"I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" is a song by the American duo Daryl Hall and John Oates. Written by Daryl Hall,

John Oates John William Oates (born April 7, 1948) is an American musician, best known as half of the rock and soul duo Hall & Oates, with Daryl Hall. He has played rock, R&B, and soul music, acting as a guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record produ ...

and

Sara Allen Sara Allen (born March 23, 1954) is an American songwriter best known for her work with the duo Hall & Oates. She was in a long-term relationship with Daryl Hall, which ended in 2001, and contributed to many of the duo's hit singles, including " ...

, the song was released as the second single from their tenth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

, '' Private Eyes'' (1981). The song became the fourth number one hit single of their career on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It features Charles DeChant on

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

Composition

Daryl Hall sketched out the basic song one evening at a music studio in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, in 1981, after a recording session for the ''Private Eyes'' album. Hall started the Rock 1 setting on Roland CompuRhythm then began playing a bass line on a Korg organ, and sound engineer Neil Kernon recorded the result. Hall then came up with a guitar riff, which he and Oates worked on together. The next day, Hall, Oates and

worked on the lyrics. Speaking about the meaning of the lyrics, John Oates has stated that while many listeners may assume the lyrics are about a relationship, in reality, the song, "is about the music business. That song is really about not being pushed around by big labels, managers, and agents and being told what to do, and being true to yourself creatively." This was done intentionally, he explained, to universalize the topic of the song into something everyone could relate to and ascribe personal meaning to in their own way. Naming " Maneater" as another example, he revealed that this was a common theme for the group's songs.

Personnel

* Daryl Hall –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

and

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

synthesizers A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

, Roland CR-78 drum machine *

–

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

* Charles DeChant –

*John Siegler –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

Chart performance

The single debuted at number 59 on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

the week of November 14, 1981 as the highest debut of the week and after eleven weeks, on January 30, 1982, it reached the top of the chart, staying there for a week. "I Can't Go for That" ended a 10-week run at the top of the Hot 100 by

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Awards, Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one s ...

's song, "

Physical Physical may refer to: * Physical examination, a regular overall check-up with a doctor * ''Physical'' (Olivia Newton-John album), 1981 ** "Physical" (Olivia Newton-John song) * ''Physical'' (Gabe Gurnsey album) * "Physical" (Alcazar song) (2004) * ...

" (which had knocked out Hall & Oates' " Private Eyes" from the top spot). The song also went to number one on the Hot Dance Club Play chart for one week in January 1982. Thanks to heavy airplay on

urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban conte ...

radio stations, "I Can't Go for That" also topped the US R&B chart, a rare feat for a white act. It was the only record to hit number one on both the

and then-Hot Soul charts during all of 1982. The single was certified Gold by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

for shipments of one million units on January 7, 1982. According to the Hall & Oates biography, Hall, upon learning that "I Can't Go for That" had gone to number one on the R&B chart, wrote in his diary, "I'm the head soul brother in the U.S. Where to now?" It also peaked at number one on the ''

Radio & Records ''Radio & Records'' (''R&R'') was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister ...

'' CHR/Pop Airplay chart on December 18, 1981, staying at the top of the chart for six weeks and remaining on it for fifteen weeks, making it their biggest hit on the '' R&R'' airplay chart. This single was also the first top 10 hit for the duo in the UK, peaking at number eight in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. It was certified Silver by the BPI on March 1, 1982 for shipments of 200,000 units.

Weekly

Year-end

All-time

Legacy

"I Can't Go for That" was voted number six on VH1's list of "The 100 Greatest Songs of the '80s."

Samples

The song has been sampled numerous times including in "

Say No Go "Say No Go" is a single by De La Soul from their influential 1989 album ''3 Feet High and Rising''. It reached number 18 in the UK charts. The tune is heavily based on sampling the hit song "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" by Hall & Oates. Bac ...

" by

De La Soul De La Soul () is an American hip hop trio formed in 1988 in the Amityville area of Long Island, New York. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternati ...

, " Sunrise" by

Simply Red Simply Red are a British soul and pop band formed in Manchester in 1985. The lead vocalist of the band is singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall, who, by the time the band initially disbanded in 2010, was the only original member left. Since t ...

, "The Final Hour" and "Take Me to Your Leader" by MF Doom (under the King Geedorah moniker), and " On Hold" by

The xx The xx are an English indie rock band from Wandsworth, London, formed in 2005. The band consists of Romy Madley Croft (guitar, vocals), Oliver Sim (bass guitar, vocals), Jamie Smith, also known as Jamie xx (beats, MPC, record production), an ...

. Anderson .Paak has stated that Dr Dre's " Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang" was originally also going to sample the song.

Influence on "Billie Jean"

According to Daryl Hall, during the recording of " We Are the World",

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

approached him and admitted to lifting the bass line for "

Billie Jean "Billie Jean" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson, released by Epic Records on January 2, 1983, as the second single from his sixth studio album, '' Thriller'' (1982). It was written and composed by Jackson and produced by Jackson and ...

" from a

Hall & Oates Daryl Hall and John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, are an American pop rock duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two ...

song, apparently referring to "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)." Hall says that he told Jackson that he had lifted the bass line from another song himself, and that it was "something we all do."

References

External links

Video
on VH1 Classic website

{{authority control 1981 singles 1981 songs Hall & Oates songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Songs written by John Oates Songs written by Daryl Hall Songs written by Sara Allen RCA Records singles