"I Can't Stand It" was the first single from
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...
's 1981 album ''
Another Ticket
''Another Ticket'' is the seventh solo studio album by Eric Clapton. Recorded and produced by Tom Dowd at the Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas with Albert Lee, it was Clapton's last studio album for RSO Records before the label shut do ...
''. On the record label for the vinyl 45, its credited as Eric Clapton and His Band. It was also used for interludes on Bill O'Reilly's radio show, ''
The Radio Factor
''The Radio Factor'' is a US nationally syndicated talk radio program, which aired from 2002 to 2009 and was hosted mainly by Bill O'Reilly.
Show
The program, which featured host commentary with a mix of listener call-in and guest segments, ...
''.
Reception
''
Record World
''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...
'' called it a "dark, driving rocker with Clapton's vocal lurking ominously around drum spanks & keyboard textures."
''
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
'' critic Matthew Greenwald recalls the song as "one of Eric Clapton's biggest hits from the early '80s" and found "this song found him continuing, in his words, to be as much a musicologist as a musician." Greenwald goes on to saying that the song's "lyrics have a venomous jealousy, and they are some of Clapton's most literate of the period". He rounded his review up by saying that "musically, some classic, almost
Booker T. & the M.G.'s-styled chord changes highlight the driving tempo, providing Clapton with a huge hit". William Ruhlman of ''AllMusic'' recalls that ''I Can't Stand It'' "held up well".
Besides becoming a pop hit in its own right, reaching No. 10 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100, it was also the first No. 1 song on
''Billboard'''s
Top Tracks
Classic Vinyl is a Sirius XM Radio channel focusing on classic rock music mostly from the late-1960s to the mid-1970s, with the channel's name meant to indicate that it consists of music that first appeared on vinyl records. This encompasses mus ...
chart for rock songs, which debuted in March 1981. It stayed at the summit for two weeks. The song reached No. 15 in Canada. By 1981,
Broadcast Music, Inc.
Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) is a performance rights organization in the United States. It collects blanket license fees from businesses that use music, entitling those businesses to play or sync any songs from BMI's repertoire of over 22.4 milli ...
measured more than one million broadcasts of the song, earning Clapton a special recognition certificate.
Personnel
*
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...
– lead vocals, lead guitar
*
Albert Lee
Albert William Lee (born 21 December 1943) is an English guitarist known for his fingerstyle and hybrid picking technique. Lee has worked, both in the studio and on tour, with many famous musicians from a wide range of genres. He has also m ...
– rhythm guitar
*
Gary Brooker
Gary Brooker (29 May 1945 – 19 February 2022) was an English singer and pianist, and the founder and lead singer of the rock band Procol Harum.
Early life
Born in Hackney Hospital, East London, on 29 May 1945, Brooker grew up in Hackney ...
– keyboards
*Dave Markee – bass guitar
*
Henry Spinetti
Enrico Antonio Giorgio Spinetti (born 31 March 1951) is a Welsh session drummer whose playing has featured on many prominent rock and pop albums.
Career
Spinetti was born in Cwm, near Ebbw Vale, Monmouthshire, Wales.) His first band, aged abou ...
– drums
Chart positions
Weekly charts
See also
*
List of Billboard Mainstream Rock number-one songs of the 1980s
When introduced by ''Billboard'' in March 1981, the Mainstream Rock chart was entitled Top Tracks and designed to measure the airplay of songs being played on album-oriented rock radio stations. The chart has undergone several name changes over the ...
References
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1980 songs
1981 singles
Eric Clapton songs
Number-one singles in Israel
RSO Records singles
Song recordings produced by Tom Dowd
Songs written by Eric Clapton