''I Am What I Am'' is a

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

that includes the first recordings by

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

(with the exception of two early singles). The front cover ''(pictured)'' also includes "presenting a bright new star".Album cover. The album was produced by

Budd Granoff Budd may refer to: People * Budd (given name) * Budd (surname) Places * Budd Coast, Wilkes Land, Antarctica * Budd Creek, California * Budd Peak (Enderby Land), Antarctica * Budd Peak (Heard Island), Indian Ocean ** Budd Pass * Budd Inlet, a ...

.Album liner notes. Although Milan recorded many additional songs on later singles, this was the only album ever released in his name. This album (and its associated singles) is also notable for apparently being the only time in his career that Milan used the "Rodell" surname.

Songwriter credits

Milan is listed as the

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

on all tracks under the name "M. Rodell"; on the first 45, the songwriter's name is Milan Rodelle (which is presumably a misspelling). As verified in the liner notes, the album is unusual for

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...

albums of the times in this regard. There are three

music publishing companies Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

listed for the songs on the album: Jonathan Glenn Music, Nom Music and Pine Knob Music.

Release data

The album was released in the LP format on

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

in 1964 in both

monaural Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction (often shortened to mono) is sound intended to be heard as if it were emanating from one position. This contrasts with stereophonic sound or ''stereo'', which uses two separate audio channels to reproduc ...

and stereophonic editions (catalogue numbers TFM 3149 and TFS 4149, respectively). The first and last songs on Side 1 were released as the first single on the same

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

(catalogue number 478), also in 1964.45 single label. The second single from the album was "Runnin' Wild" b/w "Angel's Lullaby".

Track listing

All tracks written by Milan (M. Rodell). Side one # I Am What I Am – 2:22 # Two of a Kind – 2:24 # Angel's Lullaby – 2:45 # There's Nothing without You – 2:32 # Dream Girl – 2:25 # Over and Over Again – 2:15 Side two # Runnin' Wild – 2:20 # Going My Way – 1:56 # Spellbound – 2:15 # Today Is My Day – 2:20 # This Little Girl – 2:25 # The Big Lie – 2:09

References

{{Authority control 1964 debut albums Milan the Leather Boy albums Garage rock albums by American artists 20th Century Fox Records albums