Song · Hall and Oates
“I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)” by Hall and Oates
From the album Private Eyes (1981)
“I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)” by Hall and Oates appears on 2 radio countdowns from 2 stations between 2020 and 2023. It was first released in 1981 on the album Private Eyes. Its best result is #651 on the WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #3,978 indie & aaa song of all time.
Watch
Video from YouTube (hallandoatesVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
"I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" started as an after-hours doodle. One evening in 1981, after a session for Private Eyes at a New York City studio, Daryl Hall switched on a drum machine's rock preset and worked out a bassline on a Korg organ while Neil Kernon kept the tape rolling. Hall added a guitar riff that he and John Oates developed, and the next day they wrote the words with Sara Allen. Plenty of listeners take it for a relationship song; Oates has said it's really about the music business.
The duo produced it with Kernon, who also recorded and mixed it, and Charles DeChant brings the saxophone to its cool blue-eyed soul. The second single from Private Eyes, their tenth album, it gave the duo their fourth No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 651 | WXPN | WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2020 |
| 2023 | 746 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s | 850 |
Comments
Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" by Hall and Oates.
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.