''I Never Said Goodbye'' is the ninth studio album by American singer

Sammy Hagar Samuel Roy Hagar (born October 13, 1947), also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose and subsequently launched a successful solo car ...

, released on June 23, 1987 by

Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint. Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...

. It was his first solo album since 1984's ''

VOA Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...

'' and was released while he was a member of

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...

. The album was recorded in ten days as a contractual obligation to

as a condition of his leaving the label to join Van Halen and their record label,

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

(Geffen's distributor at the time, and also Hagar's label when he was with Montrose). The album spent 23 weeks on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart and became his highest charting solo album, peaking at number 14 on the chart on August 15, 1987. The album was originally titled ''Sammy Hagar'', and included an untitled cover. The album was renamed ''I Never Said Goodbye'', the name being chosen as part of an

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

promotional contest. Some pressings retain the title ''Sammy Hagar'', not to be confused with the 1977 album ''

''. It features

Eddie Van Halen Edward Lodewijk Van Halen ( , ; January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist, and primary songwriter of the rock band Van Halen, which he co-founded along ...

on bass guitar, he also plays during a brief section of the guitar solo on "Eagles Fly". The songs "Give to Live" and "Eagles Fly" were also performed live by Van Halen together with Hagar. "Give to Live" also topped the

Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

chart in 1987, a first for Hagar as a solo artist. The former song was included on the album '' Live: Right Here, Right Now'', the latter on the optional bonus disk as well as on the "Jump" single. "Boys' Night Out" was performed live on the American TV show ''

Late Night with David Letterman ''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on NBC, the first iteration of the ''Late Night'' franchise. It premiered on February 1, 1982, and was produced by Letterman's production company ...

''.

Song information

*"Returning Home" was intended to be a sequel to "Silver Lights" from Hagar's first album ''

Nine on a Ten Scale ''Nine on a Ten Scale'' is the debut solo album by American rock musician Sammy Hagar, released in May 1976 by Capitol Records. It was his first release after his departure from Montrose in 1975. It was announced in Billboard Magazine that Haga ...

''. Whereas "Silver Lights" was a story about aliens taking humans from Earth, "Returning Home" tells the story of the humans' return trip. Hagar said that it could also apply to a tale that his future self might tell a child at that time.Hagar, Sammy, Returns Home, 1987. (Geffen PRO CD-2832) *"Standin' at the Same Old Crossroads" was released in an extended version on the "Give to Live" single. *"Privacy" was inspired by several run-ins that Hagar had with the

California Highway Patrol The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is a state law enforcement agency of the U.S. state of California. The CHP has primary patrol jurisdiction over all California highways and roads and streets outside city limits, and can exercise law enfor ...

while driving in his car with black-tinted windows. While a court challenge would always rule in Hagar's favor, the law could not prevent the police from repeatedly pulling him over and giving him tickets. *"Eagles Fly" was demoed with three other songs as a follow up to Hagar's ''

'' album before joining Van Halen. When they had almost finished recording '' 5150'' and "

Dreams A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, alth ...

" had not yet been written, ''5150''s producer, Mick Jones, suggested that the band needed another song. Hagar presented "Eagles Fly" to the band acoustically, which was rejected as being too folksy. The band later joined Hagar performing the song live on their 1995 ''

Balance Balance or balancing may refer to: Common meanings * Balance (ability) in biomechanics * Balance (accounting) * Balance or weighing scale * Balance as in equality or equilibrium Arts and entertainment Film * ''Balance'' (1983 film), a Bulgarian ...

'' tour. The song's lyrics deal with the level of consciousness immediately after birth, where humans are aware of all that is and all that was.

Legacy

In 2012, for the album's 25th anniversary, radio show "In The Studio", interviewed Sammy.

Track listing

Personnel

–

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

guitars The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

– bass,

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

, guitar on "Eagles Fly" *

Jesse Harms Jesse Harms (born July 6, 1952 in Massachusetts) is an American musician and songwriter. He has worked with Sammy Hagar, David Lee Roth, Eddie Money, REO Speedwagon, Bad English, Guitar Shorty, Patty Smyth, and McAuley Schenker Group. Early l ...

–

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, backing vocals *

David Lauser David Lauser (born 20 February 1951) is an American rock drummer, who is most famous for playing with Sammy Hagar. Sammy Hagar and David Lauser played together in a band called Justice Brothers before Sammy Hagar joined Montrose. Lauser later ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, backing vocals Additional musicians *

Albhy Galuten Albhy Galuten (born Alan Bruce Galuten; December 27, 1947) is an American technology executive and futurist, Grammy Award-winning record producer, composer, musician, orchestrator and conductor. He has numerous inventions and has produced 18 ...

– additional keyboards and percussion *

Omar Hakim Omar Hakim (born February 12, 1959) is an American jazz, jazz fusion and pop music drummer, producer, arranger and composer. He has worked with Weather Report, David Bowie, Foo Fighters, Sting, Madonna, Dire Straits, Bryan Ferry, Journey, Kate B ...

– drum overdubs on tracks "Hands and Knees" & "Back into You" Production *David Thoener – engineer, co-producer *Rob Beaton, Cary Butler, Robert DelaGarza, Marc DeSisto, Mark McKenna,

Toby Wright Toby Wright is an American record producer and mixing engineer who has worked with artists such as Alice in Chains, Metallica, Sevendust and Korn. Credits Producer * 3rd Strike - '' Lost Angel'' *8stops7 - ''In Moderation'' *Alice in Chains - ...

– assistant engineers *

Greg Fulginiti Gregory Fulginiti (born February 13, 1951 in Cape May Court House section of Middle Township, New Jersey) is an American recording and mastering engineer. Fulginiti grew up in Wildwood, New Jersey and graduated from Wildwood High School in 1969 ...

– mastering at

Artisan Sound Recorders Artisan Sound Recorders was one of Southern California's premier disk mastering facilities. It was founded by Robert M. MacLeod Jr. in the 1960s, and acquired by Kent Duncan in 1979 when MacLeod retired. In the early 1990s, it was sold to Jon Lo ...

Charts

Album

Singles

Certifications

References

External links

Album liner notes and lyrics at Sammy Hagar's official web site
{{Authority control Sammy Hagar albums 1987 albums Geffen Records albums Glam metal albums