Please Help Me, I'm Falling

"Please Help Me, I'm Falling" is a 1960 song written by Don Robertson and Hal Blair and first recorded by Hank Locklin.[1] The single was Locklin's most successful recording and was his second number one on the country charts.[2] "Please Help Me, I'm Falling" spent fourteen weeks at the top spot and spent nine months on the country chart and crossed over to the Hot 100 peaking at number eight.[3]

This article is about the song. For the album, see Please Help Me, I'm Falling (album).
"Please Help Me, I'm Falling"
Single by Hank Locklin
from the album Please Help Me, I'm Falling
B-side"My Old Home Town"
ReleasedFebruary 1960
GenreCountry
Length2:21
LabelRCA Victor
Songwriter(s)Don Robertson
Hal Blair
Producer(s)Chet Atkins[1]
Hank Locklin singles chronology
"Blues in Advance"
(1959)		 "Please Help Me, I'm Falling"
(1960)		 "One Step Ahead of My Past"
(1961)

Chart performance
Chart (1960) Peak
position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[4] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[5] 8
U.K. Singles Chart[6] 9
Norway VG Lista[7] 4

Answer record

Later in 1960, Skeeter Davis had a hit with an answer record entitled, "(I Can't Help You) I'm Falling Too" which peaked at number two for three weeks on the Hot C&W Sides charts[8] and number thirty-nine on the Hot 100.[9]

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.[10]
  • On August 1, 1967, Charley Pride 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.[11]
  • In 1978, Janie Fricke 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.[12] Unlike Locklin's piano-based, bright mid-tempo version, Fricke's version is a ballad in the country pop vein.
  • In 1989, Kirsty MacColl covered the song as b-side to her single "Days".
  • In 1996, Puff Johnson recorded a version of "Please Help Me (I'm Fallin' in Love with You)" for her album, Miracle.

References
  1. Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 10 - Tennessee Firebird: American country music before and after Elvis. [Part 2]" (audio). Pop Chronicles. University of North Texas Libraries.
  2. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 303.
  3. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 376.
  4. "Hank Locklin Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  5. "Hank Locklin Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  6. Guinness World Records British Hit Singles 15th Edition. London, UK: Guinness World Records Limited. 2002. p. 301. ISBN 0-85112-187-X.
  7. "norwegiancharts.com - Hank Locklin - Please Help Me, I'm Falling". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
  8. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 100.
  9. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 164.
  10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rxf7thksOFo
  11. "Original versions of Please Help Me I'm Falling by Charley Pride". SecondHandSongs. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  12. Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 151. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
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