"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
''Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' 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. ''Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' 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_''.html"_;"title="Hi_Infidelity.html"_;"title="s_some_ballads_on_''Hi_Infidelity">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_Foreigner_(band)">Foreigner_and_Journey_(band).html" "title="Foreigner_(band).html" ;"title="Hi_Infidelity''.html" ;"title="Hi_Infidelity.html" ;"title="s some ballads on ''Hi Infidelity">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 Foreigner (band)">Foreigner and Journey (band)">Journey
Journey or journeying may refer to:
* Travel, the movement of people between distant geographical locations
** Day's journey, a measurement of distance
** Road trip, a long-distance journey on the road
Animals
* Journey (horse), a thoroughbred ra ...
." 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 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 ...
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
*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 ...
- 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 ...
*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 ...
- piano
*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 ...
- 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