“I Can Assist” is a tune written and carried out by Billy Swan. Launched in July 1974, the tune was an enormous crossover smash, reaching No. 1 on each the Billboard Sizzling 100 and Sizzling Nation Singles charts late that fall. Though Swan had different charting singles on each the Sizzling 100 and nation charts, the tune is mostly acknowledged as being Swan’s solely main hit single launch. Nevertheless, Swan had continued success as a songwriter for different artists and as a session musician.
Billy Swan secured his personal recording take care of Monument Information, after his return to Nashville in August 1963. From the time he secured the deal, Swan started composition of ‘I Can Assist’ in a music room that his spouse, Marlu, had transformed from a closet contained in the small duplex that they shared near his metropolis’s Centennial Park.
Swan has revealed that he used a ‘Rock’ preset, from his Rhythm Grasp drum machine, when writing the tune; “It performed 16ths and gave the impression of a sock cymbal, so I simply began enjoying these chords together with it, and the tune got here in about 20 minutes. I didn’t all the time write that shortly, however from my expertise those that come shortly are the great ones. ‘Lover Please’ was like that, and so was ‘All the things’s the Similar’.
With ‘I Can Assist’ I truly wrote the three verses first, and since I wanted one thing to place between the second and third verse I then got here up with the bridge. The entire thing simply got here out of the air, together with the phrases.”
‘I Can Assist‘ was written throughout March 1974, and likewise throughout that point Billy Swan recorded it with producer and engineer Chip Younger on the Younger’un Sound studio. The distinctive keyboards had been performed by Swann on a transportable Farfisa belonging to Memphis session musician Bobby Emmons.[2] The vocals had been recorded with a Neumann U47, whereas Swan’s Farfisa, Mike Leech’s bass and Reggie Younger’s guitar, had been all recorded direct.
Dennis Linde and Johnny Christopher, who carried out for the tune on acoustic guitars, had been every miked with Sony ECM lapel mics, whereas the setup for Hayword Bishop’s drums comprised one other pair of ECMs overhead on the cymbals, an Electrovoice RE15 on the toms, an RE20 on the kick and a Shure SM58 on the snare.
Keyboardist Bobby Wooden was additionally booked for the session, however after listening to the observe and realising he wasn’t wanted he joined Emmons and Younger within the management room. Emmons and Younger steered overdubbing handclaps on the finish to convey an in-studio get together environment, in addition to including some bridge-section backing vocals by Lea Jane Berinati and the Holliday Sisters.
Swan remembers, “Chip was excited after he recorded that half, however I went on the market and listened to it, and I mentioned, ‘Boy, I don’t know.’ I listened to it again and again, till lastly I mentioned, ‘Hey, man, nothing else will work.’ It was truly an incredible solo, in order that simply reveals you the place my head is at. That half was so good, and in the present day lots of people bear in mind the tune due to that solo.”
Within the album model, there’s a false ending with the clapping, and an extended prolonged cadenza on the organ, which is adopted by an instrumental repeat of the ending, which is adopted by a quick organ cadenza, which is then adopted by one other instrumental repeat of the ending earlier than the tune’s fade. The false ending was brought on by Billy’s canine within the studio who stored on pestering Billy, and the recording group applauded Billy’s effort to proceed on regardless of.
