Bill Swindell wasn’t able to experience a major moment a decade ago, but it’s a good bet he would have been proud to know he influenced it.
His son, Cole Swindell, earned his second No. 1 single on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart dated March 26, 2016, with “You Should Be Here,” which ultimately spent four weeks at the summit. Cole’s first leader, the two-week chart-topper “Chillin’ It,” peaked on March 1, 2014.
Bill didn’t quite get to see that happen for his boy, either, though he at least witnessed the earliest stages of its journey. Cowritten with Shane Minor (Diamond Rio’s “Beautiful Mess,” Steve Holy’s “Brand New Girlfriend,” Kenny Chesney’s “Live a Little”), “Chillin’ It” debuted on SiriusXM in May 2013, landed on Hot Country Songs the following month and led to a Warner Music Nashville recording contract on July 22.
Six weeks later, Bill died unexpectedly. He missed out on “Chillin’ It” going to No. 1, and when Cole opened for Luke Bryan at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., on Aug. 10, 2014, Cole was acutely aware that his dad couldn’t share his appearance at an NFL venue. On his bus in the parking lot, Cole and songwriter Ashley Gorley wrote “You Should Be Here” to honor Bill’s memory.
The song struck a chord after its release before Christmas 2015, entering the chart on Jan. 2, 2016, and topping the list in its 13th week. “You Should Be Here” is also one of eight titles that Cole has lofted to No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, a sum most recently swelled by “She Had Me at Heads Carolina” in 2022.
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