I Can't Go for That (No Can Do) (5:07)

I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do) is a 1981 song recorded by Daryl Hall and John Oates as Hall & Oates.

It was the fourth number-one hit single of their career on the Billboard Hot 100 and the second hit single from their album Private Eyes. It features Charles DeChant on saxophone.

On January 30, 1982, I Can’t Go for That ended a ten-week run at the top of the Hot 100 by Olivia Newton-John’s song Physical.

Thanks to heavy airplay on urban-contemporary stations, I Can’t Go for That also topped the U.S. R&B chart, a rare act for a non-African American act. The song also went to #1 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart for one week in January of 1982.

Beyond being a number one hit in its own right, I Can’t Go for That continues to bear influence. The song has been covered by a number of recording artists including Brian McKnight, The Nylons, Les Go (with Alfredo Alias), Donny Osmond, East End, Kansascali, and Orson. It was featured in British comedy series The Mighty Boosh (Series 3, Episode 3) where Bob Fossil danced to the song. I Can’t Go for That was voted #6 on VH1’s list of “The 100 Greatest Songs of the ’80s”.


The original track is one of the most sampled songs by R&B and hip-hop groups over the past twenty-five years. The following is a partial list:

1989 - Say No Go - De La Soul
1993 - V.S.O.P - Above the Law
1996 - My Crew Can’t Go For That - Trigger Tha Gambler