I Don't Want to Talk About It

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"I Don't Want to Talk About It"
Song by Crazy Horse
from the album Crazy Horse
ReleasedFebruary 1971
Genre Country rock
Length5:18
Label Reprise
Songwriter(s) Danny Whitten
Producer(s) Jack Nitzsche, Russ Titelman, Bruce Botnick

"I Don't Want to Talk About It" is a song written by American guitarist Danny Whitten. It was first recorded by American rock band Crazy Horse and issued as the final track on side one of their 1971 eponymous album. It was Whitten's signature tune, but gained more fame via its numerous cover versions, especially that by Rod Stewart. Cash Box magazine has described it as "a magnificent ballad outing." [1]

Contents

Original recording personnel

Rod Stewart version

"I Don't Want to Talk About It"
I Don't Want to Talk About It rod.jpg
Single by Rod Stewart
from the album Atlantic Crossing
A-side
ReleasedMarch 1977 (1977-03) [2]
Genre Soft rock
Length4:13 (single version)
Label Riva
Songwriter(s) Danny Whitten
Producer(s) Tom Dowd
Rod Stewart singles chronology
"Get Back"
(1976)
"I Don't Want to Talk About It"
(1977)
"The First Cut Is the Deepest"
(1977)
Music video
"I Don't Want to Talk About It" on YouTube

British singer Rod Stewart recorded the song at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama for his 1975 album Atlantic Crossing . When it was released as a single in 1977, it topped the singles chart in the United Kingdom as a double A-side with "The First Cut Is the Deepest". [3] The song is widely believed to have benefitted from being deliberately released as a budget single in order to keep the Sex Pistols' "God Save the Queen" off the top of the UK singles chart. [4] [5] [6] In February 2021, the song received a silver certification from the British Phonographic Industry for sales and streams of over 200,000. [7]

In the United States, it was released as a single in December 1979 to promote Stewart's Greatest Hits album. [8] It peaked at number 46 on the Billboard Hot 100 [9] and number 44 Adult Contemporary. [10]

In 1989, Stewart cut a new rendition of the song for Storyteller – The Complete Anthology: 1964–1990 . It was later included on Downtown Train – Selections from the Storyteller Anthology . The song received extensive airplay on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States as an album cut, reaching number two on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. Stewart also sang this song as a duet with Amy Belle during his 2004 tour [11] and it is included in his concert DVD. The official Rod Stewart video of the performance has received over 912 million Youtube views (as of January 30, 2024). [12]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1977–1980)Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [13] 11
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) [14] 36
Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [15] 51
Ireland (IRMA) [16] 4
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [2] 3
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [17] 2
UK Singles (OCC) [18] 1
US Billboard Hot 100 [19] 46
US Adult Contemporary ( Billboard ) [20] 44
West Germany (Official German Charts) [21] 44
Chart (1990)Peak
position
Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [22] 19
Canada Adult Contemporary ( RPM ) [23] 3
US Adult Contemporary ( Billboard ) [20] 2

Year-end charts

Chart (1977)Position
Australia (Kent Music Report) [24] 70

Everything but the Girl version

"I Don't Want to Talk About It"
IDWtTAI Everything but the Girl cover.jpg
Single by Everything but the Girl
from the album Idlewild
B-side "Oxford Street" [25]
Released1988 (1988)
Length4:17
Label Blanco y Negro
Songwriter(s) Danny Whitten
Producer(s) Ben Watt
Everything but the Girl singles chronology
"I Always Was Your Girl"
(1988)
"I Don't Want to Talk About It"
(1988)
"Love Is Here Where I Live"
(1989)

In 1988, English musical duo Everything but the Girl released their version of the song as a stand-alone single; it was later included on the reissue of their fourth studio album, Idlewild (1988). Tracey Thorn has said that Stewart had been regarded as "a heroic figure" in her home when she was growing up, and that her brother Keith owned the "albums with grimy-sounding titles like An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down , and Gasoline Alley ". She herself had "always liked Atlantic Crossing." [26]

This version was also met with success in the UK, peaking at number three on the UK Singles Chart. It was the duo's first British top-10 hit and would remain their only one until 1995, when the Todd Terry remix of "Missing" also peaked at number three. Outside the UK, the song reached number three in Ireland and number 19 in New Zealand.

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1988)Peak
position
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) [27] 9
Ireland (IRMA) [16] 3
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [28] 85
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [29] 19
UK Singles (OCC) [30] 3

Year-end charts

Chart (1988)Position
UK Singles (OCC) [31] 75

Other cover versions

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References

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  2. 1 2 "Rod Stewart – I Don't Want to Talk About It" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
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  4. Hall, James (May 27, 2017). "God Save the Queen at 40: how the Sex Pistols made the most controversial song in history". The Telegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved January 1, 2018.
  5. "God Save the Queen: The Sex Pistols take on charity track". ITV News. April 19, 2012. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
  6. "Bragg attacks Pistols' royal views". BBC News. May 27, 2002. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
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  10. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 233.
  11. "Rod Stewart & Amy Belle- I Dont Want To Talk About It". YouTube . Royal Albert Hall, London. 2004. Archived from the original on September 26, 2011. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
  12. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : "Rod Stewart - I Don't Want To Talk About It (from One Night Only! Live at Royal Albert Hall)". YouTube .
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  14. "Rod Stewart – I Don't Want to Talk About It" (in French). Ultratop 50.
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  16. 1 2 "The Irish Charts – Search Results – I Don't Want to Talk About It". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
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  20. 1 2 "Rod Stewart Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
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  25. I Don't Want to Talk About It (UK 7-inch single sleeve). Everything but the Girl. 1988. NEG 34, 247880-7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  26. Tracey Thorn, Bedsit Disco Queen , p.204
  27. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles". Music & Media . Vol. 5, no. 32. August 6, 1988. p. 18.
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