Anniversary Edition cover
Singles from Lead Me On
	"Saved by Love"; Released: 1988; "Lead Me On"; Released: 1988; "1974 (We Were Young)"; Released: 1988; "What About the Love"; Released: 1988; "Say Once More"; Released: 1988; "Faithless Heart"; Released: 1988;

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]

Lead Me On is the eighth studio album by Christian music singer-songwriter Amy Grant, released in 1988 through A&M Recordings.

Lead Me On was a departure from its predecessor, the high-energy pop album Unguarded. Unlike Unguarded or 1991's Heart in Motion, Lead Me On was not as mainstream compatible. Only three of its songs earned mainstream airplay, all of them insignificantly (the title song charted for two weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching No. 96, and "Saved by Love" and "1974 (We Were Young)" made the Adult Contemporary chart in minor positions). Christian music circles, however, praised the album. It would later be named the No. 1 Christian album in CCM Magazine's 2001 book The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music.^[2] The title song was featured in WOW #1s: 31 of the Greatest Christian Music Hits Ever.

Anniversary release

EMI / Sparrow Records released a double-disc 20th Anniversary Edition of the album on June 24, 2008. The first disc contains EMI's digitally remastered version of the complete original album. The second disc contains new acoustic recordings of songs from the original album, which Grant has described as "songwriter versions" that are stripped down to emphasize the lyrics. Several of these tracks feature special guests. Additionally, the 20th Anniversary Edition includes previously unreleased live recordings from the large-scale Lead Me On Tour and a short interview with Amy Grant about the original album. The discs are packaged with a previously unseen booklet of pictures and liner notes from Grant.^[3] The iTunes release includes the music video for "Lead Me On".

In support of the 20th Anniversary Edition, Grant recreated the original Lead Me On tour in 20 cities, starting in October 2008. Most of the original tour's band reunited for the anniversary tour. The reissue and anniversary tour were also supported by TV specials, radio specials, and promotional appearances.^[3]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"1974 (We Were Young)"	Amy Grant, Gary Chapman, Jerry McPherson	4:22
2.	"Lead Me On"	Grant, Wayne Kirkpatrick, Michael W. Smith	5:35
3.	"Shadows"	Grant, Karen Peris, Don Peris	5:24
4.	"Saved by Love"	Grant, Justin Peters, Chris Smith	4:38
5.	"Faithless Heart"	Grant, Michael W. Smith	5:10
6.	"What About the Love"	Rhonda Fleming, Janis Ian	5:23
7.	"If These Walls Could Speak"	Jimmy Webb	5:42
8.	"All Right"	Grant, Dann Huff, Phil Naish	4:23
9.	"Wait for the Healing*"	Grant, Chapman, Kirkpatrick, McPherson	5:36
10.	"Sure Enough"	Mike Brignardello, Shane Keister, Kirkpatrick	4:00
11.	"If You Have To Go Away*"	Grant, McPherson	4:01
12.	"Say Once More**"	Grant, Gardner Cole	4:54

*20th Anniversary Edition* bonus disc^[4]
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Lead Me On"	4:40
2.	"Introduction to Faithless Heart (Amy and Michael W. Smith)"	0:33
3.	"Faithless Heart (Acoustic)"	3:51
4.	"Say Once More (Acoustic)"	3:49
5.	"Wait for the Healing (Live)"	6:01
6.	"Shadows (Live)"	5:26
7.	"All Right (Live)"	5:22
8.	"Piano Intro (Michael W. Smith)"	1:51
9.	"Lead Me On (Live)"	6:27
10.	"Quite a Change (Interview)"	1:41
11.	"The Great Balancing Act (Interview)"	1:46
12.	"Seasons (Interview)"	1:19
13.	"Wait for the Healing (Interview)"	1:01
14.	"Looking Back (Interview)"	0:44

* Bonus Track on CD version
** This song is different from the one with the same name on Grant's 1980 Never Alone release.

The release was promoted in the US by the record company (Myrrh/Word Incorporated, Waco Texas) by issue of a unique promotional CD. The gold picture CD was hand numbered and autographed by Amy herself and was limited to 4150 copies (catalogue number 9016656472).

Personnel

Amy Grant – lead vocals, backing vocals (1, 4, 5)
Robbie Buchanan – keyboards (1, 3, 6, 9–11), acoustic piano (4)
Alan Pasqua – keyboards (1–3, 6, 9, 11, 12)
Michael W. Smith – keyboards (2)
Benmont Tench – Hammond B3 organ (2, 4, 8, 12)
Shane Keister – keyboards (3, 8–10), Hammond B3 organ (5), acoustic piano (7)
Carl Marsh – keyboards (6), arco bass (7)
Brett Perry – Synclavier (12)
Keith Thomas – Synclavier (12), keyboards (12)
Jerry McPherson – electric guitar (1), zither (1), guitars (2–4, 6, 8–11)
Dann Huff – 12-string guitar (1, 11), guitars (2–6, 8–10, 12), guitar solo (3, 8, 10)
Gary Chapman – acoustic guitar (4, 6), backing vocals (8)
Mark O'Connor – mandolin (4), viola (7), violin (9)
Mike Brignardello – bass (1–6, 8–11)
Jimmie Lee Sloas – bass (12)
Paul Leim – drums (1, 2, 4–6, 8, 10, 11)
Keith Edwards – drums (3, 9)
Lenny Castro – percussion (1, 3, 6, 10, 12), tambourine (11)
John Darnall – string arrangements (7)
Bill Champlin – backing vocals (2, 8)
Tommy Funderburk – backing vocals (2)
Chris Harris – backing vocals (3, 8–10)
Wayne Kirkpatrick – backing vocals (3, 8–10, 12)
Chris Rodriguez – backing vocals (3, 8–10), guitars (10)
Diana DeWitt – backing vocals (3, 10, 11)
Mary Ann Kennedy – backing vocals (5, 6)
Pam Rose – backing vocals (5, 6)
Chris Eaton – backing vocals (8, 10)
Donna McElroy – backing vocals (8)
Dave Perkins – backing vocals (8)
Randy Stonehill – backing vocals (8)
Russ Taff – backing vocals (8)
Carmen Twillie – backing vocals (8)

Production

Brown Bannister – producer
David Anderle – executive producer
Michael Blanton – executive producer
Gary Chapman – executive producer
Fran Kirkpatrick – production coordination
Kimberly Smith – production coordination
Jeff Balding – engineer, mixing (5, 7)
Claude Achille – assistant engineer
Jeff Coppage – assistant engineer
Ron Jacobs – assistant engineer
Laura Livingston – assistant engineer
Mark McKenna – assistant engineer
Paula Montondo – assistant engineer
Mark Nevers – assistant engineer
Keith Odell – assistant engineer
Brian Scheuble – assistant engineer
Bob Vogt – assistant engineer
Bill Whittington – assistant engineer
Randall J. Wine – assistant engineer
Marc DeSisto – mixing (1, 3, 4, 6, 8–11)
Shelly Yakus – mixing (1–4, 6, 8, 10)
Johnny Potoker – mixing (5)
Steve McMillan – mixing (12)
Bob Ludwig – mastering at Masterdisk (New York City, New York)
Richard Frankel – art direction
Melanie Nissen – design
Eika Aoshima – photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart performance for *Lead Me On*
Chart (1988)	Peak position
US Billboard 200^[5]	71
US Christian Albums (Billboard)^[6]	1

End of year charts

Year	Chart	Position
1988	US Billboard Top Contemporary Christian^[7]^[8]^[9]	9
1989		1
1990		19

End-of-decade charts

Chart (1980–1989)	Rank
US Billboard Top Contemporary Christian^[10]	7

Certifications and sales


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)^[11]	Gold	50,000^{^}
United States (RIAA)^[12]	Gold	500,000^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Accolades

Grammy Awards

Year	Winner	Category
1989	Lead Me On	Best Gospel Performance, Female

GMA Dove Awards

Year	Winner	Category
1989	Lead Me On	Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year
1989	"Lead Me On"	Short Form Music Video of the Year

References

^ ^a ^b Lead Me On at AllMusic
^ Granger, Thom, ed. (2001). The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music. Harvest House. pp. 13–15. ISBN 0-7369-0281-3.
^ ^a ^b June08_cover_Prf3 Archived September 30, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
^ Amazon.com: Lead Me On (20th Anniversary Edition) (2 CDs): Amy Grant: Music
^ "Amy Grant Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
^ "Amy Grant Chart History (Christian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
^ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/80s/1988/BB-1988-12-24.pdf. Retrieved September 15, 2017. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
^ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/80s/1989/BB-1989-12-23.pdf. Retrieved September 15, 2017. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
^ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/90s/1990/Billboard-1990-12-22.pdf. Retrieved September 15, 2017. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
^ "Top Christian Albums – 1980's". Retrieved February 27, 2014.
^ "Canadian album certifications – Amy Grant – lead Me On". Music Canada. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
^ "American album certifications – Amy Grant – lead Me On". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 29, 2019.

[am-1] Lead Me On at AllMusic

[2] Granger, Thom, ed. (2001). The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music. Harvest House. pp. 13–15. ISBN 0-7369-0281-3.

[autogenerated1-3] June08_cover_Prf3 Archived September 30, 2011, at the Wayback Machine

[4] Amazon.com: Lead Me On (20th Anniversary Edition) (2 CDs): Amy Grant: Music

[ac_Billboard200_Amy_Grant-5] "Amy Grant Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 2, 2020.

[ac_BillboardChristian_Amy_Grant-6] "Amy Grant Chart History (Christian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 2, 2020.

[7] ttp://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/80s/1988/BB-1988-12-24.pdf. Retrieved September 15, 2017. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

[8] ttp://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/80s/1989/BB-1989-12-23.pdf. Retrieved September 15, 2017. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

[9] ttp://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/90s/1990/Billboard-1990-12-22.pdf. Retrieved September 15, 2017. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

[decade-10] "Top Christian Albums – 1980's". Retrieved February 27, 2014.

[CanadaAmy_Grantlead_Me_OnalbumCertRef-11] "Canadian album certifications – Amy Grant – lead Me On". Music Canada. Retrieved June 29, 2019.

[United_StatesAmy_Grantlead_Me_OnalbumCertRef-12] "American album certifications – Amy Grant – lead Me On". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 29, 2019.

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v t e Amy Grant
Discography Awards and nominations
Studio albums	Amy Grant My Father's Eyes Never Alone Age to Age Straight Ahead Unguarded Lead Me On Heart in Motion House of Love Behind the Eyes Legacy... Hymns and Faith Simple Things Rock of Ages... Hymns and Faith Somewhere Down the Road How Mercy Looks from Here
Christmas albums	A Christmas Album The Animals' Christmas (with Art Garfunkel) Home for Christmas A Christmas to Remember Tennessee Christmas
Compilation albums	The Collection Her Greatest Inspirational Songs Greatest Hits 1986–2004 Greatest Hits The Christmas Collection In Motion: The Remixes Be Still and Know... Hymns & Faith
Live albums	In Concert In Concert Volume Two Time Again... Amy Grant Live
Singles/EPs	"El Shaddai" Ageless Medley (EP) "Angels" "Find a Way" "Everywhere I Go" "Wise Up" "Stay for Awhile" "The Next Time I Fall" "Saved by Love" "Lead Me On" "1974 (We Were Young)" "What About the Love" "Say Once More" "Faithless Heart" "Baby Baby" "Hope Set High" "Every Heartbeat" "That's What Love Is For" "Good for Me" "I Will Remember You" "Grown-Up Christmas List" "Let the Season Take Wing" "Lucky One" "House of Love" "Say You'll Be Mine" "Big Yellow Taxi" "Oh How the Years Go By" "Takes a Little Time" "She Colors My Day" "Better Than a Hallelujah"
Television	Three Wishes
Related articles	Vince Gill Gary Chapman