"I Can't Wait" is a song by American group

Nu Shooz Nu Shooz is an American R&B group fronted by husband-and-wife team of John Smith and Valerie Day, based in Portland, Oregon, United States. Nu Shooz released four albums in the U.S. during the 1980s. Their third album, '' Poolside'', brought th ...

, included on the band's second album, ''Tha's Right'' (1985). The song was remixed by Dutch DJ and producer Peter Slaghuis: this remixed version is the one that appears on the group's 1986 album, '' Poolside''. In the United States, the remixed version of the song reached number one 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 ...

Hot Dance Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as ...

chart and number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In the United Kingdom and

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, the song reached number two, while in Canada, it peaked at number one. The single returned to the ''Billboard'' charts in 2015, where it peaked at number 17 on the

Dance/Electronic Digital Songs Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales, previously Dance/Electronic Digital Songs is a weekly chart that ranks the best-selling digital dance and electronic singles in the United States, according to ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard''. Although it o ...

chart.

Background

Instrumentalist John Smith would try to write songs in batches of 10 and have two a week ready for rehearsals in Portland, Oregon. He bought a new Teac-3440 4-track recorder in 1983, and "I Can't Wait" was one of the first songs he recorded on it. He scribbled out the lyrics in fifteen minutes as the band was loading up gear to go to rehearse it, and his wife, singer Valerie Day, approved.

Critical reception

John Leland's writeup in a '' Spin'' magazine column wrote about the single, saying: "You can listen to this record as many times as you want and still not have any strong impressions that human beings actually made it. In other words, it's the perfect disco record."

Music video

The music video was directed by

Jim Blashfield Jim Blashfield (born September 4, 1944, Seattle, Washington) is an American filmmaker and media artist, best known for his short films such as ''Suspicious Circumstances'' and ''The Mid-Torso of Inez'', and his music videos for musicians Talking He ...

. It contains animations and has a hint of the very surreal. The plot has Valerie Day singing the song sitting at a desk, repairing a coffeepot, while tools and other oddities pass into the frame and out again. Her dog sits nearby, wearing sunglasses.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Cover version

* The song was covered in 2002 by the

UK garage UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by garage house, but also incorporates elements from dance-pop, R&B, and jungle. I ...

girl group Ladies First. It was a UK top 20 hit, reaching number 19.

References

{{Authority control 1985 songs 1986 debut singles Atlantic Records singles Music videos directed by Jim Blashfield Nu Shooz songs RPM Top Singles number-one singles