Why Can't I Have You Explained

Why Can't I Have You
Cover:Why_Can't_I_Have_You.jpg
Type:single
Artist:the Cars
Album:Heartbeat City
B-Side:Breakaway
Recorded:1983–1984
Studio:Battery, London
Genre:New wave
Length:4:04
Label:Elektra
Producer:
  • Robert John "Mutt" Lange
Prev Title:Hello Again
Prev Year:1984
Next Title:Heartbeat City
Next Year:1985

"Why Can't I Have You" is a song by American rock band the Cars from their fifth studio album, Heartbeat City (1984). It was released on January 7, 1985, as the album's fifth single. Written by Ric Ocasek, the song is a lush ballad.

Release

Cash Box reviewed the single, saying that "this moody piece of peculiarly American synth-pop is pure Ric Ocasek: broken romance lyrics, angular musical backing and a handful of melodic hooks."[1]

Although it did not reach the top 20 like its four predecessors, "Why Can't I Have You" managed to reach number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as number 11 on the Top Rock Tracks chart.[2] The song was the final single from Heartbeat City released in the United States; in the United Kingdom, however, a sixth single, "Heartbeat City", was released after "Why Can't I Have You".

It was also the final Heartbeat City video, and achieved Power Rotation on MTV.[3]

B-side

The B-side of "Why Can't I Have You" was the non-album track "Breakaway", described as having "Euro-disco undertones" in the liner notes of (1995).[4]

Notes and References

  1. Reviews. Cash Box. January 26, 1985. 2022-07-26. 8.
  2. Web site: The Cars – Billboard Singles. AllMusic. February 14, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20120331215612/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-cars-p3850/charts-awards/billboard-singles. March 31, 2012.
  3. https://books.google.com/books?id=dCQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT17&dq=Billboard+Programming+Cars+%22Why+Can%27t%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi83tH5sq6GAxW9FlkFHSHCDywQ6AF6BAgEEAI#v=onepage&q=Billboard%20Programming%20Cars%20%22Why%20Can't%22&f=false Billboard, MTV Programming, February 23, 1985
  4. Milano. Brett. Brett Milano. Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology. Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology. liner notes. The Cars. Elektra Traditions/Rhino Records. 1995. R2 73506.
  5. Web site: Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending March 23, 1985 . . February 26, 2020.