"Can't Fight This Feeling" is a

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romance (love), romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn m ...

performed by the American rock band

REO Speedwagon REO Speedwagon (originally stylized as R.E.O. Speedwagon) is an American rock band from Champaign, Illinois. Formed in 1967, the band cultivated a following during the 1970s and achieved significant commercial success throughout the 1980s. The ...

. The song first appeared on the 1984 album '' Wheels Are Turnin'''. The single reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and held the top spot for three consecutive weeks from March 9 to March 23, 1985. It was the group's second number-one hit on the U.S. charts (the first being 1980's " Keep on Loving You", also written by

Kevin Cronin Kevin Patrick Cronin (born October 6, 1951) is an American singer and songwriter, who is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and pianist for the rock band REO Speedwagon. The band had several hits on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 throughout the ...

) and reached number sixteen in the UK. "Can't Fight This Feeling" has appeared on dozens of 'various artists'

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

s, as well as several REO Speedwagon greatest hits albums. REO Speedwagon performed the song at the 1985

Live Aid Live Aid was a multi-venue benefit concert held on Saturday 13 July 1985, as well as a music-based fundraising initiative. The original event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 fami ...

concert; they were introduced by

Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor and writer. He became a key cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'', where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment became a staple of the ...

Background

Cronin said that he wrote the verses years before, and had made a

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

of it when he left REO Speedwagon briefly in the mid-70s. Cronin finished writing the song in Hawaii while supposedly on a break from composing for the ''Wheels Are Turnin'' album. According to REO Speedwagon drummer

Alan Gratzer REO Speedwagon (originally stylized as R.E.O. Speedwagon) is an American rock band from Champaign, Illinois. Formed in 1967, the band cultivated a following during the 1970s and achieved significant commercial success throughout the 1980s. T ...

, the song is about a relationship Cronin had and it took Cronin several years to come up with all the lyrics. According to Cronin, the inspiration for the song was the hurt he felt when he became attracted to a woman who was part of his friend group. Cronin states that this woman was “…of course, going out with my friend, so I kept it to myself. There was a group of us who would hang out together...and she was always there. Eventually she and I were becoming friends, but there was no hanky-panky going on. The more I got to know her, the more I liked her, but I couldn't say anything about it.” Cronin said that he was only able to finish the song when he "couldn't fight the feeling anymore and made the move to kind of go for it." He said he "knew those verses were something special because of the depth (of feeling). I felt for them. I couldn't force it." Cronin said that when he did express his feelings to the woman, they ended up having a great relationship, and although it didn't last they remained friends. Cronin described the theme of the song as being about "that moment in time where...it gets too painful to be where you are and you know you have to change...but change is hard...and you overcome that fear of change." The other REO Speedwagon members referred to "Can't Fight This Feeling" as "that stupid ballad" until it became charting hit.

Composition

Can’t Fight This Feeling is in the key of A major.

Reception

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'' critic Jan DeKnock said that the song "rode a pretty melody all the way to No. 1." DeKnock also said that it was "the latest in a series of ballads that have found success on the dance-dominated charts with a tried and true formula: A melody that is pretty enough for

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

listeners, with instrumentation that is strong enough for rock-oriented radio stations. ''

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'' recommended the single, calling it a "midtempo rock ballad." ''Rapid City Journal'' writer Mike Sanborn called it one of REO Speedwagon's "best ballads." ''Palm Beach Post'' music writer Leslie Gray Streeter named it her 3rd greatest power ballad. ''Arizona Republic'' writer Andrew Means noted that the song "has a similar tone of emotional frailty s_some_ballads_on_'' s_some_ballads_on_''Hi_Infidelity''">Hi_Infidelity.html"_;"title="s_some_ballads_on_''Hi_Infidelity">s_some_ballads_on_''Hi_Infidelity''_which_revives_comparisons_with_such_so-called_'corporate_rock'_entities_as_

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." Streeter attributes the song's success to its combination of "frighteningly candid emotion with searing rock guitar. But Greg Kennedy of the ''Red Deer Advocate'' called it a "bland formula-fed composition." ''Austin American-Statesman'' writer Drew Carr felt that the performance of REO Speedwagon keyboardist

Neal Doughty Neal Allan Doughty (born July 29, 1946, in Evansville, Indiana) is an American keyboardist, best known as a founding member of the rock band REO Speedwagon and the only member to have played on every album. He formed the band in fall 1967, with o ...

was particularly effective on this song.

Music video

Two different music videos exist for the song. Both videos have been shown at various times on VH1 Classic (now known as

MTV Classic MTV Classic may refer to: *MTV Classic (American TV channel), a television channel that replaced VH1 Classic on August 1, 2016 *MTV Classic (Australian TV channel), a television channel previously named VH1 Australia until May 2010, and shut down i ...

Version 1: Studio (videotape)

The videotaped version was produced by

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

for a special on REO Speedwagon and features the band in the studio. It begins with

playing the piano, attempting to find the key in which he can best sing the song (starting off in G major, he later decides he can sing it better in A). After Cronin exchanges some laughs with his bandmates, the original track of the song plays, with the band members miming their respective parts. It concludes with Cronin uttering the line, "That warmed the cockles of my cockles!"

Version 2: Film

The second more famous version, directed by

John Jopson John Charles Jopson (born 1954) is a film director and screenwriter best known for the 2014 feature film ''Terroir'', the jazz film ''One Night with Blue Note'' and his music videos from the 1980s. Biography John Jopson began his film care ...

, was considered a "more professional one" and makes various references to the life-cycle and shows the band singing the song.

Personnel

;REO Speedwagon *

- lead and backing vocals,

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

Gary Richrath Gary Dean Richrath (October 18, 1949 – September 13, 2015) was an American guitarist, best known as the lead guitarist and a songwriter for the band REO Speedwagon from 1970 until 1989. Early life Richrath was born in Peoria, Illinois, on Octob ...

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

- piano *

- drums * Bruce Hall -

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

;Other personnel *Bill Cuomo - orchestration

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Bastille version

In 2019, English

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...

band

Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stor ...

released a cover version of the song, featuring the London Contemporary Orchestra. It was released on November 19, 2019 by

Virgin EMI Records Virgin EMI Records was a British record label owned by the Universal Music Group that was formed in 2013. In June 2020, the label was rebranded as EMI Records, and operates Virgin Records as an imprint of the new EMI Records. History Virgin ...

. The song was selected as the soundtrack to the 2019

John Lewis Christmas advert The John Lewis Christmas advert is an ongoing television advertising campaign released by British department store chain John Lewis & Partners in the build-up to Christmas. John Lewis & Partners launched their first Christmas advert in 2007. It ...

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1984 songs 1984 singles 1985 singles REO Speedwagon songs Epic Records singles Virgin EMI Records singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Songs written by Kevin Cronin Song recordings produced by Gary Richrath Song recordings produced by Kevin Cronin American soft rock songs 1980s ballads Rock ballads