Can the Can

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"Can the Can"
Suzie Quatro - Can the Can.jpg
The single cover of "Can the Can"
Single by Suzi Quatro
B-side "Ain't Ya Something Honey"
Released1973
Genre
Label RAK Records
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Mike Chapman, Nicky Chinn (A-side)
  • Mickie Most (B-side)
Suzi Quatro singles chronology
"Rolling Stone"
(1972)		"Can the Can"
(1973)		"48 Crash"
(1973)
Music video
"Can the Can" on YouTube

"Can the Can" is the second solo single by American singer-songwriter Suzi Quatro and her first to reach number one in the UK, spending a single week at the top of the chart in June 1973. It also reached number one on the European and Australian charts; Quatro achieved her most consistent success throughout her career in these markets. The single belatedly became a hit in the US peaking at number 56 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1976. It was re-released as a single in the UK, with "Devil Gate Drive" as the B-side, in 1984, but failed to chart.[ citation needed ] The single made the charts again in 1987 in the UK at number 87,[ citation needed ] it also appeared on her 1995 album What Goes Around . [6]

Contents

This single made Quatro the first female bass guitar player to become a major rock star and therefore broke a barrier to women's participation in rock music. [7] [8] [9]

Background

This, Quatro's second solo single, was released after she moved from the United States to Britain. In the United States, she had already released two singles with the all-female band The Pleasure Seekers. [10] Her first solo single, "Rolling Stone," was recorded with session players. "Rolling Stone" only achieved popularity in Portugal, where it went to number one. [11]

For "Can the Can," Quatro had organized her own band, which had toured the United Kingdom as the warm-up act for Slade and Thin Lizzy, and they had new songwriters/producers Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn. [11]

The song "Can the Can" was written, composed, and produced by Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn. [11] [12] It has the refrain  :

  • Make a stand for your man, honey, try to can the can
  • Put your man in the can, honey, get him while you can
  • Can the can, can the can, if you can, well can the can
— – Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn

According to songwriter Nicky Chinn, the phrase "can the can" means "... something that is pretty impossible, you can't get one can inside another if they are the same size, so we're saying you can't put your man in the can if he is out there and not willing to commit." [13]

The song "Ain't Ya Something Honey," with which "Can the Can" was backed, was written and composed by Quatro and produced by Mickie Most. [11] [12]

Accolades

YearPublisherCountryAccoladeRank
2005Bruce PollockUnited States"The 7,500 Most Important Songs of 1944-2000"[ citation needed ]Unordered
Toby Creswell Australia"1001 Songs"[ citation needed ]
2009 Gilles Verlant and Thomas CausséFrance"3000 Rock Classics"[ citation needed ]

Chart performance

See also

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2002). The Virgin Encyclopedia of 70s music. Virgin Books. p. 348. ISBN   978-1-8522-7947-9. a second RAK single, 1973's 'Can the Can', topped hit parades throughout the world at the zenith of the glam-rock craze
  2. ↑ Fontenot, Robert. "Glam Rock Music – What is Glam Rock Music? – Oldies Music Songs and Artists". About.com . Archived from the original on 31 August 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  3. ↑ Williams, Andrew (5 August 2007). "60 Seconds: Suzi Quatro". Metro . Retrieved 19 July 2013. Suzi Quatro was one of the biggest female pop stars of the 1970s – notching up No.1 hits with glam rock classics Can The Can and Devil Gate Drive.
  4. ↑ "Suzi Quatro". Wolfgang's Vault . Archived from the original on 23 November 2009.
  5. ↑ "Teenager Pop Factory". Teenager. Vol. 4. M.M. Ahmed. 1973. p. 30. The only lady to get in top twenty and at number one, with a solo number was the English Suzy Quatro, with her hard rock and noisy number 'Can the Can'..
  6. ↑ Thompson, Dave. "Suzi Quatro – What Goes Around". AllMusic . Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  7. ↑ Auslander, Philip (28 January 2004). "I Wanna Be Your Man: Suzi Quatro's musical androgyny" (PDF). Popular Music. 23 (1). United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press: 1–16. doi:10.1017/S0261143004000030. S2CID   191508078. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 January 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  8. ↑ "BBC – Queens of British Pop – Video – Suzi Quatro – David Jensen on Suzi Quatro". London, UK: BBC Online . Retrieved 12 July 2012.
  9. ↑ Callwood, Brett. "Glycerine queen, forever!". Metro Times . Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  10. ↑ "Michigan Rock and Roll Legends – Suzi Quatro". Michigan, United States: Michigan Rock and Roll Legends. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Hendriks, Phil; Mankowitz, Gered (January 2011). Suzi Quatro (CD booklet). Suzi Quatro. London, United Kingdom: 7T's Records. GLAM CD 118.
  12. 1 2 Thompson, Dave. "Suzi Quatro – A's, B's and Rarities – Review". AllMusic . Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  13. ↑ "Can the Can by Suzi Quatro". Songfacts. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  14. ↑ "Go-Set Chart Service: Aust. Singles". Go-Set . 13 October 1973. Retrieved 3 February 2014– via Pop Archives.
  15. ↑ "Australia No. 1 hits -- 1970's". World Charts. Archived from the original on 24 April 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
  16. ↑ "Suzi Quatro – Can The Can" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  17. ↑ "Suzi Quatro – Can The Can" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  18. ↑ "Le Détail par Artiste". InfoDisc (in French). Select "Suzi Quatro" from the artist drop-down menu. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  19. ↑ "Suzi Quatro – Can The Can" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  20. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Suzi Quatro". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  21. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 30, 1973" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  22. ↑ "Suzi Quatro – Can The Can" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  23. ↑ "Suzi Quatro – Can The Can". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  24. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  25. ↑ "Suzi Quatro – Awards". AllMusic . Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  26. ↑ "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending FEBRUARY 28, 1976". Cash Box . Archived from the original on 2 September 2012.
  27. ↑ "'73 – The Hits". Go-Set . Archived from the original on 31 March 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2014– via Pop Archives.
  28. ↑ "Forum - ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts – 1970s". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 6 November 2013. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  29. ↑ "Jahreshitparade 1973" (in German). Austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  30. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 1973" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  31. ↑ "TOP – 1973". Top-france.fr (in French). Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  32. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1973" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  33. ↑ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1973" (in German). Hitparade.ch. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  34. ↑ "British single certifications – Suzi Quatro – Can the Can". British Phonographic Industry.
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