"Please Help Me, I'm Falling" is a 1960 song written by
Don Robertson and Hal Blair and first recorded by
Hank Locklin.
The single was Locklin's most successful recording and was his second number one on the country charts.
"Please Help Me, I'm Falling" spent 14 weeks at the top spot and spent nine months on the country chart and crossed over to the
Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...
peaking at number eight.
Chart performance
Answer record
Later in 1960,
Skeeter Davis had a hit with an
answer record
An answer song, response song or answer record is a song (usually a recorded track) made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s to the 1950s. Answer son ...
titled "
(I Can't Help You) I'm Falling Too", which peaked at number two for three weeks on the
Hot C&W Sides charts and number 39 on the
Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...
.
Cover versions
*During the early 1960s, Broadway Record Label released a version of this song on an EP - 45 rpm that featured "Vocals and Orchestra by Popular Artists," none of which are listed anywhere on the record label.
*In October 1963,
The Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close-harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly and Phillip "Phil" Everly, the duo combined elements of rock and roll, country, ...
recorded the song as one of the tracks on their album ''
The Everly Brothers Sing Great Country Hits'', featuring their covers of classic country songs.
*In June 1965,
Vic Damone
Vic Damone (born Vito Rocco Farinola; June 12, 1928 – February 11, 2018) was an American traditional pop music, pop and big band singer and actor. He was best known for his performances of songs such as the number one hit "You're Breaking My ...
recorded the song as one of the tracks on his album ''
You Were Only Fooling''.
*On August 1, 1967,
Charley Pride
Charley Frank Pride (March 18, 1934 – December 12, 2020) was an American Country music, country singer. Beginning his career as a Negro league baseball player in the early-1950s, he later pursued a career in country music, becoming the gen ...
covered the song. His version was not released as a single and remained unreleased until it was included on his 1997 album ''The Essential Charley Pride''.
*In 1973,
John Fogerty
John Cameron Fogerty (born May 28, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Together with Doug Clifford, Stu Cook, and his brother Tom Fogerty, he founded the swamp rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR), for which he was th ...
covered the song on his first solo album ''
Blue Ridge Rangers''.
*In 1978,
Janie Fricke
Jane Marie Fricke ( ; born December 19, 1947), known professionally as Janie Fricke, is an American country music singer, record producer, and clothing designer. She has placed seventeen Single (music), singles in the top ten of the US ''Billboa ...
released a cover version of the song as "Please Help Me (I'm Fallin' in Love with You)" and took it to number 12 on the country charts.
Unlike Locklin's piano-based, bright mid-tempo version, Fricke's version is a ballad in the
country pop
Country pop (also known as urban cowboy or even urban country) is a fusion genre of country music and pop music that was developed by members of the country genre out of a desire to reach a larger, mainstream audience. Country pop music blends g ...
vein.
*In 1989,
Kirsty MacColl
Kirsty Anna MacColl (, ; 10 October 1959 – 18 December 2000) was a British singer and songwriter. The daughter of folk singer Ewan MacColl, she recorded several pop hits in the 1980s and 1990s, including "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop ...
covered the song as b-side to her single "Days".
*In 1993,
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...
,
Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn (; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as "Hey Loretta", "The Pill (song), The P ...
and
Tammy Wynette
Tammy Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh; May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was an American country music singer and songwriter, considered among the genre's most influential and successful artists. Along with Loretta Lynn, Wynette helped bring a ...
recorded their version of "Please Help Me (I'm Fallin' in Love with You)" for their album ''
Honky Tonk Angels'', and Loretta recorded a duet with
Conway Twitty
Harold Lloyd Jenkins (September 1, 1933 – June 5, 1993), better known by his stage name Conway Twitty, was an American singer and songwriter. Initially a part of the 1950s rockabilly scene, Twitty was best known as a country music performer. ...
from the 1987 album ''Heartland Music''.
*In 1996,
Puff Johnson
Ewanya "Puff" Johnson (December 10, 1972 – June 24, 2013) was an American R&B singer-songwriter. Born in Detroit
Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situat ...
recorded a version of "Please Help Me (I'm Fallin' in Love with You)" for her album ''
Miracle
A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divi ...
''.
*
Gladys Knight
Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Knight recorded hits through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her family group Gladys Knight & the Pips, which included her brother Merald "Bubba" Knight and cousins Will ...
covered the song on her 2001 album ''At Last''.
*In 2007,
David Ball covered the song on his album ''
Heartaches by the Number''.
*In 2008,
Patty Loveless
Patty Loveless (born Patricia Lee Ramey, January 4, 1957) is an American country music singer. She began performing in her teenaged years before signing her first recording contract with MCA Records' Nashville division in 1985. While her first ...
covered the song on her album ''
Sleepless Nights''.
References
{{Hank Locklin, state=autocollapse
1960 singles
1978 singles
Billboard Hot Country Songs number-one singles of the year
Hank Locklin songs
Homer and Jethro songs
Skeeter Davis songs
Charley Pride songs
John Fogerty songs
Janie Fricke songs
Loretta Lynn songs
Dolly Parton songs
Tammy Wynette songs
David Ball (country singer) songs
Patty Loveless songs
Songs written by Don Robertson (songwriter)
Song recordings produced by Chet Atkins
RCA Victor singles
Columbia Records singles
Songs written by Hal Blair
1960 songs