Misplaced Pages

"I Can't Explain"
Single by the Who
B-side	"Bald Headed Woman"
Released	19 December 1964
Recorded	Early November 1964
Studio	Pye, London
Genre	Power pop garage rock
Length	2:04
Label	Brunswick (UK) Decca (US)
Songwriter(s)	Pete Townshend
Producer(s)	Shel Talmy
The Who singles chronology
"Zoot Suit" (1964) "I Can't Explain" (1964) "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" (1965)
Music video
"I Can't Explain" on YouTube

"I Can't Explain" is a song by English rock band the Who, written by Pete Townshend and produced by Shel Talmy. It was released as a single in the United States on 19 December 1964 by Decca and on 15 January 1965 in the United Kingdom by Brunswick. It was the band's second single release and first under the Who name.

The song has been covered by other artists, including David Bowie.

Background

"I Can't Explain" was the A-side of the group's first single as the Who; its predecessor, "Zoot Suit"/"I'm the Face," was released under the name the High Numbers. In the album's liner notes, Townshend noted the song's similarity to the contemporaneous hit "All Day and All of the Night" by the Kinks: "It can't be beat for straightforward Kink copying. There is little to say about how I wrote this. It came out of the top of my head when I was 18 and a half." In a 1994 issue of Q magazine, Roger Daltrey echoed Townshend's comments regarding the Kinks' influence:

We already knew Pete could write songs, but it never seemed a necessity in those days to have your own stuff because there was this wealth of untapped music that we could get hold of from America. But then bands like the Kinks started to make it, and they were probably the biggest influence on us – they were certainly a huge influence on Pete, and he wrote 'I Can't Explain', not as a direct copy, but certainly it's very derivative of Kinks music.

In a May 1974 interview with Creem, Jimmy Page recalled playing rhythm guitar on the song as a session guitarist. This was confirmed by Townshend and producer Shel Talmy. According to those working on the recordings, however, Page's contribution did not make the final cut. "I was on 'I Can't Explain', just playing rhythm guitar in the background," he clarified in 2004. But the main riff, he confirmed, "was all Pete… He was roaring, man." Page also played on the B-side, "Bald Headed Woman". However, in Daltrey's 2018 autobiography, Thanks a Lot Mr. Kibblewhite: My Story (pages 94 and 95), he gives his version of the recording session and states that Page was on lead guitar. Additionally, in an interview with Daltrey on The Howard Stern Show in 2013, Daltrey said, regarding Page, "He played lead guitar; he played the solo.".

The Who have used "I Can't Explain" throughout many of their live performances, often as the opener. It remains a staple today.

In a 2015 interview with Rolling Stone, Townshend referred to "I Can't Explain" as "a song, written by some 18-year-old kid, about the fact that he can't tell his girlfriend he loves her because he's taken too many Dexedrine tablets." In his autobiography Who I Am, Townshend says he came up with the song after being told by managers Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp to write original tunes for his up-and-coming band. He locked himself up in his bedroom listening to Bob Dylan, Charles Mingus, John Lee Hooker and Booker T. & the M.G.'s, and tried to summarise the feelings caused by the music, with the idea that came up the most being "I can't explain". Thus came the first verse, a meta approach where the lyrics are about songwriting itself. After being introduced to producer Shel Talmy, Townshend listened to "You Really Got Me" trying to make the rest of "I Can't Explain" a love song similar to the Kinks, hoping to please Talmy.

Critical reception

In 2012, Paste ranked the song number ten on their list of the 20 greatest The Who songs, and in 2022, Rolling Stone ranked the song number seven on their list of the 50 greatest The Who songs. The song is ranked No. 9 on Pitchfork Media's list of the "200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s", No. 59 on Spin's list of the "100 Greatest Singles of All Time", and No. 380 on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2010.

There was a misprinted label re-released in 1968 on the second colour band series label entitled "Can't Explain" but it was soon withdrawn and released with the correct title of the song as released on the first 1964 release, and other previous and future label releases.

Chart performance

On the UK Singles Chart, "I Can't Explain" first appeared on 20 February 1965 at No. 45, and then reached its highest position on 17 April 1965 at No. 8. The song left the charts on 15 May at No. 29, having spent a total of 13 weeks there. The single was much less successful on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching only No. 93.

Charts

Personnel

The Who

• Roger Daltrey – lead vocals, tambourine
• Pete Townshend – lead 12-string guitar, backing vocals
• John Entwistle – bass, backing vocals
• Keith Moon – drums, backing vocals

Additional personnel

• Jimmy Page - rhythm guitar
• The Ivy League – backing vocals, handclaps
• Perry Ford – piano

Cover versions

Scorpions version

Scorpions recorded their version of "I Can't Explain" for their 1989 compilation album Best of Rockers 'n' Ballads and the various artist compilation Stairway to Heaven/Highway to Hell, the latter album featuring bands that performed at the Moscow Music Peace Festival, an anti-drug and alcohol event, highlighting the related deaths of various famous musicians, such as the Who's Keith Moon, who died of a drug overdose.

The Scorpions version was released as single via Polydor Records, and reached No. 5 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. They performed the song live during their 'Crazy World Tour'.

Weekly charts

David Bowie version

David Bowie recorded a version of the song for his seventh studio album Pin Ups in 1973, along with another Who song, "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere."

The Sweet version

The Sweet - BBC session, 1971.

References

1. Neill 2007, p. 62.
2. Neill 2007, p. 60.
3. Kitts, Jeff; Tolinski, Brad (2002). Guitar World Presents the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time: From the Pages of Guitar World Magazine. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 21. ISBN 0-634-04619-5.
4. "Top 10 Who Songs". 29 March 2013.
5. "45cat - The Who - I Can't Explain / Bald Headed Woman - Decca - USA - 31725".
6. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 12 December 1964.
7. "I Can't Explain". The Who. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
8. Bauldie, John. "Feature: B-Nnanngg!". Q (Q96, September 1994). EMAP Metro Ltd: 90.
9. Kent, Nick (May 1974). "CREEM—May 1974". Creem Media, Inc. Archived from the original on 26 October 2009. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
10. Unterberger, Richie. "SHEL TALMY". Richie Unterberger. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
11. Albert, Neil. "I can't explain". Rock History: Recording Sessions in Rock. UK: Highland Publishing. p. 223.
12. Murray, Charles Shaar (August 2004). "The Guv'nors". Mojo. No. 129. p. 71.
13. Greene, Andy (7 May 2015). "Who's Done? Pete Townshend's Ambivalent Farewell". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 12 October 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
14. Townshend, Pete (2012). Who I Am. HarperCollins. pp. 71–2. ISBN 978-0062127242.
15. Tremml, Brian (7 November 2012). "The 20 Best Songs by The Who". Paste. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
16. "The Who's 50 Greatest Songs". Rolling Stone. 30 June 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
17. "The 200 Best Songs of the 1960s". Pitchfork. 18 August 2006.
18. "Rocklist.net...Spin Magazine (USA) Lists...Page 2." www.rocklistmusic.co.uk.
19. "I Can't Explain ranked 380th greatest song". Rolling Stone. 11 December 2003. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
20. "I Can't Explain". Thewho.com. 29 April 2012. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
21. "The Who – I Can't Explain". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
22. "Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles > I Can't Explain". Allmusic. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
23. "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – CHART POSITIONS PRE 1989". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
24. "The Who – My Generation" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
25. "InfoDisc : Tous les Titres par Artiste" (in French). InfoDisc. Select "The Who" from the artist drop-down menu. Archived from the original on 20 September 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
26. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
27. "The Who – Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
28. "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending DECEMBER 18, 1965". Cash Box. Archived from the original on 5 October 2012.
29. https://www.thewho.com/happy-50th-birthday-cant-explain/
30. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
31. "Scorpions Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
32. O'Leary, Chris (2015). Rebel Rebel: All the Songs of David Bowie from '64 to '76. Winchester: Zero Books. p. chap. 7. ISBN 978-1-78099-244-0.
33. "The Sweet – At The Beeb (CD) - Discogs". Discogs.

Sources

• Neill, Andrew (2007). Anyway Anyhow Anywhere: The Complete Chronicle of the Who 1958–1978. London: Virgin Books. ISBN 978-0-7535-1217-3.

• 1964 songs
• 1964 singles
• 1989 singles
• Songs written by Pete Townshend
• The Who songs
• British garage rock songs
• Scorpions (band) songs
• Song recordings produced by Shel Talmy
• Decca Records singles
• Brunswick Records singles
• Polydor Records singles