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I Can't Wait (Nu Shooz song)
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox song
| name = I Can't Wait
| cover = I Cant Wait by Nu Shooz US single front cover.png
| alt =
| caption = Front cover of 1986 US reissue (Atlantic)
| type = single
| artist = Nu Shooz
| album = Poolside
(original version on Tha's Right[http://store.nushoozmusic.com/album/thas-right Nu Shooz- 'Tha's Right' @ the band's website] Retrieved 12-3-2011.)
| released = February 1986
| recorded = 1984
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Freestyle
| length = 5:25 (album version)
3:40 (single version)
| label = Atlantic
| writer = John Smith
| producer = John Smith, Rick Waritz
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title = Point of No Return
| next_year = 1986
| misc =
}}
"'I Can't Wait'" is a song by American group Nu Shooz, originally recorded in late 1984 and featured on the band's second album 'Tha's Right' the following year. The song was remixed by Dutch DJ and producer Peter Slaghuis: this remixed version is the one that appears on the 1986 album 'Poolside'.
In the United States, the remixed version of the song reached No. 1 on 'Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart in late March 1986, remaining atop the chart for two weeks. Soon afterwards, the song appeared on the Hot 100 chart, where it climbed to No. 3 in mid-June of that year, and remained in the top 40 for 15 weeks and it reached #2 on the R&B/Soul singles chart. In the United Kingdom, the song reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart. The single returned to the U.S. charts in 2015, where it peaked at number 17 on the 'Billboard' Dance/Electronic Digital Songs chart.[http://www.billboard.com/charts/dance-electronic-digital-songs/2015-10-24 Dance/Electronic Digital Songs (October 24, 2015)] from 'Billboard' (October 14, 2015)
The song's American chart run coincided with that of a Stevie Nicks song also titled "I Can't Wait".
Background
Instrumentalist John Smith would try to write songs in batches of ten, and have two a week ready for rehearsals back in the early 1980s in Portland, Oregon. He bought a new Teac-3440 4-track recorder in 1983, and "I Can't Wait" was one of the first songs he recorded on it. He scribbled out the lyrics in fifteen minutes as the band was loading up gear to go to rehearse it, and his wife, singer Valerie Day, approved.
Critical reception
John Leland's writeup in a 'Spin' magazine column wrote about the single, saying: "You can listen to this record as many times as you want and still not have any strong impressions that human beings actually made it. In other words, it's the perfect disco record."
Music video
The music video was directed by Jim Blashfield. It contains animations and has a hint of the very surreal. The plot has Valerie Day singing the song sitting at a desk, repairing a coffeepot, while tools and other oddities pass into the frame and out again. Her dog sits nearby, wearing sunglasses.
Chart performance
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Cover versions and samples
*A rap cover of the song, "I Can't Wait (To Rock the Mike)" by Spyder-D was released in 1986.
*In 1996, Vanessa Williams interpolated "I Can't Wait" in her hit "Happiness", which is one of the words in the original song.
*The song was covered in 2002 by the UK garage girl group Ladies First. It was a UK top 20 hit, reaching number 19.
*It was sampled by Natalie Alvarado's "I Can't Wait" off her 2005 debut album 'Natalie'.
*The song is sampled in the 2010 single "Buzzin'" by Mann.
See also
*List of number-one dance hits (United States)
References
Category:1985 songs
Category:1986 debut singles
Category:Atlantic Records singles
Category:Nu Shooz songs
Category:RPM Top Singles number-one singles
Category:Music videos directed by Jim Blashfield
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