I Can’t Wait – Nu Shooz | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#3) & R&B (#2 for 3 weeks); 1986
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
In the 1980’s, Portland, Oregon wasn’t a hotbed of music happenings. Nor were husband and wife duos all the rage in rock ‘n’ roll. Still, in 1986, John Smith and Valerie Day, collectively known as Nu Shooz, managed to place three singles on Billboard magazine’s Hot 100.
Valerie, with her blond tresses, and John, sporting a beret, hardly looked like, say, Patti LaBelle, who held down the #1 slot that June. Yet, MTV broke down many barriers in its first decade, and cross cultural success was one result, not unlike the changes in the wake of early rock ‘n’ rollers such as Elvis, Little Richard, and Chuck Berry.
As a result, I Can’t Wait and the follow-up Nu Shooz singles also placed well on the R&B chart, plus Wait was a #1 Hot Dance Music track.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- John Smith
- Rick Waritz
Lyrics Written by:
- John Smith
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).