Search - Skip & Flip :: It Was I: Very Best of

Three Skips And A Flip

07/29/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Gary (Flip) Paxton and Clyde (Skip) Battin cut their own tape of It Was I in Phoenix, Arizona in 1959 and then found a small label, Brent of L.A., willing to take a chance on it through a lease arrangement. The gamble paid off as the disc reached # 11 Billboard Hot 100 in August that year and stayed on the charts for 16 weeks. Their next song to chart that year didn't fare nearly as well, with Fancy Nancy struggling to reach # 71 Hot 100 in November.



In 1960 a new Skip, Dave Martinez, took the place of Battin, but by the time the next hit was recorded that year, he in turn had been replaced by Rod Marshall. Cherry Pie b/w (I'll Quit) Cryin' Over You repeated the Hot 100 charts success of It Was I in June and also managed to hit # 27 R&B.



Now, however, it was Flip's turn to leave, and this time the duo broke up entirely. Paxton did OK though, becoming the lead singer with The Hollywood Argyles in time for their monster hit Alley-Oop on the Lute label. Based on the old comic strip character, and b/w Sho' Know A Lot About Love, it went to # 1 Hot 100 and # 3 R&B that July.



For Battin it was matter of timing. And it seemed to be all bad. In 1969 he joined The Byrds, two years after their last Top 40 hit, and in 1973 hooked up as a bass player with The New Riders Of The Purple Sage, replacing Dave Torbert, and was there for two LPs before being replaced himself.



This is a nice, complete package from Collectables with all three hits and their flipsides."

You'll Flip over this CD...don't Skip it.

Raymond Lindstrom | Laughlin, NV | 07/08/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ah yes, Skip and Flip, here they are together, two legends as a duo. Skip(Clyde Battin-later with the Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers) Flip (Gary Paxton, producer of Alley Oop by the Hollywood Argyles, and Monster Mash.) It is a good solid copy of their best stuff from 1959-1960. I real classic. I worked with Skip in Tucson, he was a C & W deejay and a nice guy. He died of Alzheimer's two years ago. Flip has found Jesus and now lives in Branson.

Ray Lindstrom, Laughlin, NV"