B-side "Lunch Hour" Genre Rock and roll Label Brent | Released May 1959 Length 2:15 Writer(s) Gary S. Paxton | |
"It Was I" is a song written by vocalist Gary S. Paxton that reached #11 in 1959 when Paxton released it as part of a duo with Clyde Battin called Skip & Flip. The song was ranked #84 on Billboard magazine's Top Hot 100 songs of 1959.
It was later covered by American guitarist and vocalist Lindsey Buckingham and his then girlfriend Carol Ann Harris. The song would become the second single off his debut album, Law and Order. Unlike Buckingham's previous single, Trouble, "It Was I" was not a big hit for Buckingham, failing to match the success of the original. The song only reached #10 on the Billboard Bubbling Under chart, an extension to the Hot 100.
"It Was I" fared slightly better in Australia, where it managed to reach the #74 spot. Despite only achieving minor success, "It Was I" performed better in Australia than any of its successors, including "Go Insane", which only reached #100.