"I Can't Explain" is a song by English rock band the Who, written by Pete Townshend and produced by Shel Talmy.

"I Can't Explain" was the A-side of the group's first single as the Who; its predecessor, "Zoot Suit"/"I'm the Face," was released under the name the High Numbers.

In a 1994 issue of Q magazine, Roger Daltrey echoed Townshend's comments regarding the Kinks' influence: We already knew Pete could write songs, but it never seemed a necessity in those days to have your own stuff because there was this wealth of untapped music that we could get hold of from America.

[8]In a May 1974 interview with Creem, Jimmy Page recalled playing rhythm guitar on the song as a session guitarist.

"[13] In his autobiography Who I Am, Townshend says he came up with the song after being told by managers Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp to write original tunes for his up-and-coming band.

He locked himself up in his bedroom listening to Bob Dylan, Charles Mingus, John Lee Hooker and Booker T. & the M.G.

's, and tried to summarise the feelings caused by the music, with the idea that came up the most being "I can't explain".

[22] Scorpions recorded their version of "I Can't Explain" for their 1989 compilation album Best of Rockers 'n' Ballads and the various artist compilation Stairway to Heaven/Highway to Hell, the latter album featuring bands that performed at the Moscow Music Peace Festival, an anti-drug and alcohol event, highlighting the related deaths of various famous musicians, such as the Who's Keith Moon, who died of a drug overdose.

[citation needed] The Scorpions version was released as single via Polydor Records, and reached No.