"I Go Crazy" is a song written, composed, and recorded by American singer-songwriter Paul Davis. It was the first single he released from his 1977 album Singer of Songs: Teller of Tales, and his second-highest peaking pop hit, peaking at #7 on the Billboard chart in 1978. The song entered the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart on 27 August 1977 and began slowly climbing, peaking in March and April 1978, before dropping off the chart the week after 27 May 1978. Overall, it spent 40 weeks (nine months and one week) on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, setting what was then the record for the longest run on that chart, of consecutive weeks or not.[3]
"I Go Crazy" | ||||
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![]() German single picture sleeve | ||||
Single by Paul Davis | ||||
from the album Singer of Songs: Teller of Tales | ||||
B-side | "Reggae Kinda Way" | |||
Released | June 1977[1] | |||
Genre | Soft rock | |||
Length | 3:52 (album Version) 3:37 (single version − as printed on label but plays identical to album version) | |||
Label | Bang (US, Canada, UK)[2] Stateside (Australia) Bellaphon (Germany) EMI (New Zealand) | |||
Songwriter(s) | Paul Davis | |||
Producer(s) | Phil Benton Paul Davis | |||
Paul Davis singles chronology | ||||
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Alternative release | ||||
![]() Side A of US single | ||||
During the March 4, 1978 American Top 40 show, Casey Kasem said that Davis begged his studio to have the song presented to Lou Rawls, who he thought would make it a huge success. But when the studio saw how much faith he had in the chances of the song's success, it instead decided to release a lightly edited version of Davis's own studio demo version. (Rawls did release his cover version of the song two years later.)
The lyrics describe the feelings of a man who has an unexpected meeting with a former girlfriend. Both have moved on from the relationship, and he had thought she was out of his life forever. Looking at her, however, rekindles his old affection and makes him "go crazy", at least inwardly. To his credit, he does not act on these feelings, though he does realize that he is not really over her.
The song has been covered by several artists, including these four whose versions were all released as singles:
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Chart (1989) | Peak position |
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Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[9] | 47 |
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[10] | 55 |
Chart (1991) | Peak position |
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U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs | 37 |
Chart (1997) | Peak position |
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U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 30 |
Chart (2006) | Peak position |
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Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[11] | 3 |
Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)[12] | 15 |
France (SNEP)[13] | 76 |
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[14] | 56 |
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Studio albums | |
Singles | |
Related articles |
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