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'). The recording of 'I Am One' on Vieuphoria / Earphoria features one such rant. Some of the rants contained lyrics for future songs, most notably ' Zero'. 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. Jimmy Chamberlin considered these rants to be 'art-breakdown'. These rants were criticized, sometimes even by the other band members, due to their abrasive nature. The speech section is known among fans as 'the I Am One rant'. In live performance (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 music video features a live performance by the band. 'I Am One' features a doubled guitar solo – a technique later used on Pumpkins songs like ' Ava Adore', ' Tarantula', and 'Bring the Light'.

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.

With only 1500 copies pressed, the release is highly sought after by collectors. Footage from the video was instead used on the long form video, Vieuphoria, the long version of the music video was released on the Greatest Hits Video Collection. A video for the song was also filmed, but never released (until 2001) due to the band being unhappy with the result. Corgan later stated his regret with not re-working the song for Gish, as the two versions are nearly identical. 'I Am One' was re-recorded for Gish and a new single was released on Caroline Records and Hut Recordings. This recording was financed with the money from Corgan's college tuition fund left by his grandmother. One was recorded in 1990 and was the Pumpkins' first release and first on Limited Potential. Two recordings of the song were released. It charted on the UK Singles Chart at a peak position of number 73. 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. ' I Am One' is the debut single by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins.

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