[2] On the album, this message was placed before the lyrics of the song: "And so Norman decides to stop living out his fantasy of being a rock star and accept reality.

Hartford Courant critic Henry McNulty felt that the following lines from the song summed up Ray Davies' career well: I've been a star down and out / I've been put on, sat on, punched and spat on / They've called me a faggot, a spiv and a fake / They can knock me down and tread on my face / But they can't stop the music playing on[5]Montreal Gazette critic Bill Mann similar stated that "the lyrics will give you no small insight into Davies and Co.'s remarkable staying power.

[7] "You Can't Stop the Music" was first released in May 1975 on the album Soap Opera, where it was the twelfth and final track on said LP.

During that same month, the song was released as the album's third and final UK single, backed with "Have Another Drink" (also from Soap Opera).

AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine cited "You Can't Stop the Music" as a highlight from Soap Opera.