Folk Song Index
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"Help Me" is a love song written, produced, and performed by Joni Mitchell, from her 1974 album Court and Spark. The song was recorded with jazz band Tom Scott's L.A. Express as the backing band.[1] "Help Me" was Mitchell's biggest hit single: it peaked at #7 in June 1974 on the Billboard Hot 100, her only top 10 hit; it hit #1 on the easy listening chart.[2]


Critical reception[]

The song is ranked #288 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[3]

Covers[]

Artists who have recorded cover versions of the song include:

  • Wynonna (on the 2000 album New Day Dawning)
  • Mandy Moore (on her 2003 covers album Coverage)
  • k.d. lang (on the 2007 tribute album A Tribute to Joni Mitchell)
  • Katharine McPhee (on the iTunes deluxe edition of her 2010 album Unbroken)
  • Will Young (recorded live in London as the B-side to his 2009 single Let It Go)
  • Esperanza Spalding sang "Help Me" in her encores on the d plus evolution tour spring and summer 2015.

In popular culture[]

The Prince song "Ballad of Dorothy Parker" (from his 1987 album Sign o' the Times) mentions the song in the lyrics. A reference to "Help Me" - "Joni, help me; I think I'm falling" - can also be heard in "Looking Through Patient Eyes" by P.M. Dawn.

In the show South Park, the character Butters briefly sings this song in episode 2 of season 11, "Cartman Sucks". In the sixth season of TV series Shameless main character Frank Gallagher and his lover Queenie sing during breakfast the first half of the song.

Charts[]

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Weekly charts[]

Chart (1974) Peak
position
Canada RPM Top Singles 6
Canada RPM Adult Contemporary 4
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [4] 7
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary[2] 1
U.S. Cash Box Top 100[5] 8

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Year-end charts[]

Chart (1974) Rank
Canada RPM Top Singles [6] 82
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [7] 53
U.S. Cash Box [8] 50

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See also[]

  • List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1974 (U.S.)

References[]

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External links[]

  • Template:MetroLyrics song

Template:Joni Mitchell


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  1. Template:Cite web
  2. 2.0 2.1 Template:Cite book
  3. Template:Cite web
  4. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  5. Template:Cite web
  6. Template:Cite web
  7. Template:Cite web
  8. Template:Cite web
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