Hall and Oates: how we made I Can't Go for That (No Can Do) | Music | The Guardian

Hall and Oates: how we made I Can't Go for That (No Can Do) | Music | The Guardian: "We were recording the Private Eyes album in Jimi Hendrix’s old studio, Electric Lady, and had finished for the day. The only people left were myself, John and the engineer. I was still sitting at my keyboards, just playing around. I had this primitive drum machine, a Roland CompuRhythm, which had a setting called: “Rock 1”. I pushed the button and out came a rhythm. Then I played the first bassline that came into my head, followed by some chords, and thought: “Oh man! There’s something happening here!”

I yelled into the studio: “Turn the tapes on!” Then I shouted to John: “Play this line.” And I hummed something. John grabbed his guitar – and that was it. I basically wrote the song on the spot: it was being recorded as I was thinking of it. In the vocal booth, I sang some gibberish words and wrote some proper lyrics later. We added the alto sax later too.

Most people think the song is about a relationship and it is – but one with the music industry. I felt very manipulated at the time, by management and the record business. Like a pawn. “I can’t go for that – no can do.” That was something I said a lot."