"I Don't Want to Talk About It" is a song written by 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 described it as "a magnificent ballad outing."
Rod Stewart version
In 1975, British singer Rod Stewart recorded the song at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama, for his album Atlantic Crossing. This became successful when it was released as a single. In the United States, it became a top fifty hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1980, peaking at number 46 on the Hot 100, and number 44 Adult Contemporary. In New Zealand, it peaked at number 2. In the United Kingdom, it topped the UK Singles Chart as a double A-side with "The First Cut Is the Deepest" in 1977. The song is widely believed to have benefited 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. In February 2021, the song received a silver certification from the British Phonographic Industry for sales and streams of over 200,000.
In 1989, Stewart recorded a new version of "I Don't Want to Talk About It" for Storyteller – The Complete Anthology: 1964–1990. It was later included on Downtown Train – Selections from the Storyteller Anthology and released as a single in 1990. It 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 and it is included in his concert DVD. The official Rod Stewart video of the performance has received over 545 million Youtube views (as of December 16, 2021).
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