Please Help Me, I'm Falling

Category:  News/Obituary 

Nashville Songwriters Hall of Famer Don Robertson has died.

Robertson, the man behind such megahits as "I Don't Hurt Anymore," Born to Be With You," and "Please Help Me, I'm Falling" died on March 16 in southern California.

Born in China while his father was a professor at Peking Union College, Robertson grew up in Chicago.  He learned piano from his mother and invented the so-called "slip-note" style of playing that Floyd Cramer later made world famous.  

Although Robertson only had one major hit under his own name -- 1956's "The Happy Whistler" -- he was responsible for countless country classics.  Among the songs he wrote or co-wrote:  "Condemned Without Trial" (Eddy Arnold), "Born to Be With You" (Sonny James [also a pop hit for the Chordettes]), "Does My Ring Hurt Your Finger" (Charley Pride), and "You're Free to Go" (Carl Smith).

Then there was "Please Help Me, I'm Falling," the massive hit for Hank Locklin from 1960.  The song ended up being the number one song of the year on Billboard magazine's country charts, staying at #1 for fourteen weeks.  It also spawned an answer song (Skeeter Davis' "[I Can't Help You] I'm Falling Too") and a parody (provided by Homer and Jethro).

In addition to his country compositions, Robertson was the piano player behind "Gomer," the piano-playing bear at Disney Land's "Country Bear Jamboree" program.

The great Don Robertson was 92.