I Never Said Goodbye

I Never Said Goodbye
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 23, 1987
Recorded1987
StudioA&M Studios and One on One Recording Studios, Los Angeles,
The Record Plant, Sausalito, California
GenreGlam metal[1]
Length45:33
LabelGeffen
ProducerSammy Hagar, Edward Van Halen, David Thoener
Sammy Hagar chronology
5150
(1986)
I Never Said Goodbye
(1987)
OU812
(1988)
Singles from I Never Said Goodbye
  1. "Give to Live"
    Released: June 1987 (US)[2]
  2. "Eagles Fly"
    Released: October 1987
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[3]
Kerrang![4]

I Never Said Goodbye is the ninth studio album by American rock musician Sammy Hagar, released on June 23, 1987, by Geffen Records. It was his first solo album since 1984's VOA, released while he was a member of Van Halen. The album was recorded in ten days under a contractual obligation to Geffen Records as a condition of his leaving the company to join Van Halen and their record label, Warner Bros. Records (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 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 promotional contest. Some pressings retain the title Sammy Hagar, not to be confused with the 1977 album Sammy Hagar.

It features Eddie Van Halen on bass guitar, who also plays during a brief section of the guitar solo on "Eagles Fly".[5]

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 chart in 1987, the first time for Hagar as a solo artist. The former song was included on the album Live: Right Here, Right Now, the latter on the home video version and the 2023 remaster's 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.

  1. ^ Popoff, Martin (2014). The big book of hair metal : the illustrated oral history of heavy metal's debauched decade. Minneapolis, MN. p. 133. ISBN 978-0-7603-4546-7. OCLC 858901054.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. ^ Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. p. 354. ISBN 9780862415419.
  3. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Sammy Hagar I Never Said Goodbye review". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2013-04-11.
  4. ^ Johnson, Howard (25 June 1987). "Sammy Hagar 'Sammy Hagar'". Kerrang!. Vol. 149. London, UK: Spotlight Publications. p. 18.
  5. ^ Scapelliti, Christopher (June 26, 2015). "Sammy Hagar Finally Reveals Eddie Van Halen's Guitar Part on His 1987 Solo LP". Guitar Player. Archived from the original on November 5, 2019. Retrieved October 6, 2020.