THE GREATEST OF ALL TUNES (G.O.A.T.) is a salute to the greatest songs of all time, one song per artist. Want more? Go to the G.O.A.T. Page for all the GOATs so far!
I admit it, I’m a huge fan of Hall and Oates—or at least of their hits. And there are many. How did I settle on “I can’t go for that” instead of, say, Private Eyes, Maneater or Sarah Smile? Easy. This one is about a threesome.
I think.
Or it’s about hating their record label, who thought they sounded too “black,” and demanding artistic freedom. That’s what Oates has said, anyway.
But the threesome story is better.
Further listening: Pretty much any H&O #1 hit could be a candidate for a Greatest of All Tunes feature, except maybe for “Out of Touch.”
Covers: Lots, of course, but the real cool thing is that Michael Jackson said the bassline for Billie Jean is taken from this tune–and there are many cool samples/tributes in the world of hip hop like De La Soul’s “Say No Go,” “I Can’t Go for That” by 2 Live Crew, and even the MF DOOM project King Geedorah’s “Take Me To Your Leader.” In fact, let’s start with that one…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3LtROwMAqk
