I Can't Explain

"I Can't Explain"
Single by The Who
B-side	"Bald Headed Woman"
Released	December 1964 (US) January 15, 1965 (UK)
Format	7" 45rpm
Recorded	November 1964 at IBC Studios London, England
Genre	Rock, power pop, pop rock
Length	2:04
Label	Brunswick (UK), Decca (US)
Writer(s)	Pete Townshend
Producer	Shel Talmy
The Who singles chronology
"Zoot Suit/I'm the Face" (1964) "I Can't Explain" (1965) "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" (1965)

"I Can't Explain" is a song by the English rock band The Who, written by Pete Townshend, and produced by Shel Talmy. The song was issued as a single in December 1964 in the United States and on 15 January 1965 in the United Kingdom.

Background

"I Can't Explain" was the A-side of the group's first single released under the name The Who—their previous single, "I'm the Face"/"Zoot Suit," was released as The High Numbers. The song's intro resembles "Louie Louie". In the album's liner notes, Townshend also noted the song's similarity to the contemporaneous hit single "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 on the writing of the song;

We already knew Pete (Townshend) 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 magazine, Jimmy Page claimed to have played rhythm guitar on the song as a session guitarist, which was confirmed by Pete Townshend and record producer Shel Talmy. According to those working on the recordings, Page's contribution to the session is believed to have not made the final cut, and has been brought into question. The Who have used "I Can't Explain" throughout many of their live performances, often as the opener, and it continues to be a staple today.

Critical reception

The song is ranked #9 on Pitchfork Media's list of the "200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s", #59 on Spin's list of the "100 Greatest Singles of All Time", and #371 on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

Charts

On the UK Singles Chart, "I Can't Explain" first appeared on 20 February 1965 at #45, and then reached its highest position on 17 April 1965 at #8. The song then went off the charts on 15 May at #29, spending a total of 13 weeks on the charts. The single was much less successful on the Billboard Hot 100 reaching only #93.

Personnel

• Roger Daltrey – lead vocals
• John Entwistle – bass guitar
• Keith Moon – drums
• Pete Townshend – lead and rhythm 12-string guitar
• Jimmy Page – rhythm six-string guitar
• The Ivy League – backing vocals
• Perry Ford – piano

Cover versions

Scorpions

"I Can't Explain"
Single by Scorpions
from the album Best of Rockers 'n' Ballads
B-side	"Lovedrive"
Released	1989
Genre	Hard rock, heavy metal
Length	3:22
Label	Polydor
Writer(s)	Pete Townshend
Producer	Keith Olsen
Scorpions singles chronology
"Is There Anybody There?" (1989) "I Can't Explain" (1989) "Living for Tomorrow" (1989)

Scorpions recorded "I Can't Explain" for their 1989 compilation album Best of Rockers 'n' Ballads. This version was released as single via Polydor Records, and reached #5 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

Others

• A snippet of the song was performed by Elton John in his cover version of "Pinball Wizard" for the soundtrack to the 1975 film Tommy.
• David Bowie recorded a version for his Pin Ups album in 1973.
• Yvonne Elliman recorded a version in 1973.
• The Clash quote the riff on "Clash City Rockers" and "Guns on the Roof".
• You Am I recorded a cover as a b-side to their single "Berlin Chair" in 1994.
• Fatboy Slim sampled the song's main guitar riff from Yvonne Elliman's cover version in his 1997 song "Going Out of My Head".
• The Spells, a one-off collaboration between Mary Timony (of indie rock band Helium) and Carrie Brownstein (of Excuse 17 and later Sleater-Kinney), recorded a cover version on their EP The Age of Backwards, released in 1999.
• The Hives used a similar riff for their 2004 single "Walk Idiot Walk".
• Chapter24 used the riff from the original version throughout their 2006 track "Song That Dies Too Much".
• Brazilian band Ultraje a Rigor covered the song on their album Acústico MTV Ultraje a Rigor, released in 2005. It was translated as "Eu Não Sei" ("I Don't Know").
• In 2008, Incubus covered the song for VH1 Honors The Who.