It Was I
{{Short description|1959 song performed by Skip & Flip}}
{{about|the song|the 1973 film|Sono stato io}}
{{Infobox song
| name = It Was I
| cover =
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Skip & Flip
| album =
| B-side = Lunch Hour
| released = May 1959
| format =
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Rock and roll
| length = {{Duration|m=2|s=15}}
| label = Brent
| writer = Gary S. Paxton
| producer =
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title = Fancy Nancy
| next_year = 1959
}}
"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[http://musicvf.com/song.php?title=It+Was+I+by+Skip+%26+Flip&id=38057 Skip & Flip, "It Was I" chart position] Retrieved February 12, 2016. and ranked No. 84 on Billboard magazine's Top Hot 100 songs of 1959.{{cite web|url=http://longboredsurfer.com/charts/1959.php |title=Billboard Top 100 - 1959 |accessdate=April 19, 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102011043/http://longboredsurfer.com/charts/1959.php |archivedate=January 2, 2014 }}
Skip & Flip recording
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.{{Cite news |last=Roberts |first=Sam |date=2016-07-23 |title=Gary S. Paxton, Whose Mixed Bag of a Life Was Filled With Music, Dies at 77 |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/23/arts/music/gary-paxton-dead.html |access-date=2023-08-23 |issn=0362-4331}} 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.{{Cite web |last=Daponte |first=Mark |date=2022-05-14 |title=Of Hits and Hitmen: The Gary S. Paxton Story |url=https://www.culturesonar.com/of-hits-and-hitmen-the-gary-s-paxton-story/ |access-date=2023-08-23 |website=CultureSonar |language=en-US}} "It Was I" eventually sold over one million copies.{{Cite web |title=Gary S.Paxton |url=http://www.urban.ne.jp/home/koa7/garpax.htm |access-date=2023-08-23 |website=www.urban.ne.jp}}
=Chart performance=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
! Chart (1959) ! Peak |
| {{single chart|Billboardhot100|11|artist=Skip and Flip|rowheader=true|access-date=August 23, 2023}} |
Lindsey Buckingham recording
{{Infobox song
| name = It Was I
| cover =
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Lindsey Buckingham
| album = Law and Order
| released = 1982
| format =
| recorded = 1981
| studio =
| venue =
| genre =
| length = 2:39
| label = Asylum/Warner Music Group
| writer = Gary S. Paxton
| producer = Lindsey Buckingham
Richard Dashut
| prev_title = Trouble
| prev_year = 1981
| next_title = Holiday Road
| next_year = 1983
| misc =
| file =
| description =
}}
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. A music video directed by Jerry Watson was also created to accompany the song.{{cite magazine|magazine=Billboard|title=Looking Out For Trouble|date=November 21, 1981 |accessdate=October 26, 2024 |page=7 |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1981/BB-1981-11-21.pdf}} 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.{{Cite news |date=March 20, 1982|title=Billboard - March 20, 1982 |page=70|work=Billboard |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1982/BB-1982-03-20.pdf|access-date=October 9, 2023}}
"It Was I" fared slightly better in Australia, where it managed to reach the No. 74 spot.{{cite book | title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 | last=Kent | first=David | author-link=David Kent (historian) | publisher=Australian Chart Book | location=St Ives, New South Wales | year=1993 | isbn=0-646-11917-6}} 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. Saying, "let's keep trying. Let's keep going and get through this." The sense is really very optimistic for future happiness."{{Cite web |date=1981 |title=Innerview with Jim Ladd (1981), (Radio Show Partial Transcript) |url=http://bla.fleetwoodmac.net/index.php?page=index_v2&id=41&c=9 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151230162851/http://bla.fleetwoodmac.net/index.php?page=index_v2&id=41&c=9 |archive-date=December 30, 2015 |access-date=October 7, 2023 |website=The Blue Letter Archives}}
=Personnel=
- Lindsey Buckingham – lead vocals, all instrumentation
- Carol Ann Harris – backing vocals
=Chart performance=
| class="wikitable"
!Chart (1982) !Peak |
| Australia (Kent Music Report)
| align="center"|74 |
| US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles
| align="center"|10 |
References
{{reflist}}
{{Lindsey Buckingham}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Songs written by Gary S. Paxton