50 Daryl Hall & John Oates Songs You Better Have…Or Else
“I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)”
(1981; #1 pop)
Writer: Daryl Hall, John Oates, Sara Allen
Producer: Tom Dowd, Arif Mardin, Jerry Wexler
from the album Private Eyes
With a breezy, euphoric arrangement made on the Roland CompuRhythm track and triple-stacked background vocals, “I Can’t Go for That” was destined to be a success. The magic would have been a forgotten memory if engineer Neil Kernon didn’t hit the record button to capture Hall at work. “Daryl came up with this great bass line, using whatever sound happened to be on the organ, and Neil miked it and the drum machine,” says Oates. According to Daryl Hall’s testimony, Michael Jackson confessed to him that “Billie Jean” was inspired by “I Can’t Go for That.” Imitation must be the ultimate manifestation of flattery since the song has been covered and sampled by a Who’s Who in music, ranging from R. Kelly to De La Soul. The song was voted number six by VH1 on their list of 100 Greatest Songs of the Eighties.
