When we wrote and podcasted about Kris Kristofferson a few weeks ago, we noted that he left the U.S. Army and moved to Nashville, becoming a janitor at Columbia Records. The fellow he inherited the job from had a similar idea about getting into the business.
Billy Swan had already written and released a Top Ten hit in 1962 called "Lover Please." Clyde McPhatter took it to the charts while it was later recorded by Arthur Alexander, Kinky Friedman, and Kristofferson amongst others. All favorites of ours.
About a week before passing his mop on to the still unknown Kristofferson, Swan was maneuvering around the studio and witnessed early studio sessions of Bob Dylan, working on his seventh studio album later to be known as Blonde on Blonde. This Dylan work is considered by many rock critics as one of the best albums of all time.
When Swan stopped sweeping, he found work as a roadie for Mel Tillis and kept on writing. Conway Twitty, Waylon Jennings, and Tillis recorded Swan's songs during this period.
Soon Swan joined Kristofferson's band on bass guitar and toured with them for 18 months or so. Next, he became a sideman on occasion for Friedman and Billy Joe Shaver, eventually returning to Kristofferson. The work paid off and upon his return to Nashville, he had earned a Monument Records contract for himself.
While recording his first album in 1974 at Young'un Sound (a 15 x 20-foot studio located in an 1830s-era farmhouse on the outskirts of Murfreesboro, Tennessee), the label at first tossed aside what would become Swan's biggest hit and only major single. "I Can Help." Written by Swan, the song became a crossover hit with its rockabilly rhythms and Swan's electric organ work shining through, reaching number one on both the pop and country charts that year.
The lyrics were written by Swan in less than twenty minutes, while at the studio the song was finished in just two takes, "and what you hear was captured on the second take," Billy said.
It was done so fast, Swan didn’t have time to even set up his regular organ. He played his electric organ part on a portable Farfisa borrowed from famed songwriter and session musician Bobby Emmons.
Producer Chip Young was a disciple of Rick Hall of FAME Studio in Muscle Shoals and at Young’un, he "bought some of the same tube components and built my own great-sounding console."
"People just loved recording there," said Swan.
Doing the guitar work behind Swan—on his Fender Telecaster—was Reggie Young, perhaps the most accomplished side player in 20th Century popular music. From Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison to Elvis Presley and Jimmy Buffett. Young was the hired gun for several prominent artists from the 1950s through the 2010s.
Remember "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond? Reg Young was picking it behind Neil. He was also the guitar man for Waylon Jennings in Waymore's final years both in studio and on tour.
Young's most famous riff, however, is from Dobie Gray's #5 soft rock smash from 1973, "Drift Away." (In Waylon's final concert "Never Say Die," he belts out a "Drift Away" cover and lets Young shred on a solo or two.)
Back to Swan...
Billy battled with producer Chip Young on whether it was going to be a blues song—which Swan was leaning toward—or a rockabilly number. Young released it with the rockabilly flavor, later recalling, "a little later on Billy and Kris Kristofferson were on the West Coast, riding in the car and they heard Wink Martindale play it three times in a row and then say, 'I've got to hear this guitar solo one more time.' At that point, Billy and Kris stopped the car, and Billy knew I'd won... I tell ya, I love Billy to death."
(DJ Wink Martindale would become famous as the host for the game show Tic-Tac-Dough and many others.)
Elvis Presley eventually covered "I Can Help" as well. Swan had known Elvis for years at this point. He first met Elvis by virtue of staying with The King's maternal uncle, Travis, in Memphis in the early 60s while first cutting his teeth in the industry. Swan became friends with Elvis's cousins Billy and Bobby, "and I'd hang out with them whenever they joined Elvis at the movies, the skating rink, or the fairground."
From 1965 to 1977, Swan was a regular member of Presley's studio band.
Elvis nailed Swan’s song in one take. As a token of gratitude, producer Felton Jarvis gave Swan the literal socks off the feet that Elvis wore during the recording. Swan still has them.
Swan would also go on to record several Dennis Linde penned-tunes in the 1970s and 80s, perhaps most notably the 1987 track "I'm Gonna Get You," which Swan took to #63 on the country charts, but when Eddy Raven cajun-ified the tune, it rocketed to Number 1 on the US Hot Country Songs in 1988, spending 14 weeks in the Top 40.
Our Dennis Linde resource page is up, soon to be filled in with more content.
As always,
Brian
P.S. — My grandfather was raised in a 1830s-era farmhouse on the outskirts of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Not the same house as Young'un Sound, though. Pretty sure.
