"I Can't Live Without My Radio" is the

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

from

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip ho ...

's debut studio album, ''

Radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

''. It was released in 1985 for

Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The l ...

and was both written and produced by LL Cool J and

Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (, ; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is a co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popularize hip hop by produci ...

. It is a

love song A love song is a song about love, falling in love, heartbreak after a breakup, and the feelings that these experiences bring. Love songs can be found in a variety of different music genres. They can come in various formats, from sad and emotion ...

to the

boombox A boombox is a transistorized portable music player featuring one or two cassette tape players/recorders and AM/FM radio, generally with a carrying handle. Beginning in the mid-1990s, a CD player was often included. Sound is delivered thro ...

. The song reached No. 15 on the ''

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 advertis ...

R&B singles chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 po ...

. "I Can't Live Without My Radio" was released with the follow-up single "I Can Give You More". It is the first Def Jam single distributed through

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. A section of the song performed by LL Cool J is featured during the auditions process in the musical comedy-drama film '' Krush Groove'' (1985). This part was created for LL Cool J and another female singer,

Nayobe Nayobe Catalina Gomez, known professionally as Nayobe (born December 18, 1967, in Brooklyn, New York), is an American singer and freestyle dance-pop musician of Afro-Cuban heritage. Her most successful singles are "Good Things Come to Those Who W ...

, as an excuse to include their music in the motion picture. LL Cool J himself also has a line, "Box!" (his only line in the movie). The song was featured in the film ''

Get Rich or Die Tryin' ''Get Rich or Die Tryin'' is the debut studio album by American rapper 50 Cent. It was released on February 6, 2003, by Interscope Records, Eminem's Shady Records, Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment, and 50 Cent's G-Unit Records. After si ...

'', which stars rapper

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and television producer. Born in Queens, a borough of New York City, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 1996. In 1999–2000, ...

, and was also featured in the soundtrack of the video game '' True Crime: New York City'' (both 2005). It is number 12 on

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop. The line from the song "And your Radio's Def when my Record's on" is featured in the chorus of the

Eazy-E Eric Lynn Wright (September 7, 1964 – March 26, 1995), known professionally as Eazy-E, was an American rapper who propelled West Coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records. Eazy-E is often re ...

song "Radio", featured on his debut studio album, ''

Eazy-Duz-It ''Eazy-Duz-It'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Eazy-E. It was released on November 22, 1988, by Ruthless Records and Priority Records. The album charted on two different charts and went 2× Platinum in the United States despite ve ...

'' (1988). The song was later covered by Minnesota band Halloween, Alaska, and also by English

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

band World Domination Enterprises.

Track listing

A-side

# "I Can Give You More" – 4:16

B-side

# "I Can't Live Without My Radio" – 4:12

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:I Can't Live Without My Radio 1985 songs 1985 singles LL Cool J songs Songs written by LL Cool J Songs written by Rick Rubin Song recordings produced by Rick Rubin Songs about radio Def Jam Recordings singles Columbia Records singles