Songoftheday 6/15/21 -The strands in your eyes that color them wonderful, stop me and steal my breath...

 

 

"I'll Be" - Edwin McCain

from the album Misguided Roses (1997)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #5 (two weeks)

Weeks in the Top-40: 21

 

Today's song of the day comes from singer/songwriter Edwin McCain, who hails from Charleston, South Carolina, and got his big break opening for fellow city band Hootie & The Blowfish. After a pair of independently released albums, McCain signed with Atlantic Records' Lava (home of Matchbox 20) and released his major-label debut Honor Among Thieves in 1995. The first single "Solitude", which had Hootie's Darius Rucker on backing vocals, and the title track from his second indie set, became his first success, landing a minor pop hit in America, climbing to #25 on Billboard magazine's Mainstream Rock radio chart, and just missed the top-40 in Canada at #45. The Honor Before Thieves album nearly made the top half of the Billboard 200 sales chart at #107.

McCain returned in 1997 with his sophomore major-label effort, Misguided Roses. Uptempo lead single "See The Sky Again" stiffed, but that was rectified on the follow-up release, "I'll Be". A waltz-ballad written by McCain and produced by Matt Serletic (Matchbox 20's go-to), the song was taken as a love ode by many, but delving into the lyrics finds Edwin pleading for his partner to stay and justify his existence. It's a desperate message made more serene by the 3/4 time, and Edwin found himself with his biggest pop hit, and a bit of help from its prominent placement on the hit teen drama Dawson's Creek...

 

 "I'll Be" became McCain's first top-40 pop hit in America, reaching the top ten in October of 1998. The song was a big hit on "easy listening" radio, peaking at #6 on both the Adult Contemporary and the older-skewing "Adult Top-40" format charts in Billboard. Internationally, the single peaked at #52 in Canada. The Misguided Roses album, released back in June of 1997, would go on to crest at #73 on the Billboard 200, spending 42 weeks on the list and selling over a million copies. McCain will be back on this series.

(7/10)

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Here's Edwin and his band promoting the song on the Donny & Marie talk show in 1998...

The following year, McCain included an acoustic studio version of "I'll Be" on his next studio album Messenger...

Next up, live in concert in 2004...

...and on a radio gig in 2011...

Lastly, singing with country artist Mitchell Tenpenny in 2019...

Up tomorrow: Boy-band makes a promise.