Sammy Hagar celebrated the 36th anniversary of his 1987 album ‘Never Said Goodbye’ today, stating Eddie Van Halen’s contributions helped elevate the music to another level.
“Happy anniversary to I Never Said Goodbye! I still love this record today,” Hagar posted to social media along with the official video for the album’s single “Give To Live” (above). “I feel it was elevated by Eddie, playing bass on the whole record. After writing and recording the 5150 record, my songwriting and singing were at a peak. Eddie played one small guitar part on “Eagles Fly”, and I handled the rest of the guitars. It was a fun record for us co-producing.”
Released on June 23rd, 1987, I Never Said Goodbye was the ninth studio album released by Hagar, who recorded it under a contractual obligation to Geffen Records. It was recorded in ten days and co-produced with Eddie. The album spent 23 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart and became his highest-charting solo album, peaking at number 14 on August 15th, 1987. Originally titled Sammy Hagar, the album was renamed I Never Said Goodbye thanks to an MTV promotional contest.