What I Got
1996 single by Sublime
"What I Got" is a song from American band Sublime's self-titled third album (1996). It was released to modern rock and college radio on July 23, 1996. The song's chorus is a lift from "Loving" by reggae artist Half Pint, who is credited as a co-writer. The melody and pacing of the verses is identical to the Beatles' "Lady Madonna". It was released after singer Bradley Nowell's death in 1996 from a heroin overdose and became one of the band's biggest radio hits.
"What I Got" reached the number-one spot on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and was also a mainstream radio hit, peaking at number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart. In New Zealand, "What I Got" peaked at number 34 on the RIANZ Singles Chart; What I Got: The Seven Song EP charted higher, reaching number 33 on the same chart. Elsewhere, the single reached number two on the Canadian RPM Alternative 30 chart and number 19 in Iceland. Rolling Stone placed it at number 83 on its list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time" in 2008.
Music video
The video for "What I Got", shot after Bradley Nowell's death, mainly contains a collage of archive videos and photos of him including his infant son Jakob Nowell at the end, as a tribute to the singer.
“What I Got” enters the record as 1996 single by Sublime. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what What, single and Sublime can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“What I Got” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, What, single and Sublime provides the most credible route into that argument.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7991167. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1996 and 2008.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “What I Got”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow What I Got primary sources, What I Got archive and What research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “What I Got”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “What I Got” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.