I Can't Stand It (Eric Clapton song)

"I Can't Stand It"
"I Can't Stand It"
Single by Eric Clapton
from the album Another Ticket
B-side	"Black Rose"
Released	13 February 1981
Recorded	1980
Genre	Rock
Length	4:08
Label	RSO
Songwriter(s)	Eric Clapton
Producer(s)	Tom Dowd
Eric Clapton singles chronology

"I Can't Stand It" was the first single from Eric Clapton's 1981 album Another Ticket. On the record label for the vinyl 45, its credited as Eric Clapton and His Band. It was also used for interludes on Bill O'Reilly's radio show, The Radio Factor.

Reception

Record World called it a "dark, driving rocker with Clapton's vocal lurking ominously around drum spanks & keyboard textures."^[2]

AllMusic critic Matthew Greenwald recalls the song as "one of Eric Clapton's biggest hits from the early '80s" and found "this song found him continuing, in his words, to be as much a musicologist as a musician." Greenwald goes on to saying that the song's "lyrics have a venomous jealousy, and they are some of Clapton's most literate of the period". He rounded his review up by saying that "musically, some classic, almost Booker T. & the M.G.'s-styled chord changes highlight the driving tempo, providing Clapton with a huge hit".^[3] William Ruhlman of AllMusic recalls that I Can't Stand It "held up well".^[4]

Besides becoming a pop hit in its own right, reaching No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, it was also the first No. 1 song on Billboard's Top Tracks chart for rock songs, which debuted in March 1981. It stayed at the summit for two weeks.^[5] The song reached No. 15 in Canada. By 1981, Broadcast Music, Inc. measured more than one million broadcasts of the song, earning Clapton a special recognition certificate.^[6]

Personnel

Eric Clapton – lead vocals, lead guitar
Albert Lee – rhythm guitar
Gary Brooker – keyboards
Dave Markee – bass guitar
Henry Spinetti – drums

Chart positions

Weekly charts

Chart (1981)	Peak position
Canada (CHUM)^[7]	7
Canada (RPM)^[8]	15
France (IFOP)^[9]	62
Israel (IBA)^[10]	1
Italy (AFI)^[11]	99
Japan (Oricon)^[12]	84
US Billboard Hot 100^[13]	10
US Top Rock Tracks (Billboard)^[14]	1

Year-end chart (1981)	Rank
US Top Pop Singles (Billboard)^[15]	67

References

^ "Music Week" (PDF).
^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. February 21, 1981. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
^ Greenwald, Matthew. "I Can't Stand It – Eric Clapton | Listen, Appearances, Song Review | AllMusic". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
^ Ruhlmann, William. "Another Ticket – Eric Clapton | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (8 ed.). United States: Billboard Publications. p. 128.
^ "A BMI Citation Of Achievement for 'I Can't Stand It' by Eric Clapton, 1981". Bonhams. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
^ "1050 Chum Charts > Clapton, Eric". Chum Charts. Chum Limited. Archived from the original on February 22, 2006. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
^ "RPM Canada Top 50 Singles". RPM Magazine. 34 (25). Library and Archives Canada. May 30, 1981. Archived from the original on March 14, 2016. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
^ "InfoDisc : Tous les Titres par Artiste". Institut français d'opinion publique (in French). InfoDisc.fr. Select "Eric Clapton" from the artist drop-down menu. Archived from the original on February 17, 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
^ Gimmel, Reshet (May 2, 1981). "Billboard Hits of the World > Israel > Singles" (PDF). Billboard Magazine. 93 (17). Nielsen Business Media, Inc.: 92. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
^ "M&D: Classifiche > Eric Clapton". Musica e dischi (in Italian). musicaedischi.it. Look for collaboration efforts also. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
^ Tatsaku, Ren (December 2011). The Oricon Sales Report (in Japanese). Tokyo, Japan: Oricon Style – Recording Industry Association of Japan.
^ "Eric Clapton Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. May 1, 1981. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
^ "Eric Clapton Chart History (Mainstream Rock Songs)". Billboard. March 20, 1981. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
^ "Number One Awards – Billboard's 1981 Year-End Charts : Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 93, no. 51. December 26, 1981. p. YE-9. Retrieved 5 April 2020.