I Can't Explain

"I Can't Explain" is a song released by English rock band The Who in 1965, written by Pete Townshend and produced by Shel Talmy. It was released as the A-side of the first single the band released as "The Who" (the first single, I'm the Face/Zoot Suit, was released as the High Numbers).

"I Can't Explain" was also released as the opening song of The Who's 1971 compilation album Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy. In the liner notes, Townshend notes the song's similarity to its contemporary hit single "All Day and All of the Night" by The Kinks: "It can’t be beat for straightforward Kink copying. There is little to say about how I wrote this. It came out of the top of my head when I was 18 and a half." The Who used "I Can't Explain" throughout their live performance history. It was used in many (if not all) of their live performances, often as the opener, and continues to be a staple today.

Although it is rumoured that Jimmy Page played the guitar solo in the song, it is not true. The solo was instead played by Townshend on his Rickenbacker 360/12. Page was called in as a session player, but The Who refused to let him play. They settled on letting Page play lead guitar on the single's B-side, "Bald Headed Woman".

A snippet of the song was also performed by Elton John in his cover version of "Pinball Wizard" for the soundtrack to the 1975 film Tommy.

David Bowie recorded a version of this song for his Pin Ups album in 1973. It was also covered by heavy metal band Scorpions in their 1989 Best of Rockers 'n' Ballads, and reached #5 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

The Clash used the main riff as the basis of two songs, "Guns On The Roof," and "Clash City Rockers."

Fatboy Slim also sampled the main riff from Yvonne Elliman's cover in his 1997 song Going Out of My Head.

Chapter24 used the riff from the original version throughout their 2006 track Song That Dies Too Much.

Brazilian band Ultraje a Rigor covered the song on their album Acústico MTV Ultraje a Rigor. It was translated as "Eu Não Sei" (I don't know).

The original version by The Who is ranked #371 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

[edit] Notes

v • d • e The Who's singles discography

UK Singles	1964: "Zoot Suit" • 1965: "I Can't Explain", "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere", "My Generation" • 1966: "Substitute", "A Legal Matter", "The Kids Are Alright", "I'm a Boy", "La-La-La-Lies", "Happy Jack" • 1967: "Pictures of Lily", "The Last Time", "I Can See for Miles" • 1968: "Dogs", "Magic Bus" • 1969: "Pinball Wizard" • 1970: "The Seeker", "Summertime Blues", "See Me, Feel Me" • 1971: "Won't Get Fooled Again", "Let's See Action" • 1972: "Join Together", "Relay" • 1973: "5:15" • 1975: "Overture", "Squeeze Box" • 1978: "Who Are You" • 1981: "You Better You Bet", "Don't Let Go the Coat" • 1982: "Athena" • 1984: "Twist and Shout (live)" • 2004: "Real Good Looking Boy" • 2006: "Wire & Glass", "It's Not Enough", "Tea & Theatre"

Other U.S. singles	1969: "I'm Free" • 1971: "Behind Blue Eyes" • 1974: "The Real Me" • 1979: "Long Live Rock" • 1981: "Daily Records", "Did You Steal My Money", "How Can You Do It Alone" • 1982: "Eminence Front", "Cry If You Want", "Dangerous", "It's Hard"