- Billy Swan
Billy Swan (born Billy Lance Swan,
12 May 1942 , Cape Girardeau,Missouri ) is an Americansongwriter andsinger , best known for his 1974 single, "I Can Help ".Swan's role in the
music industry was, originally, largely invisible. His first big break was in 1962 whenClyde McPhatter recorded "Lover Please", asong written by Swan that quickly became a Top Ten hit. Moving to Nashville allowed Swan to write hit country songs for numerous artists, includingConway Twitty ,Waylon Jennings , andMel Tillis .In 1969, Swan first took on the role of
record producer , publishingTony Joe White 's Top Ten hit "Polk Salad Annie ". Swan playedbass guitar forKris Kristofferson , and signed a deal withMonument Records .Swan's first
album included the popular song "I Can Help", arockabilly number that topped both theBillboard Hot 100 and country charts in 1974. Swan recorded the song in two takes (withoutoverdub s) with an organ that Kristofferson and singerRita Coolidge had bought for him as a wedding gift.However, other albums with Monument, A&M, and Epic did not have nearly the success of his first.In 1980 he walked into a Californian studio (Bench Records) as part of a band called Black Tie and along with Randy Meisner (Ricky Nelson's Stone Canyon Band and then The Eagles); Jimmy Griffin (Bread);
David Kemper (drummer); David Miner and David Mansfield to record an album called "When the Night Falls".Swan continued to tour with Kristofferson, and has recorded two albums with
Randy Meisner .As of 2005 , Swan was still a back-up andsession musician .Swan was married to his late wife Marlu for 30 years. They had two daughters, recording artists Planet Swan &
Sierra Swan .External links
* [http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/interview_billy_swan.shtml Interview with Billy Swan]
* [http://music.yahoo.com/ar-265658-bio--Billy-Swan Yahoo! Music biography]
* [http://www.rockabillyhall.com/SwanBilly1.html Billy Swan at Rockabilly]
* [http://www.discogs.com/artist/Billy+Swan Billy Swan at Discogs]Persondata
NAME=Swan, Billy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Musician, songwriter
DATE OF BIRTH=May 12 1942
PLACE OF BIRTH=Cape Girardeau, Missouri
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=
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