Billy Swan

Biography

William Lance Swan (born May 12, 1942) is an American country singer-songwriter, best known for his 1974 single "I Can Help×I Can Help1974 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1Lover Please2:50A2I Can Help4:00A3I'm Her Fool3:05A4I'd Like to Work for You2:57A5Shake, Rattle and Roll3:04B1Queen of My Heart3:03B2Don't Be Cruel (Slow Version)4:15B3Wedding Bells4:12B4Ways of a Woman in Love3:48B5P.M.S. (Post Mortem Sickness)3:00".

Background

Swan was born in Cape Girardeau, Missouri southeast of St. Louis on the Mississippi River. As a child, he learned drums, piano and guitar, and began writing songs. His first big break was in 1962 when Clyde McPhatter recorded "Lover Please", a song Swan wrote when he was in a local band, Mirt Mirly & the Rhythm Steppers, who had first recorded the song on Bill Black's Louis label. McPhatter's version quickly became a No. 7 pop hit.
Swan moved to Memphis, Tennessee, to work with Black, but that was cut short with Black's illness and later death in 1965. It was rumored that Swan worked as a security guard at Graceland. While he was friends with one of the security guards he never worked at Graceland. He then moved to Nashville which enabled him to write hit country songs for numerous artists including Conway Twitty, Waylon Jennings, and Mel Tillis. In 1969, Swan first took on the role of record producer producing Tony Joe White's Top Ten hit "Polk Salad Annie". Swan also played bass guitar for Kris Kristofferson and then signed a solo recording deal with Monument Records.

Swan moved to Nashville in 1973 and cut his first album, I Can Help×I Can Help1974 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1Lover Please2:50A2I Can Help4:00A3I'm Her Fool3:05A4I'd Like to Work for You2:57A5Shake, Rattle and Roll3:04B1Queen of My Heart3:03B2Don't Be Cruel (Slow Version)4:15B3Wedding Bells4:12B4Ways of a Woman in Love3:48B5P.M.S. (Post Mortem Sickness)3:00 in early 1974, which included the track "Lover Please". The album budget was only $19,000 and a music business professional who was hired by the president of Monument Records, Fred Foster, declared pre-release that there were no hits on the record. However, the single "I Can Help" proved this wrong; it was recorded at Young 'Un Sound in Murfreesboro, Tennessee southeast of Nashville. It was a rockabilly number which topped the Billboard Hot 100 as well as the US and Canadian country charts in 1974, also becoming a hit in many other countries.
Swan wrote the song using an RMI organ which Kristofferson and singer Rita Coolidge had bought for him as a wedding gift. However, the RMI organ wasn't used on the final recording, contrary to popular belief, it was actually a portable Farfisa from Bobby Emmons, a Memphis session musician. Swan recalls, "Chip set up a vocal mic, I stood in front of the organ, and what you hear was captured on the second take." The lyrics were written in under twenty minutes. It was recorded in two takes (without overdubs), and co-produced/engineered by the owner of the recording studio, Chip Young. The label pushed for "The Ways of a Woman in Love" to be the single, but Young insisted the hit was "I Can Help". However, other albums with Monument, A&M, and Epic did not have nearly the success of "I Can Help".
In 1979, Swan traveled to Havana, Cuba to participate in the historic Havana Jam festival from March 2–4 alongside Stephen Stills, the CBS Jazz All-Stars, the Trio of Doom, Fania All-Stars, Weather Report, Bonnie Bramlett, Mike Finnigan, Kris Kristofferson, Rita Coolidge, and Billy Joel plus an array of Cuban artists including Irakere, Pacho Alonso, Tata Güines, and Orquesta Aragón. Swan's performance is captured on Ernesto Juan Castellanos's documentary Havana Jam '79.

Collaboration

Swan continued to tour as a member of Kristofferson's band and recorded with Randy Meisner of The Eagles. In 1986, as part of a band called Black Tie, he along with Meisner, Jimmy Griffin (Bread), David Kemper (drummer), David Miner, and David Mansfield recorded an album called When the Night Falls at a California studio (Bench Records). He recorded another solo album, Like Elvis Used to Do×Like Elvis Used to Do1999 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 23 tracks1Mystery Train3:202Milkcow Blues Boogie3:133My Baby Left Me2:374Mean Woman Blues2:545Blue Moon of Kentucky3:366All Shook Up2:397Heartbreak Hotel3:078Hound Dog4:019Wooden Heart2:2310Teddy Bear Medley (Let Me Be You) Teddy Bear / A Big Hunk O'Love / Wear My Ring Around Your Neck / I Need Your Love Tonight / (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear (reprise)3:0111I Want You, I Need You, I Love You3:2912Viva Las Vegas2:1113Suspicious Minds2:4214Burning Love3:0115Medley: Jailhouse Rock/King Creole3:3816(You're So Square) I Don't Care3:1517Too Much2:2518I Used to Be James Dean2:5219When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again3:1020Love Me Tender3:4521Memphis Rocks2:2122That's All Right (Mama)3:1723Sun Medley: Baby Let's Play House / I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone / You're a Heartbreaker / Baby Let's Play House (reprise)2:43 in 2000 and another Black Tie-style album with Meisner and Charlie Rich Jr. billed as "Meisner, Swan & Rich". As of 2005, Swan is still a backing singer and session musician.

Personal life

Swan was married to his late wife Marlu for 30 years. Marlu died on February 12, 2003, from cancer. They had two daughters, recording artists Planet Swan and Sierra Swan.