"I Just Can't Let Go" is a song by David Pack, featuring Michael McDonald and James Ingram. It was released as a single in 1986 and was the third of three charting singles released from Pack's debut solo album, ''

Anywhere You Go ''Anywhere You Go'' is the first full-length recording from David Pack, the lead singer for the band Ambrosia. The LP was released in November 1985. Pack wrote five songs himself and co-wrote the other five. The album contains three charting sin ...

''. The song reached No. 13 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Adult Contemporary chart during the fall of 1986. It spent 11 weeks on the chart. The song describes the estrangement of a lying lover to whom the singer had given his "heart and soul," yet still constantly remembering the love they lost, wondering if the guilty one is feeling the same, and leaving the door open for reconciliation. "I Just Can't Let Go" was re-recorded in 1996 by

Ambrosia In the ancient Greek myths, ''ambrosia'' (, grc, ἀμβροσία 'immortality'), the food or drink of the Greek gods, is often depicted as conferring longevity or immortality upon whoever consumed it. It was brought to the gods in Olympus ...

together with Pack (the band having reunited in 1989) for their 1997 ''

Anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

'' compilation. It was released as a single that year and reached No. 26 on the Adult Contemporary chart. This version was re-arranged and produced by Pack,

Oliver Leiber Ta Mara and the Seen was an American R&B group based in Minneapolis. They were signed by A&M Records to capitalize on the mid-1980s chart success of the "Minneapolis sound", which included acts such as Prince, Vanity 6, Sheila E., and the Time. ...

, and Shaun LaBelle, as a bonus track. The original vocals were kept, but Pack and McDonald added new vocal improvisation, while the sax solo was added by

Everette Harp Everette Harp (born August 17, 1961, in Houston, Texas) is an American jazz saxophonist who has recorded for Blue Note, Capitol and Shanachie Records. His album ''Jazz Funk Soul'', a collaboration with Chuck Loeb and Jeff Lorber, received his fi ...

. In 2019, Pack re-mixed and re-mastered the original 1985 recording of this song to create a new video. The demo vocals of Ingram, McDonald, and Pack were restored, digitized, and then used as an

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

intro of the video. The video was made after Pack found out that fans had created hundreds of videos of this song. Pack was inspired then to create his own video, and dedicate it to Ingram.

Chart performance

David Pack version

Ambrosia version

Other versions

Patti Austin Patti Austin (born August 10, 1950) is an American R&B, pop, and jazz singer and songwriter. Music career Austin was born in Harlem, New York, to Gordon Austin, a jazz trombonist. She was raised in Bay Shore, New York on Long Island. Quincy ...

covered the song for her 1991 album ''Carry On''. *A popular song in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, it has been covered by several local singers including

Jed Madela John Edward Tiña Tajanlangit (born July 14, 1977), professionally known as Jed Madela, is a Filipino singer, recording artist, songwriter, TV host, entertainer, and occasional actor. He was the first Filipino to win the World Championships o ...

Rachelle Ann Go Rachelle Ann Villalobos Go-Spies (born August 31, 1986) is a Filipina singer and actress. She began her career by participating in and winning several singing competitions, the first of which was in the long-running Philippine variety show ''E ...

and

Jaya Jaya may refer to: Media *''Jaya'', self titled albums by Jaya (singer), released in 1989, 1996 and 2001 * ''Jaya'' (film), a 2002 Indian Tamil film Mythology *''Jaya'', a name of Karna in Mahabharata; the core portion of the ''Mahabharata'' ...

References

External links

Lyrics of this song
* 1985 songs 1986 singles 1997 singles Warner Records singles Songs written by David Pack James Ingram songs Michael McDonald (musician) songs Torch songs {{1980s-song-stub