In the early '80s, I found a old cassette tape which belonged to my sister. At some point in the late '70s, she had recorded certain songs from the radio. On the place where you list songs, I could see she had recorded "I Can Help" off the radio at some point, but had written it down as I Can Help -- Ringo Starr. I knew the correct answer was Billy Swan by this time but I can also see why she may have thought it was Starr.
I just realized that I once owned a 45 on the green/light blue Monument label . I sure wish I could remember what it was.
I've encountered that a few times myself, people thinking it's Ringo. I just searched YouTube and sure enough there's one on there credited to Mr. Starr, with 6000+ views.
I don't know.... I think this had a similar vibe. Less rockabilly edged, however, but very 50's in structure.
'74 was probably the peak year for all the retro stuff we were hearing. There'd still be some of that in the next year but the growing disco juggernaut will soon wipe all of that from the map. Maria Muldaur is a case in point. She followed up her breakout LP Long Hard Climb with an even better one - Waitress In A Donut Shop - that also produced her last Top 20 hit I'm A Woman, itself a remake of a Peggy Lee early 60s tune. The album was another mix of old-timey sounds alongside newer material similar to what the Pointer Sisters were up to at the same time. I won't post the single since it peaked on the charts in early'75 and the cops are watching but here's an example of a retro tune with the added bonus of "naughty" lyrics to spice things up.
I prefer the single version which I bought as a download file from the album "Pop Music: The Golden Era 1951-1975": Pop Music: The Golden Era 1951-1975 | Interprètes Divers
Swan was also among the numerous folks who were namechecked in the spoken intro to Kristofferson's "The Pilgrim, Chapter 33": The others included Jerry Jeff Walker, who later repaid the favor. I agree, but that song didn't get to #1.
Never thought about it, but I can definitely hear this. "I can help" is a pretty decent song - surprised it went to #1, and that it did so on both charts. I give it extra credit for originality - it doesn't sound a bit like any other #1 so far this year.
Then Came You So I really like the Spinners, they are awesome, and this is to me more a Spinners song than a Dionne one... but I can't let this opportunity go by without talking about my favorite Psychic Friend, Ms. Warwick, one of my all time favorite vocalists. The song in question is fine and I quite like it, but I have a major love affair with the Warwick/Bacharach combination from the sixties, and we've barely discussed that stuff at all. It's incredible to me that all those great songs were released, and not a single one managed to get to #1. Among my faves are the three I always conflate together: San Jose, I'll Never Fall in Love Again, and I Say a Little Prayer. Somewhat like another singer I love, Roberta Flack, Warwick has a cool elegance that just works with Bacharach and David songs, and those three in particular. But there were so many more. We haven't even mentioned Alfie yet! And the theme from the Valley of the Dolls is also a winner, and count me among the big fans of that cinematic catastrophe. Sparkle, Neely, Sparkle! Then there's my favorite song of hers. It was also the first hit she had with Burt n' Hal, in fact her first single, period, but weirdly it was not played so often on oldies radio. In fact, I never heard it until I was a couple of years out of college. But I think it's gorgeous, and her singing was never more passionate, raw and YOUNG. The song is 'Don't Make Me Over', and it was released in 1962. The part that kills me is the 'Accept me for what I am!' part. Man oh man, that's gorgeous. And the way the song builds to it is epic. Legend has it that the song came about as follows. Bacharach became aware of Dionne when she worked as a vocalist on demos for the writers. She was going to record 'Make It Easy On Yourself' as her debut, but the label decided she wasn't right for it. Warwick was furious, and yelled at the duo, 'Don't make me over, man! You have to accept me for what I am!' Light bulbs went off, they wrote a song for her using those words, and her career was born. PS according to Wikipedia, her birth name was Warrick, but a misspelling resulted in Warwick, and she went with that ever since. I never heard that before; is it true?
Not sure about why the name change but she was indeed born Marie Dionne Warrick although I'm willing to bet it wasn't because a psychic told her so....yet.
I've seen several people on this forum say they think it sounds like Ringo, but I've never understood why. I don't hear much of any similarity at all. The song is simple and doesn't require much vocal range so it's suited to Ringo's voice, but I sure don't think Swan sounds like him. I hear more Jerry Lee Lewis (or his cousin Mickey Gilley) in Swan's vocal. Interestingly, Ringo did cover the song in 1987 (as part of an album recorded with country producer Chips Moman) but he then got sober and sued Moman to prevent the album's release, alleging it was recorded when he was drunk and would reflect poorly on his reputation. Ringo prevailed and the recordings have never been officially released, though some tracks have slipped out on bootleg, including the "I Can Help" cover. I think Ringo was wise to want to suppress this:
There were a few with that design that are memorable today: - "It's Over" and "Oh Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison - "Unwind," "Mr. Businessman" and "Gitarzan" by Ray Stevens - "Polk Salad Annie" by Tony Joe White
When it came out in Australia the reviewer said Billy sounded like a cross between Elvis and Ringo. The long version of I Can Help is on the legendary Guilty Pleasures compilation.
He should have kept producing. "Polk Salad Annie" would beat the crap out of "I Can Help", steal its lunch money and leave it upside down in a trashcan.
Yeah, not sure what people are talking about. This period of the '70s was loaded with all kinds of retro stuff. American Graffiti prompted a lot of rock revivalist stuff, and you'd get remakes of '50s and early '60s songs (The Carpenters had a big hit the next year with one, so did Linda Ronstadt) and retro-inspired original hits clear into the mid-'80s. About the only thing that died out around this period were the Tin Pan Alley / vaudeville-tinged cuts from the likes of Tony Orlando, although even then not completely (we may mention a huge remake of a Depression-era hit in about a decade in this thread).
My brother and I have been DeeJays our entire adult lives (I started at 16) but I was 5 in '74 and Grandma held that unofficial honor. I can still see her changing the 45's one at a time at family parties: "I Can Help", "Wasted Days & Wasted Nights", "Melody of Love", "Crocodile Rock", "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown", the reissue of "Monster Mash" and even "Shaving Cream"! All these years later I still play these tracks at family get togethers and it always takes me back to that glorious period. Gram was right there when disco kicked in and was a huge Brian Setzer fan when he came into prominence. I had the pleasure of telling him so at a Supper Club gig after she passed and he raised a toast to her. It's all about the memories folks. That's why we're here
Oh my! That’s like that horrible spell check we’ve seen the nano second after we pressed the send button. That post is full of ‘em...hysterical as I’m sure it was only a train wreck and not intentional.
