How Can I Refuse?

Album: Passionworks (1983)
Charted: 44
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song is about a woman who can't resist the man in her life. The entire band got composer credit on the track along with Ann and Nancy Wilson's former Lovemongers bandmate Sue Ennis. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Mike - Santa Barbara, CA
  • This was the biggest hit from Passionworks, the last Heart album released on Epic Records. Heart was one of the biggest bands of the '70s, but the '80s found them declining in sales. With Passionworks underperforming, Epic dropped them, and they signed with Capitol.

    At Capitol's behest, they used outside songwriters and softened their rough musical edges, resulting in the hits "These Dreams" and "Never." Once again, they were one of the biggest acts in rock, just a softer rock.
  • In hopes of getting on MTV, which launched two years earlier, the band made an expensive video for this song. Directed by Mark Rezyka, it featured a mysterious magic man with some kind of crystal ball. MTV ignored it, but when Heart returned two years later, their videos became some of the most popular on the network.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Cheerleaders In Music Videos

Cheerleaders In Music VideosSong Writing

It started with a bouncy MTV classic. Nirvana and MCR made them scary, then Gwen, Avril and Madonna put on the pom poms.

Shaun Morgan of Seether

Shaun Morgan of SeetherSongwriter Interviews

Shaun breaks down the Seether songs, including the one about his brother, the one about Ozzy, and the one that may or may not be about his ex-girlfriend Amy Lee.

Real or Spinal Tap

Real or Spinal TapMusic Quiz

They sang about pink torpedoes and rocking you tonight tonight, but some real lyrics are just as ridiculous. See if you can tell which lyrics are real and which are Spinal Tap in this lyrics quiz.

Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull

Ian Anderson of Jethro TullSongwriter Interviews

The flautist frontman talks about touring with Led Zeppelin, his contribution to "Hotel California", and how he may have done the first MTV Unplugged.

Stan Ridgway

Stan RidgwaySongwriter Interviews

Go beyond the Wall of Voodoo with this cinematic songwriter.

Dar Williams

Dar WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

A popular contemporary folk singer, Williams still remembers the sticky note that changed her life in college.