Song:I Can Help
Album:Rock This Town: Rockabilly Hits Vol. 2
Billy Swan is a longtime Nashville sideman who had his one big solo hit with I Can Help in 1974. The song seems out of place in the 70s. He was born May 12, 1942 in Cape Girardeau, MO. At age 16, he wrote a song called Lover Please and went to Memphis to record it with Elvis Presley's bass player Bill Black. Black had several instrumental hits in the 60s as Bill Black's Combo. Lover Please was a top ten R & B hit for Clyde McPhatter in 1962. Swan soon moved to Nashville and some of his songs were recorded by others. He began working for Fred Foster's Monument Records and produced the 1969 Tony Joe White classic Polk Salad Annie. Then he went on tour playing bass in Kris Kristofferson's band and eventually he got his own record deal with Monument. I Can Help was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1974. I think the retro sound and Swan's organ appealed to folks. Swan said the organ was a wedding present from Kristofferson. Swan recorded a few albums but could never repeat the success of I Can Help. He returned to touring with Kristofferson and also worked with T-Bone Burnett and had a band with Randy Meisner of Eagles called Black Tie. This Rhino various artists comp has a mix of rockabilly classics from the 50s and rockabilly revival recordings from the 70s & 80s. It puts I Can Help in the proper context. Here's Billy Swan performing I Can Help on The Midnight Special 1974.
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