"It's Probably Me" is a song originally released in 1992 as a collaboration by Sting featuring Eric Clapton,

Michael Kamen Michael Arnold Kamen (April 15, 1948 – November 18, 2003) was an American composer (especially of film scores), orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, songwriter, and session musician. Biography Early life Michael Arnold Kamen was born ...

, and

David Sanborn David William Sanborn (born July 30, 1945) is an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album ''Taking Off'' in 19 ...

. Released from the soundtrack to the

action comedy Action comedy is a genre that combines aspects of action and comedy. The genre is most prevalent in film with action comedy films, though several TV series fit this genre. Film The action comedy film is a film genre that combines aspects of acti ...

film ''

Lethal Weapon 3 ''Lethal Weapon 3'' is a 1992 American buddy cop action film directed by Richard Donner and written by Jeffrey Boam and Robert Mark Kamen. The sequel to '' Lethal Weapon 2'' (1989), it is the third installment in the ''Lethal Weapon'' film ser ...

'' in June 1992, the song reached number 20 on the US '' Billboard'' Album Rock Tracks chart and number 12 on Canada's ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' Top Singles chart. It was more successful in Europe, peaking at number one in Italy, number four in France and number six in the Netherlands.

Background and release

The song uses

leitmotifs A leitmotif or leitmotiv () is a "short, recurring musical phrase" associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical concepts of ''idée fixe'' or ''motto-theme''. The spelling ''leitmotif'' is an anglici ...

that were first used on the soundtrack for the original ''

Lethal Weapon ''Lethal Weapon'' is a 1987 American buddy cop action comedy film directed and co-produced by Richard Donner, written by Shane Black, and co-produced by Joel Silver. It stars Mel Gibson and Danny Glover alongside Gary Busey, Tom Atkins, D ...

'' film, released five years earlier. It was released as a single and on the ''

'' movie soundtrack. It also appears on the '' Fields of Gold: The Best of Sting 1984-1994'' international edition compilation album released in 1994, and on Sting's ''

Duets A duet is a musical composition or piece for two performers. Duets or The Duets may also refer to: Films and television * ''Duets'' (film), a 2000 film, starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul Giamatti and Huey Lewis * "Duets" (''Glee''), a 2010 episo ...

'' album released in 2021. Sting rerecorded the song in 1993 for his ''

Ten Summoner's Tales ''Ten Summoner's Tales'' is the fourth solo studio album by English rock musician Sting. The title is a combined pun of his family name, Sumner, and a character in Geoffrey Chaucer's '' The Canterbury Tales'', the summoner. Released in 1993, ...

'' album without any of the other musicians.

Music video

A music video was released in mid 1992 featuring Sting, Eric Clapton, Michael Kamen and David Sanborn performing the track together while a few scenes of ''Lethal Weapon 3'' are shown. The video snippets in where the quartet performs the song are shot in black and white. Clapton is also seen smoking a cigarette in the video and using his

Zippo A Zippo lighter is a reusable metal lighter produced by Zippo Manufacturing Company of Bradford, Pennsylvania, United States. Thousands of different styles and designs have been made in the nine decades since their introduction, including milita ...

petrol lighter to create the opening rhythm instead of a drum set or programme.

Reception

Clapton, Sting and Kamen were nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

at the 35th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television in 1993. At the

1993 MTV Movie Awards The 1993 MTV Movie Awards was hosted by Eddie Murphy. Performers *Dr. Dre (featuring Snoop Dogg) — "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang" *Duran Duran — " Ordinary World" *Rod Stewart — "Have I Told You Lately" *Stone Temple Pilots — " Plush" Awards ...

Sting and Clapton were both nominated for the Best Movie Song. The American music website ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

'' retrospectively rated the release with two out of five possible stars.

Track listings

Personnel

Musicians * Sting – vocals, backing vocals, bass * Eric Clapton – acoustic and electric guitar *

Steve Gadd Stephen Kendall Gadd (born April 9, 1945) is an American drummer, percussionist, and session musician. Gadd is one of the best-known and highly regarded session and studio drummers in the industry, recognized by his induction into the '' Modern ...

– drums *

– keyboards, strings arrangement * Stephen McLaughlin – percussion *

– alto saxophone

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1992 singles 1992 songs A&M Records singles Eric Clapton songs Number-one singles in Italy Sting (musician) songs Songs written by Eric Clapton Songs written by Michael Kamen Songs written by Sting (musician) Lethal Weapon (franchise)