"Can't Fight This Feeling" is a

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

performed by the American rock band

REO Speedwagon REO Speedwagon (originally stylized as R.E.O. Speedwagon), or simply REO, was an American Rock music, rock band from Champaign, Illinois. Formed in 1967, the band cultivated a following during the 1970s and achieved significant commercial suc ...

, written by lead singer Kevin Cronin. 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 and last number-one hit on the U.S. charts (the first being 1980's " Keep on Loving You", also written by Cronin) 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 Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

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

Live Aid Live Aid was a two-venue benefit concert and music-based fundraising initiative held on Saturday, 13 July 1985. The event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia, a m ...

concert; they were introduced by

Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He became the breakout cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1976), where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment b ...

Background

Cronin said that he wrote the verses years before, and had made a demo 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, 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 a charting hit.

Composition

"Can’t Fight This Feeling" is in the key of

A major A major is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The A major scale is: Changes needed for the ...

and a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

of medium

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

with

vocal range Vocal range is the range of pitches that a human voice can phonate. A common application is within the context of singing, where it is used as a defining characteristic for classifying singing voices into voice types. It is also a topic of stud ...

E4-A5, according to Musicnotes.com.

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 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

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 ''Hi Infidelity''">Hi_Infidelity.html" ;"title="s some ballads on ''Hi Infidelity">s some ballads on '' Foreigner and Journey (band)">Journey." 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 REO Speedwagon (originally stylized as R.E.O. Speedwagon), or simply REO, was an American rock band from Champaign, Illinois. Formed in 1967, the band cultivated a following during the 1970s and achieved significant commercial success through ...

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).

Version 1: Studio (videotape)

The videotaped version was produced by

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

for a special on REO Speedwagon and features the band in the studio. It begins with Kevin Cronin playing the piano, attempting to find the key in which he can best sing the song (starting off in

G major G major is a major scale based on G (musical note), G, with the pitches G, A (musical note), A, B (musical note), B, C (musical note), C, D (musical note), D, E (musical note), E, and F♯ (musical note), F. Its key signature has one sharp (music ...

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

Personnel

;REO Speedwagon * Kevin Cronin - 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 electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

- piano * Alan Gratzer - drums * Bruce Hall -

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

;Other personnel *Bill Cuomo - orchestration

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end 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 a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

band

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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.

Charts

Other versions

* In 2024, American singer JoJo released a cover of "Can't Fight This Feeling"; the song was from the soundtrack to the film '' Lisa Frankenstein''.

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