"Don't Toss Us Away" is a song written by

Bryan MacLean Bryan Andrew MacLean (September 25, 1946 – December 25, 1998) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter, best known for his work with the influential rock band Love. His famous compositions for Love include "Alone Again Or", "Old Man ...

and recorded by country rock band

Lone Justice Lone Justice is an American country rock band formed in 1982 by guitarist Ryan Hedgecock and singer Maria McKee. They have recently announced they are recording new material as per Marvin Etzioni July 2022. They are part of a new exhibit in Se ...

in 1985 on their

self-titled An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

debut album. In 1988, the song was recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer

Patty Loveless Patty Loveless (born Patricia Lee Ramey, January 4, 1957) is an American country music singer. She began performing in her teenaged years before signing her first recording contract with MCA Records' Nashville division in 1985. While her first ...

, who released the song as the second single from her album '' Honky Tonk Angel'', in February 1989. Loveless' version reached the number five position on the '' Billboard''

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sa ...

chart in May 1989.

Background

Loveless and her brother, Roger Ramey, heard the song while driving with Tony Brown. All of them agreed it would be a good song for her to record, as the ballad fit her vocal style quite well. Maria McKee, songwriter Bryan MacLean's sister, told Loveless at the studio that she was singing/recording the song the way her brother had always intended.

Chart positions

The song charted for 17 weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles chart, reaching number 5 during the week of May 6, 1989.

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 1985 songs 1989 singles Patty Loveless songs Song recordings produced by Tony Brown (record producer) Songs written by Bryan MacLean Country ballads MCA Nashville Records singles