"Never Say Goodbye" is a song by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...

, written by

Jon Bon Jovi John Francis Bongiovi Jr. (born March 2, 1962), known professionally as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He is best known as the founder and Lead vocalist, frontman of the rock band Bon Jovi, which was fo ...

and

Richie Sambora Richard Stephen Sambora (born July 11, 1959) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter, best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Bon Jovi from 1983 to 2013. He and lead singer Jon Bon Jovi formed the main songwriting unit for the ...

. It was a track off the band's third album, ''

Slippery When Wet ''Slippery When Wet'' is the third studio album by American rock band Bon Jovi, released on August 18, 1986, by Mercury Records in North America and Vertigo Records internationally. It was produced by Bruce Fairbairn, with recording sessions t ...

'', on June 15, 1987, and reached number 11 on the

mainstream rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent a cross between classic rock, active rock and alternativ ...

charts and number 21 on the UK Singles Chart. Because it was not released domestically as a commercially available single, "Never Say Goodbye" was ineligible to chart on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100; Nevertheless, it reached number 28 on the

Hot 100 Airplay The Radio Songs chart (previously named Hot 100 Airplay until 2014 and Top 40 Radio Monitor until July 1993) is released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and measures the airplay of songs being played on radio stations throughout the United States ...

survey. The song was featured on some versions of the band's '' Cross Road'' greatest hits album and is still occasionally performed live by the band in concert.

Song style

"Never Say Goodbye" is a

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner. Balla ...

, featuring drawn-out vocals and a slow tempo, in contrast to the other tracks on ''Slippery When Wet'', which is of a much faster, metal pace. The song is in the key of A major and progresses to C♯ minor, D major, and D minor. On one of the early demos and alternate takes that were made for this song, Richie Sambora sang lead vocals on only one of them while Jon Bon Jovi sang lead vocals on most of them.

Track listing

* Original European release (August 13, 1987) # "Never Say Goodbye" # "Shot Through the Heart" (live) * US and UK CD re-release # "Never Say Goodbye" # "Social Disease" # "Edge of a Broken Heart" # "Raise Your Hands"

Charts

References

{{authority control 1980s ballads 1986 songs 1987 singles Bon Jovi songs Glam metal ballads Song recordings produced by Bruce Fairbairn Songs written by Jon Bon Jovi Songs written by Richie Sambora Music videos directed by Wayne Isham Mercury Records singles