"I Go Blind" is a song by Canadian alternative rock

Alternative rock

Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

 group 54-40

54-40

54•40 is a Canadian alternative rock group from Tsawwassen, British Columbia.The band takes their name from the slogan "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!", coined to express the expansionist agenda of James K...

. The song was released as a single from the band's 1986 self-titled album, 54-40

54-40 (album)

54•40 is a 1986 eponymous album by Canadian alternative rock band 54•40. The album is nicknamed "The Green Album" by fans because the album artwork is green...

. It has since become one of the band's most popular songs.

Hootie & the Blowfish cover

The song was covered by popular American rock band Hootie & the Blowfish

Hootie & the Blowfish

Hootie & the Blowfish is an American rock band that enjoyed popularity in the second half of the 1990s. They were originally formed in 1986 at the University of South Carolina by Darius Rucker, Dean Felber, Jim Sonefeld, and Mark Bryan. The band has recorded five studio albums to date, and has...

 for the soundtrack of the TV series Friends

Friends

Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...

. The cover became a radio hit in 1996, peaking at #22 on Billboard's

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

 Adult Contemporary chart and #3 on the Adult Top 40 chart. The Hootie version also charted on Canada's RPM

RPM (magazine)

RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...

Singles Chart

Canadian Singles Chart

The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays....

, peaking at #13.

The song was featured on the band's compilation albums; 2000's Scattered, Smothered and Covered

Scattered, Smothered and Covered

Scattered, Smothered and Covered is the name of a 2000 album by Hootie and the Blowfish, featuring all covers. The album was named in honor of Waffle House, a southern restaurant chain. One of Waffle House's advertising campaigns used the phrase "scattered, smothered and covered," a reference to...

and 2003's The Best of Hootie & the Blowfish: 1993–2003.