I Am One

"I Am One" is the debut single by The Smashing Pumpkins. It was the band's first ever release and remains the only single issued by the band with co-writing credits to both Billy Corgan and James Iha. It charted on the UK Singles Chart at a peak position of number 73.

With only 1500 copies pressed, the Limited Potential release is highly sought after by collectors. There are apparently three test pressings also in existence, two owned by Billy Corgan and one was formally owned by Limited Potential owner, Mike Potential.

If you go back and listen to "I Am One," and the drum balance on the toms, those are not geeked up; those are him hitting the drums. That's the concussiveness of the way he's playing coming through the room mics. Oftentimes when you hear drummers play, and then you see them live, they don't have the same power because they're aided by the studio balance. That is actually true to Jimmy's balance; what you hear is how Jimmy sounded in the room.

Background
Two recordings of the song were released. One was recorded in 1990 and was the Pumpkins' first release and first on Limited Potential. This recording was financed with the money from Corgan's college tuition fund left by his grandmother. "I Am One" was re-recorded for Gish and a new single was released on Caroline Records and Hut Recordings. Corgan later stated his regret with not re-working the song for Gish, as the two versions are nearly identical.

Corgan wrote the intro drum riff, and the rest of the song was formed around it. He has said the riff might have been influenced by Stephen Perkins of Jane's Addiciton and Led Zeppelin. Lyrically, "I Am One" is a take on religion, with "I am one as you are three" being a reference to the Father, Sun and Holy Ghost. Some lyrics were adapted from an article he read on Bishop Desmond Tutu.

In the Thirty-Three podcast, Corgan detailed how religion and LSD influenced the lyrics: "I Am One was my grappling with the idea that I've been told a bunch of stuff about religion, particularly in the Catholic church, that I knew in my heart wasn't true. That Jesus is a savior wasn't really saying the things they said he was saying, at least that was my interpretation. LSD in particular got me think beyond what I was told and realize, oh no, we're actually all connected. … [The song] isn't as much about me, as it is trying to figure who I was going to be." He added that he was initially nervous that the lyric "I Am One" would come off as too egotistical. His actual intention was more of a 'rallying cry' that others can identify with.

"I Am One" features a doubled guitar solo – a technique later used on Pumpkins songs like "Ava Adore", "Tarantula", and "Bring the Light". Corgan has said this is his favorite part of the song.

When the band released their greatest hits compilation, Rotten Apples, in 2001, "I Am One" was one of the few singles that did not make the cut (the others were "Tristessa", "Rocket", "Thirty-Three", "The End Is the Beginning Is the End", and on American copies of the album, "Try, Try, Try").

Live performances
In live performances (starting around the release of Siamese Dream) Corgan would often improvise a speech during the extended bass break; as a result the song could extend to 8–10 minutes in length. The speech section is known among fans as the "I Am One rant", but is just one of many instances that the band considers "art breakdown", likely coined by drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. These rants were criticized, sometimes even by the other band members, due to their abrasive nature. The rants were apparently based around the erosion of the belief structure in America's youth, and Corgan has stated they were the gestation for many ideas he later explored on Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Some of the rants contained lyrics for future songs, most notably "Zero". The recording of "I Am One" on Vieuphoria / Earphoria features one such rant. The longest live performance took place at Lollapalooza on August 3, 1994 at just under 11 minutes in length.

Music video
A video was filmed in 1991, but never released (until 2001) due to the band being unhappy with the result. Footage from the video was instead used on the long form video, Vieuphoria, and the long version of the music video was released on the Greatest Hits Video Collection.

Formats and track listing
UK flexi-disc sent by record label to promoters, radio stations, etc.

The Smashing Pumpkins

 * Billy Corgan – vocals, guitar, production
 * James Iha (as "James" on Limited Potential) – guitar, photography (Gish version)
 * D'arcy Wretzky – bass guitar
 * Jimmy Chamberlin – drums

Technical personnel

 * Kerry Brown – production, CD single b-sides
 * Butch Vig – production, Gish version
 * Lynne Fischer – design, photography (Limited Potential)