It Was I
| "It Was I" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Skip & Flip | ||||
| B-side | "Lunch Hour" | |||
| Released | May 1959 | |||
| Genre | Rock and roll | |||
| Length | 2:15 | |||
| Label | Brent | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Gary S. Paxton | |||
| Skip & Flip singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"It Was I" is a 1959 song written by vocalist Gary S. Paxton when he released it as part of a duo with Clyde Battin called Skip & Flip. "It Was I" reached No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100[1] and ranked No. 84 on Billboard magazine's Top Hot 100 songs of 1959.[2]
Skip & Flip recording
[edit]Paxton had dropped out of high school and was living in Phoenix, Arizona when he wrote "It Was I" with Battin. The two of them recorded an acoustic demo of the song and submitted it to producer Bob Shad.[3] Shortly after the song was release as a single, Paxton overheard "It Was I" playing from a radio speaker while he was working in a pecan tree. Paxton only realized the song was his after he rushed over to a parked car to take a closer listen.[4] "It Was I" eventually sold over one million copies.[5]
Chart performance
[edit]| Chart (1959) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100[6] | 11 |
Lindsey Buckingham recording
[edit]| "It Was I" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Lindsey Buckingham | ||||
| from the album Law and Order | ||||
| Released | 1982 | |||
| Recorded | 1981 | |||
| Length | 2:39 | |||
| Label | Asylum/Warner Music Group | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Gary S. Paxton | |||
| Producer(s) | Lindsey Buckingham Richard Dashut | |||
| Lindsey Buckingham singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
The song was later covered by American guitarist and vocalist Lindsey Buckingham, and was released as the second single off his debut album, Law and Order. Buckingham was still a member of Fleetwood Mac at the time, which was on hiatus after the conclusion of their Tusk Tour.[7] A music video directed by Jerry Watson was also created to accompany the song.[8]
The song featured the involvement of Carol Ann Harris, who was in a romantic relationship with Buckingham at the time of the song's recording. According to Harris, Buckingham initiated the collaboration by giving her a recording of Skip & Flip's version and asked her to learn the lyrics vocal melody over the course of a few days. She initially objected to the idea, believing that she would "sound like a little kid" on the recording, but Buckingham maintained that he wanted to involve her in some capacity on his first solo album. Upon listening to the song, Harris found it "very catchy" but still had reservations over participating and requested that he find someone else to sing with him, which Buckingham declined. Harris said that she found the recording process to be an enjoyable experience and recalled receiving notes of congratulations from the members of Fleetwood Mac for her recording debut.[9]
Unlike Buckingham's previous single "Trouble", "It Was I" was not a big hit for Buckingham and it also failed to match the success of the original Skip & Flip recording. The song only reached No. 10 on the Billboard Bubbling Under chart, an extension to the Hot 100.[10]
"It Was I" fared slightly better in Australia, where it managed to reach the No. 74 spot.[11] Despite only achieving minor success in Australia, "It Was I" performed better there than any of Buckingham's subsequent singles, including "Go Insane", which only reached No. 100.
In an interview with Jim Ladd, Buckingham described "It Was I" as having an adolescent theme to its lyrics. "It's about someone who's probably first experiencing pain in a relationship and he's explaining what has gone wrong, but his conclusion at the end is one of commitment still...The sense is really very optimistic for future happiness."[12]
Personnel
[edit]- Lindsey Buckingham – lead vocals, all instrumentation
- Carol Ann Harris – backing vocals
Chart performance
[edit]| Chart (1982) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[11] | 74 |
| US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles[10] | 10 |
References
[edit]- ^ Skip & Flip, "It Was I" chart position Retrieved February 12, 2016.
- ^ "Billboard Top 100 - 1959". Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
- ^ Roberts, Sam (2016-07-23). "Gary S. Paxton, Whose Mixed Bag of a Life Was Filled With Music, Dies at 77". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
- ^ Daponte, Mark (2022-05-14). "Of Hits and Hitmen: The Gary S. Paxton Story". CultureSonar. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
- ^ "Gary S.Paxton". www.urban.ne.jp. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
- ^ "Skip and Flip Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
- ^ Evans, Mike (2011). Fleetwood Mac: The Definitive History. New York: Sterling. pp. 181, 190–191. ISBN 978-1-4027-8630-3.
- ^ "Looking Out For Trouble" (PDF). Billboard. November 21, 1981. p. 7. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
- ^ Harris, Carol Ann (2007). Storms: My Life With Lindsey Buckingham and Fleetwood Mac. Chicago, Illinois: Chicago Review Press. pp. 324–325. ISBN 978-1-55652-790-6.
- ^ a b "Billboard - March 20, 1982" (PDF). Billboard. March 20, 1982. p. 70. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
- ^ a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, New South Wales: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "Innerview with Jim Ladd (1981), (Radio Show Partial Transcript)". The Blue Letter Archives. 1981. Archived from the original on December 30, 2015. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
