Throwback Thursday: Hall & Oates – “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)”
We skipped TBT a few weeks ago, so it’s only right that we get two selections today.
John Oates, one half of Hall & Oates, turns 74 today, so there’s no better time to revisit one of the duo’s classics. As the lead-singing half of the duo, Daryl Hall got most of the shine, but John was a beast on the guitar and also co-wrote many of the duo’s biggest hits.
One of hits in question is “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do),” the second single from the duo’s 10th LP, Private Eyes (1981). As the story goes, Daryl Hall came up with the melody after an evening at the studio. The next day, he wrote the lyrics with John and Sara Allen — Daryl’s girlfriend at the time.
“I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)” sounds like it could be about a relationship — and according to John Oates, that was intentional — but it’s really about enforcing boundaries in the face of industry people and maintaining artistic integrity. And here we were thinking we couldn’t love the song anymore.
If you think the song sounds like Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” you’re not crazy. According to Daryl Hall, during the recording session for “We Are the World,” MJ admitted to reworking the bass from “I Can’t Go for That” — to which Daryl responded that he, too, was a copycat and that the bass was lifted from some other song. Nothing to see here.
“I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)” would end up ruling the Billboard Hot 100 for a week in 1982, becoming the fourth of the duos eventual six chart toppers. It also topped Billboard’s R&B chart, which is a rare feat for a white act.
No Comments