"Love Can't Turn Around" is a 1986

Chicago house Chicago house refers to house music produced during the mid to late 1980s within Chicago. The term is generally used to refer to the original house music of DJs and producers from the area, such as Ron Hardy and Phuture History and origins D ...

song by American

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

s, DJs and

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

s Farley Keith Williams a.k.a.

Farley "Jackmaster" Funk Farley "Jackmaster" Funk (born Farley Keith Williams; January 25, 1962) is an American musician, DJ and record producer of Chicago house and acid house music. He is notable for writing and producing a number of highly influential tracks in the ...

and Jesse Saunders featuring vocalist

Darryl Pandy Darryl Pandy (December 24, 1962 – June 10, 2011Gregory Paratore: "Darryl Pandy RIP"
...

. It holds an important place in the history of

house music House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground ...

as the first record in that genre to cross over from the US clubs to the UK Singles Chart.

History

"I Can't Turn Around" by Isaac Hayes (1975)

The song's origin was " I Can't Turn Around", the lead single from

Isaac Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, songwriter, composer, and actor. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records in the 1960s, serving as an in-house songwr ...

' 1975 album ''

Chocolate Chip Chocolate chips or chocolate morsels are small chunks of sweetened chocolate, used as an ingredient in a number of desserts (notably chocolate chip cookies and muffins), in trail mix and less commonly in some breakfast foods such as pancakes. ...

''. This album was notable for being the first on which Hayes moved on from

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

to embrace the then-fashionable

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

sound. Hayes' original version remained a club favourite for many years and was often played at the

Warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the rural–urban fringe, out ...

, the influential Chicago nightclub which was the focus of the house music scene in the early 1980s.

"I Can't Turn Around" by Steve "Silk" Hurley (1986)

In 1986,

Steve "Silk" Hurley Steve W. "Silk" Hurley (born November 9, 1962), also known as J. M. Silk (for "Jack Master Silk"), is an American club DJ, house music producer, and songwriter. From 1985 to 1988, he had four top-10 singles on the US Dance chart, including th ...

, working under the name J.M. Silk, recorded a house version of the song with vocalist Keith Nunnally, which reached number one on the

Billboard magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized in lowercase since 2013) is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events and styles related to th ...

Hot Dance Club Play The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...

chart.

"Love Can't Turn Around" by Farley "Jackmaster" Funk (1986)

Hearing Steve Hurley's version of the song, Farley "Jackmaster" Funk, who was living with Hurley at the time, teamed up with producer Jesse Saunders to make his own version. Keeping some of Hurley's instrumental arrangement and the

bassline Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, Dub music, dub and electronic music, electronic, traditional music, traditional, and classical music, for the low-pitched P ...

riff A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based ...

from Hayes' original, Farley changed the hook line from "I Can't Turn Around" to "Love Can't Turn Around" and dropped the rest of Hayes' original lyric, substituting new words by

Vince Lawrence Vince Lawrence (born January 6, 1964, Chicago, Illinois, United States) is an American dance music record producer, businessman and is one of the leading innovators of the genre of music called house music. Industry insiders recognize Lawrence as ...

. In some versions, for example the "Vocal Club" version and the

radio edit In music, a radio edit, or a "clean version," is a modification, typically truncated or censored, intended to make a song more suitable for airplay. It may be censored for profanity, vulgarities, or subject matter; or adjusted for length, instr ...

, he also inserted a chorus section sung by female vocalists, and a synthesizer played piano melody. The lead vocals on Farley's version were performed by

Darryl Pandy Darryl Pandy (December 24, 1962 – June 10, 2011Gregory Paratore: "Darryl Pandy RIP"
...

, who had a

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

and opera background and been a lead performer with the choir of Chicago's Church of Universal Awareness.RIP Darryl Pandy
WIRE, June 14, 2011. Retrieved August 23, 2019. Pandy also performed the song in the official music video and did a "flamboyant performance" on the British TV show

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

that made him famous. Pandy's performance can be heard best and most extensively on the "Vocal Club Mix", the "Houseappella" and the "Dub Can' Turn Around" versions of the song. Farley's record was a club hit, but also crossed over into the mainstream in the UK, where it was released by

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

. The track entered the UK Singles Chart in the week ending August 27, 1986, and peaked at number 10 five weeks later. At the time, writing credits were given to Farley Keith and Vince Lawrence, though it was later agreed through a deal with Universal Music that Hayes' song was the inspiration, and it is now officially credited to Hayes. Following the success of Farley's "Love Can't Turn Around", J.M. Silk's version of "I Can't Turn Around" also charted in the UK, reaching a peak of number 62. In 1996, Farley's version was re-released in the UK, and peaked at number No. 40.

Impact and legacy

In 1994, French DJ

Laurent Garnier Laurent Garnier (born 1 February 1966), also known as Choice, is a French electronic music producer and DJ. Garnier began DJing in Manchester during the late 1980s. He became a producer in the early 1990s and recorded several albums. Early influe ...

named "Love Can't Turn Around" one of his favourites of all time, saying, "

Mike Pickering Mike Pickering is an English musician, DJ, songwriter, A&R Executive from Manchester, UK. Career Pickering was a DJ at The Haçienda's Nude and Hot nights, and later Shine. He worked for Factory Records, where he signed Happy Mondays, To Hell ...

played it at the

Hacienda A ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or '' finca''), similar to a Roman '' latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards ...

in early '87 — the beginning of

in England. It was the first house track I heard, it introduced me to house music and it changed my life." In 2014, ''

Fact A fact is a truth, true data, datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance. Standard reference works are often used to Fact-checking, check facts. Science, Scientific facts are verified by repeatable careful observation or measurement by ...

'' ranked it number seven in their list of "21 Diva-House Belters That Still Sound Incredible". Same year, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' magazine featured the song in their "20 Best Chicago House Records" list, writing, "This track is the result of a musical metamorphosis. It started with the

1975 original, ' I Can't Turn Around'.

then re-recorded it as a house tune with vocalist Keith Nunnally — but this further transposed and reinterpreted version was the one that really took off. And how could it not? The robust, silky vocals of the late, great

Darryl Pandy Darryl Pandy (December 24, 1962 – June 10, 2011Gregory Paratore: "Darryl Pandy RIP"
...

here are instant sunshine." In 2015, '' Time Out'' magazine ranked it number 13 in their list of "The 20 Best House Tracks Ever", saying, "Originally a riff on a proto-house classic, Isaac Hayes's 1975

foray 'I Can't Turn Around', this collaboration between turbo-lunged singer Darryl Pandy and

Farley Keith Farley may refer to: People * Farley (name) Places Antarctica * Mount Farley * Farley Massif Australia * Farley, New South Wales * Farley railway station England * Farley, Derbyshire * Farley, Staffordshire * Farley, Surrey * Farley, Wilt ...

blew the roof off house music at the time. It still has the distinction of being a true

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Music Albums * ''Cross Over'' (album), a 1987 album by Dan Peek, or the title song * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'', an album by Intrigue * ''Crossover'', an album by ...

hit that's maintained its dancefloor appeal decades on." In 2024, ''

Classic Pop Traditional pop (also known as vocal pop or pre-rock and roll pop) is Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as pop standards ...

'' ranked "Love Can't Turn Around" number 12 in their list of "Top 20 80s House Hits".

References

External links

Soul Control – Mastermind Roadshow Soul Night at 8411 Centre, Moss Side, Manchester 1986
– earliest known footage of people in the UK dancing to house music
Video of "Love Can't Turn Around" performed by Darryl Pandy
on

Top of the pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

(later in 1986)
All versions and issues of "Love Can't Turn Around"
on

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

{{authority control 1986 singles 1986 songs House music songs