"Can't Let Go" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Randy Weeks, made famous by

Lucinda Williams Lucinda Gayle Williams (born January 26, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter and a solo guitarist. She recorded her first two albums: '' Ramblin' on My Mind'' (1979) and ''Happy Woman Blues'' (1980), in a traditional country and blues style ...

in 1998–1999. Williams released "Can't Let Go" as a single from her album '' Car Wheels on a Gravel Road'', and the song entered the ''Billboard'' Adult Alternative Airplay chart in December 1998, peaking at number 14 in March 1999, staying on the chart for 13 weeks. Williams earned a

Grammy 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 pres ...

nomination for the song in the category

Best Female Rock Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance was an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to female recording artists for works (songs or albums) cont ...

. Weeks released his own version of the song in 2000, on his album ''Madeline''. In 2021, English singer

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the English rock band Led Zeppelin for all of its existence from 1968 until 1980, when the band broke up following th ...

and American singer/fiddler

Alison Krauss Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer and musician. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of 8 and recording for the first time at 14. She signed with ...

covered the song on their album '' Raise the Roof''. "Can't Let Go" was released as the lead single from the album, peaking at number 8 on the Adult Alternative Airplay chart.

Lucinda Williams version

heard the song performed by Randy Weeks, and asked him if she could work it into her own style. She included the song on her acclaimed album '' Car Wheels on a Gravel Road'', and released it as a single in late 1998. As it was rising in the Alternative Airplay chart, she performed the song on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serve ...

'' on February 20, 1999.

Steve Earle Stephen Fain Earle (; born January 17, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, author, and actor. Earle began his career as a songwriter in Nashville and released his first EP in 1982. Initially working in the country music g ...

and

Ray Kennedy Raymond Kennedy (28 July 1951 – 30 November 2021) was an English footballer who won every domestic honour in the game with Arsenal and Liverpool in the 1970s and early 1980s. Kennedy played as a forward for Arsenal, and then played as a l ...

produced the song under the name Twangtrust, with Williams receiving co-producer credit.

Roy Bittan Roy J. Bittan (born July 2, 1949) is an American musician best known as a long-time member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. Nicknamed "The Professor", Bittan joined the E Street Band in 1974. He plays the piano, organ, accordion and synth ...

performed additional engineering, including

overdubbing Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more av ...

, adding extra sounds. Country music website The Boot listed the song as number 2 of the best Lucinda Williams songs, underneath the 1989 hit "

Passionate Kisses "Passionate Kisses" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams. It was released in 1989 as the fourth single from her third album, '' Lucinda Williams'' (1988). The song was famously covered by Mary Chapin ...

". The Boot described Williams's version of "Can't Let Go" as "a Texas roadhouse barn-burner, with charred licks and vocals that convey equal parts anguish and defiance." The lyrics document "the bittersweet experience of hanging onto a failed (or failing) romance". Holler listed the song at number 6 on their list of Williams' best songs, describing it as a "freight train of a track" that "set the standard for her rowdy, radical records," writing "The stop-and-go production structure evokes the almost rhythmic rough-and-tumble of the relationship with slick lyricism."

Randy Weeks composition

Randy Weeks wrote the song and performed it at the Palomino Club in Los Angeles, where Williams first heard it. Weeks remembers, "she came up to me and said: 'I like that song. What is it?' About three years later, after 'Passionate Kisses,' she asked if I could send her a tape of it." Weeks said Williams held onto the song for three more years before putting it on her 1998 album ''Car Wheels on a Gravel Road''. Williams said, "I love Randy.... I'm so glad he's finally getting his just due. I've championed his music for years and years. We knew each other from his Lonesome Strangers days. I opened for those guys when I first moved to California. My boyfriend then, Lorne Rall, played in the band with Randy, so we go way back." "Can't Let Go" was the only

cover song In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song releas ...

on ''Car Wheels on a Gravel Road'' – all the other songs were written or co-written by Williams. "Can't Let Go" was the most successful single from the album. After Williams made the song famous, Weeks included his own version of it on his 2000 album ''Madeline'', with backing vocals by Manny Gonzalez.

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss version

In November 2021, English rock singer

(ex–

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are c ...

) and American bluegrass violinist/vocalist

released their second collaborative album, '' Raise the Roof''. The album was preceded by "Can't Let Go" released as the lead single on August 12. It climbed the Adult Alternative Airplay chart during September, peaking at number 8 in October. By December 1, the single had amassed 327,000 U.S. streams, 262,000 radio audience impressions and 2,500 downloads sold, entering the

Hot Rock & Alternative Songs Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (formerly known as Rock Songs and Hot Rock Songs) is a record chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine. From its debut on June 20, 2009, through October 13, 2012, the chart ranked the airplay of songs across alternat ...

chart at number 39 for one week. The Plant–Krauss version was produced by

T Bone Burnett Joseph Henry "T Bone" Burnett III (born January 14, 1948) is an American record producer, guitarist and songwriter. He rose to fame as a guitarist in Bob Dylan's band during the 1970s. He has received multiple Grammy awards for his work in film ...

, who previously produced the duo's award-winning album ''

Raising Sand ''Raising Sand'' is a collaborative studio album by rock singer Robert Plant and bluegrass-country singer Alison Krauss. It was released in October 2007 by Rounder Records. ''Raising Sand'' won Album of the Year at the 2008 Americana Music H ...

'' (2007). Reviewing "Can't Let Go", NPR praised the harmonies of Plant and Krauss, and called out the "shuffling grooves of drummer

Jay Bellerose Jay Bellerose is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session and live performance work. He has contributed to the work of many well-known artists. Biography Bellerose was born in Maine. A jazz enthusiast, he attended ...

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awa ...

described the song as "an eminently likable bluesy shuffle built around a guitar part that will burrow its way into your brain." Plant and Krauss performed the song live on ''

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert ''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Spartina Productions and CBS Studios, it is the second ite ...

'' in November 2021, and on '' The Kelly Clarkson Show'' in December.

References

External links

*, official audio (no music video) *, official audio (no music video) *, official audio (no music video) {{DEFAULTSORT:Can't Let Go 1998 songs 1998 singles 2000 songs 2021 singles Alternative country songs Lucinda Williams songs Robert Plant songs Alison Krauss songs Male–female vocal duets Song recordings produced by T Bone Burnett Mercury Records singles Rounder Records singles