What I Am

"What I Am"
7" single cover
Single by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians
from the album Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars
B-side	"I Do" "Walk on the Wildside"
Released	November 1988 (US) [1]
Format	7" single, 12" single, 3" CD single, cassette single
Recorded	Recorded at Rockfield Studios, Wales, UK.[2]
Length	4:54
Label	Geffen
Writer(s)	Edie Brickell Kenny Withrow
Producer(s)	Pat Moran
Edie Brickell & New Bohemians singles chronology
"What I Am" (1988) "Circle" (1988)

"What I Am" is a song written by Edie Brickell and Kenny Withrow and recorded by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians for their debut album, Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars (1988). It peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100.^[3] It also topped the charts in Canada, but only peaked within the top forty of the charts in the United Kingdom.^[4] This version was ranked number 77 on VH1's list of The 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders. The song was featured in a 1989 episode of Miami Vice, an episode of Beavis and Butt-head, as well as an episode of Doogie Howser, M.D. and in the 1989 Patrick Dempsey film Loverboy.^[5]

The song is highlighted by a guitar solo that emulates the approach of Jerry Garcia including the use of an envelope filter.

Formats and track listings

7" single / cassette single

Side A:

1. "What I Am" – 4:54

Side B:

1. "I Do" – 2:00

12" single / 3" CD single

1. "What I Am" – 4:54
2. "I Do" – 2:00
3. "Walk on the Wildside" – 5:52

Charts

Chart (1988–1989)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart[6]	18
Canadian Singles Chart	1
Irish Singles Chart[7]	23
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[8]	11
UK Singles Chart[4]	31
US Billboard Hot 100[3]	7
US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks[9]	4
US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks[10]	9

Tin Tin Out and Emma Bunton version

"What I Am"
Single by Tin Tin Out featuring Emma Bunton
from the album Eleven to Fly and A Girl Like Me
B-side	"Weird (Save Yourself)"
Released	1 November 1999
Format	CD single
Recorded	Sarm West Studios (London, United Kingdom)
Genre	Pop
Length	4:34 (Album version) 3:54 (Radio version)
Label	VC
Writer(s)	Edie Brickell Kenny Withrow
Producer(s)	Tin Tin Out
Tin Tin Out singles chronology
"Eleven to Fly" (1999) "What I Am" (1999) "Anybody's Guess" (2000)
Emma Bunton singles chronology "What I Am" (1999) "What Took You So Long?" (2001) Audio sample file info · help Music video "What I Am" on YouTube

The song was covered by the British duo Tin Tin Out featuring vocals of Spice Girls member and Heart Radio DJ Emma Bunton. Released in November 1999 as the second single from Tin Tin Out's second studio album, Eleven to Fly (1999). It also appeared on Bunton's debut solo album, A Girl Like Me (2001).

Tin Tin Out and Bunton's version debuted and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, twenty nine places higher than the original version ten years previously, losing the battle against Bunton's fellow Spice Girls member Geri Halliwell's "Lift Me Up". It sold 106,000 copies to get to number two in its first week and around 221,787 copies altogether. "What I Am" was the UK's 88th best-selling single of 1999.

Format and track listing

This is the format and track listing of the major single release of "What I Am".

UK CD single

1. "What I Am" (radio version) – 3:54
2. "What I Am" (Gangstarr Remix) – 4:07
3. "Weird (Save Yourself)" (Tin Tin Out featuring Wendy Page) – 5:42

Charts

Chart (1999–2000)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[11]	65
France (SNEP)[12]	75
Germany (Official German Charts)[13]	81
Ireland (IRMA)[14]	14
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[15]	94
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[16]	48
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[17]	10
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[18]	52
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[19]	2

Sampling

• The song was sampled by New Edition on their song "Something About You", from their 1996 album Home Again.
• Portions of the song were resung by Lauryn Hill and sampled into Aretha Franklin's 1998 hit "A Rose Is Still a Rose".
• Part of the chorus and guitar riff is sampled by hip-hop group Brand Nubian on their song "Slow Down" from their 1990 debut album, One For All.

References

1. Strong, M. C. (1995). The Great Rock Discography. Edinburgh: Canongate Books Ltd. p. 90. ISBN 0-86241-385-0.
2. Discogs
3. "Billboard > Artists / Edie Brickell > Chart History > The Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-02-24.
4. "Official Charts > Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 2016-02-24.
5. Edie Brickell at the Internet Movie Database
6. "australian-charts.com > Edie Brickell & New Bohemians – What I Am (song)". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2016-02-24.
7. "The Irish Charts – All there is to know > Search results for 'Edie Brickell'". Fireball Media. Retrieved 2016-02-24.
8. "charts.org.nz > Edie Brickell & New Bohemians (song)". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2016-02-24.
9. "Billboard > Artists / Edie Brickell > Chart History > Alternative Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-02-24.
10. "Billboard > Artists / Edie Brickell > Chart History > Mainstream Rock Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-02-24.
11. "ariaNET The Chart! Top 100 Singles – Week Commencing 24th January 2000". ARIA. Retrieved 2016-02-24.
12. "Lescharts.com – Emma Bunton – What I Am" (in French). Les classement single.
13. "Offiziellecharts.de – Emma Bunton – What I Am". GfK Entertainment Charts.
14. "The Irish Charts". IRMA. Retrieved 2008-10-12.
15. "Dutchcharts.nl – Emma Bunton – What I Am" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
16. "Charts.org.nz – Emma Bunton – What I Am". Top 40 Singles.
17. "Archive Chart: 1999-11-07". Scottish Singles Top 40.
18. "Swedishcharts.com – Emma Bunton – What I Am". Singles Top 100.
19. "Emma Bunton: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics