Song · Joe Jackson
“You Can't Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want)” by Joe Jackson
From the album Body and Soul (1984)
“You Can't Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want)” by Joe Jackson appears on 13 radio countdowns from 5 stations between 1989 and 2024. It was first released in 1984 on the album Body and Soul. Its best result is #244 on The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #1,748 alternative song of all time.
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Joe Jackson wrote, arranged and sang "You Can't Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want)" for Body and Soul, his 1984 album on A&M, and the secret weapon is down at the bottom end. Jackson asked his longtime bassist Graham Maby to slap, something Maby admitted was never his strong suit, though he thought the track came out fine and had fun playing it live.
Gary Burke drums, Vinnie Zummo plays guitar and Rik Pekkonen engineered. It stayed on the Billboard Hot 100 for sixteen weeks, topping out at 15 in June 1984, the second-highest showing of his career in America, and John "Jellybean" Benitez remixed it for the 12-inch. AllMusic's Mike DeGagne called it explosive, and Glide Magazine later ranked it third among Jackson's songs.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 414 | WOXY 97X | WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1989) | 500 |
| 1991 | 427 | WOXY 97X | WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1991) | 500 |
| 1999 | 578 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 2000 |
| 2000 | 578 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) | 2001 |
| 2001 | 579 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) | 2002 |
| 2002 | 579 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) | 2003 |
| 2003 | 579 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) | 2004 |
| 2004 | 579 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) | 2005 |
| 2005 | 579 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) | 1994 |
| 2021 | 351 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s | 909 |
| 2023 | 244 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s | 850 |
| 2023 | 582 | WYEP | WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 | 1229 |
| 2024 | 740 | WYEP | WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years | 1049 |
Also listed as: You Can't Get What You Want; Can't Get What You Want.
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