"I'll Be" is a song written and performed by American singer
Edwin McCain
Edwin Cole McCain (born January 20, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His songs " I'll Be" (1998) and " I Could Not Ask for More" (1999) were radio top-40 hits in the U.S., and five of his albums have reached the ''Billboar ...
. The song was released on September 8, 1998, as the first single from his second album, ''
Misguided Roses'' (1997). McCain recorded an acoustic version of the song for his follow-up album, ''
Messenger
''MESSENGER'' was a NASA robotic space probe that orbited the planet Mercury between 2011 and 2015, studying Mercury's chemical composition, geology, and magnetic field. The name is a backronym for "Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geoch ...
''. The radio version of "I'll Be", which was released on a CD single with "Grind Me in the Gears" as the
B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...
, differs from the album version. Its opening melody is played with electric guitar (as opposed to acoustic on the album) and the vocal and saxophone lines differ. Upon its release, the song reached number five in the United States and number 52 in Canada.
On December 22, 1999, McCain recorded a version with
Warren Haynes
Warren Haynes (born April 6, 1960) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known for his work as longtime guitarist with the Allman Brothers Band and as founding member of the jam band Gov't Mule. Early in his career he was ...
on the live concert album from the
11th Annual Christmas Jam, a benefit concert for
Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a US non-governmental, and nonprofit organization which was founded in 1976 by couple Millard and Linda Fuller. Habitat for Humanity is a C ...
in Asheville, North Carolina. The album is titled ''Wintertime Blues: The Benefit Concert''. In 2015, McCain re-recorded "I'll Be" for his
EP ''Phoenix''.
Content
Although "I'll Be" has become a popular wedding song, McCain said "it's really more of a prayer" written in a moment of personal desperation after a break-up, the idea being that "maybe if I write my future, it'll come true."
McCain said, "It was the end of a relationship for me, and it was also an admission of my inability to function in a relationship, hence the love suicide line. And it was the hope that I would be better, grow and be better as a person. I was struggling with some personal problems at the time, as well, so it was all of those things. It was this admission of failure and this prayer that I could be a better person, wrapped up as sort of the end of a relationship kind of thought. And it was something that I said to a girl that I'd been going out with. I knew that she was waiting, and I always said to her, 'Don't ever look back on this in any other way than I'll be your biggest fan.' You know, 'I'll always be a fan.'"
Chart performance
In the United States, "I'll Be" debuted on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 Airplay chart on the issue dated February 28, 1998, and went on to peak at number four there in November, in its 39th week on the chart. Under the chart rules at the time, which required songs to have a physical single release, "I'll Be" was initially ineligible for the
''Billboard'' Hot 100, but on September 8, 1998, a "very limited pressing" of the song was issued, making it then eligible;
it debuted at number seven on the Hot 100 on the issue dated September 26, 1998, and ultimately peaked at number five the following week.
While it was only McCain's second single to chart, it became his first and only top-10 hit and his biggest hit.
Track listings
7-inch vinyl and CD single
# "I'll Be" – 4:25
# "Grind Me in the Gears" – 4:19
Digital download
# "I'll Be"
(LP version) – 4:26
# "I'll Be"
(acoustic version) – 4:37
# "I'll Be"
(video) – 4:07
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Release history
Kian Egan version
In 2014, "I'll Be" was covered by Irish musician
Kian Egan. The song was included on his
debut album, and was released as a single on May 12, 2014, through
Rhino Records
A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...
.
[digitalspy.co.uk]
"Kian Egan announces second single 'I'll Be' - listen"
/ref>
Background and production
In an interview with Digital Spy
Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...
, Egan said "I chose 'I'll Be' for my second single, as I've always absolutely loved this song. This song means a lot to me and being able to record it was an honour. I'm incredibly excited to be able to perform this for all my fans."
Music video
The footage was shot in Egan's hometown of Sligo, in County Sligo, and the singer can be seen strumming a guitar while wandering along the deserted beach.
In the visual, Egan also throws pebbles out to sea before meeting up with friends around a campfire.
Artwork
The single cover of the song shows Egan sitting on a plush red sofa and holding a white guitar.
Track listings
* Promotional CD single
# "I'll Be" (radio mix) – 3:09
* Promotional CD single
# "I'll Be" (radio mix)
# "I Run to You
"I Run to You" is a song recorded by American country music group Lady Antebellum. It was released on January 26, 2009, as the third and final single from the group's self-titled debut album. Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood, w ...
" (featuring Jodi Albert
(born 22 July 1983) is an English actress and singer, best known for playing Debbie Dean in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', as a member of Simon Cowell's British girl group Girl Thing, and as a member of Irish girl group Wonderland.
...
)
In popular culture
At the height of the song's popularity back in 1998, it was featured during a pivotal moment in the first-season finale episode titled "Decisions" on the WB series ''Dawson's Creek
''Dawson's Creek'' is an American teen drama television series about the lives of a close-knit group of friends in the fictional town of Capeside, Massachusetts, beginning in high school and continuing into college that ran from 1998 to 2003. ...
''. In the episode of ''The Office
''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries.
The original series of ...
'' " Here Comes Treble", the song is covered by Andy Bernard
Andrew Baines Bernard is a fictional character from the NBC comedy television series '' The Office'', portrayed by Ed Helms. He is introduced in Season 3 as the Regional Director in Charge of Sales at the Stamford branch of paper distribution ...
's a cappella group.
References
{{Authority control
1997 songs
1998 singles
2014 singles
Edwin McCain songs
Lava Records singles
Rhino Records singles
Song recordings produced by Brian Rawling
Song recordings produced by Matt Serletic