Billy Swan

Billy Swan ( born May 12, 1942 as William Lance Swan in Cape Girardeau, Missouri) is an American country singer and songwriter with the hit I Can Help was known in 1975.

In the early 1960s drew Billy Swan to Memphis (Tennessee), where he worked as a songwriter and first own recordings grossed. For a time he lived with an uncle of Elvis Presley. At the age of 21, he moved on to Nashville, the heart of country music. Here he first had to keep up with odd jobs. Among others, he worked for eighteen months as a janitor at the Columbia studios. His successor in this job was Kris Kristofferson.

Career

Swan was considered outsiders, but also as an emerging talent and got the chance to work at the Monument label as a producer of Tony Joe White. The biggest success of this collaboration was 1969 Whites Top 10 hit Polk Salad Annie. Meanwhile, his friend Kristofferson had made ​​a career and took him in his band. He also accompanied in these years Kinky Friedman and Billy Joe Shaver on tour. In 1973 he published his first single for Monument. The breakthrough later succeeded him a year with his self-penned song " I Can Help ", which became a worldwide hit and both in the country and in the pop charts to number one.

Although he appeared in the following years, several more times in the central region of the country charts, he was regarded in the industry as a classic "one- hit wonder ". His last top-20 finishes, he managed in 1981, his last top 100 success in 1986. A repeated label change could not stop the downward trend. But as a session musician and songwriter, he was still in demand and also the cooperation with Kristofferson was continued.

Discography

Singles

Following further single releases with mediocre chart positions on Billboard's Country Songs.

Albums

124835
de