"Can't Fight This Feeling" is a power ballad[3] performed by the American rock band REO Speedwagon. The song first appeared on the 1984 album Wheels Are Turnin'. The single reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and held the top spot for three consecutive weeks from March 9 to March 23, 1985.[4] It was the group's second number-one hit on the U.S. charts (the first being 1981's "Keep on Loving You", also written by Kevin Cronin) and reached number sixteen in the UK.[5] "Can't Fight This Feeling" has appeared on dozens of 'various artists' compilation albums, as well as several REO Speedwagon greatest hits albums.[6]
REO Speedwagon performed the song at the 1985 Live Aid concert; they were introduced by Chevy Chase.[7]
Two different music videos exist for the song. Both videos have been shown at various times on VH1 Classic (now known as MTV Classic).
Version 1: Studio (videotape)[]
The videotaped version was produced by MTV for a special on REO Speedwagon and features the band in the studio. It begins with Kevin Cronin playing the piano, attempting to find the key in which he can best sing the song (starting off in G major, he later decides he can sing it better in A). After Cronin exchanges some laughs with his bandmates, the original track of the song plays, with the band members miming their respective parts. It concludes with Cronin uttering the line, "That warmed the cockles of my cockles!"[8]
Version 2: Film[]
The second more famous version, directed by John Jopson, was considered a "more professional one" and makes various references to the life-cycle and shows the band singing the song.[9]
^"REO Speedwagon | Biography & History". Archived from the original on April 11, 2015. Retrieved April 20, 2015.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^Whitburn, Joel (2013). Top Pop Singles 1955-2012. Menomonee Falls, WI: Record Research, Inc. p. 703. ISBN978-0-89820-205-2.
^REO Speedwagon, Wheels are Turnin'. Sony Music Entertainment. 1984. p. 8.
^Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 250. ISBN0-646-11917-6.
^"CHART NUMBER 1475 – Saturday, March 30, 1985". Archived from the original on November 7, 2006. Retrieved January 28, 2015.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). CHUM. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
^"Irish Singles Chart". The Irish Charts. Archived from the original on June 3, 2009. Retrieved January 25, 2015. Note: REO Speedwagon must be searched manually.
^"UK album and singles database". everyHit.com. Archived from the original on July 18, 2007. Retrieved January 25, 2015. Note: REO Speedwagon must be searched manually.