"Don't Want to Say Goodbye" is a song written by

Eric Carmen Eric Howard Carmen (born August 11, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and keyboardist. He was first known as the lead vocalist of the Raspberries. He had numerous hit songs in the 1970s and 1980s, first as a member of the Ras ...

and

Wally Bryson The Raspberries were an American pop rock band formed in 1970 from Cleveland, Ohio. They had a run of success in the early 1970s music scene with their pop rock sound, which AllMusic later described as featuring "exquisitely crafted melodies and ...

that was first released on

the Raspberries The Raspberries were an American pop rock band formed in 1970 from Cleveland, Ohio. They had a run of success in the early 1970s music scene with their pop rock sound, which AllMusic later described as featuring "exquisitely crafted melodies and ...

1972 debut album ''

Raspberries The raspberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the rose family, most of which are in the subgenus '' Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Raspberries are perennial with ...

''. It was released as the first single from the album and reached No. 86 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Reception

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...

'' said of "Don't Want to Say Goodbye" that it's "a ballad with just a touch of the Beatles sound. No ifs, ands or buts, this one should hit. Impressive beginning." '' Cash Box'' said of it that " Lighthouse producer

Jimmy Ienner Jimmy Ienner ( ; born ) is an American music producer, best known for producing albums for such artists as Bay City Rollers, The Raspberries and Three Dog Night. Biography He went to Stamford (Connecticut) High School and graduated in 1963. ...

blazes a ballad trail, setting new Cleveland quartet in a fine light of its own. Tune should appeal to Top 40 and MORs." ''Wichita Beacon'' critic Paul Baker called it a "beautiful song" despite not charting as well as hoped. ''Elk Grove Herald'' critic Tom Von Malder noted the song's "exciting changes of tempo." Music journalist Mark Borack said that the song is "papered with pretty piano passages and melodies." ''Ultimate Classic Rock'' critic Dave Swanson rated it as the 9th best Raspberries song. Swanson described it as a "great

McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

-esque ballad" and a "lush, beautiful and still rocking song." ''Classic Rock History'' critic Brian Kachejian it as the Raspberries' 5th best song, saying that "the melody and arrangement was a bit more progressive in nature than some of he Raspberries'more sweet sounding pop songs" and praising the "great chord change in the chorus." ''Old Time Music'' critic Joseph L. Hollen rated it the Raspberries 10th best song, saying that "It isn’t a bad song at all, typical of the time, with some nice vocals and a decent chorus."

Releases

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

chose to release "Don't Want to Say Goodbye" as the lead single from ''Raspberries''. The song stalled at #86 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, but did better in some areas. For example, it was a hit in the band's native

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...

and reached the Top 20 on the survey of the radio station KYSN in

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

. It also reached #90 on the ''Cash Box'' Top 100 and #89 on the ''Record World'' Singles Chart. Music journalist Ken Sharp said that one of the reasons the single did not perform well was that it was too long, at 5 minutes, when it is difficult to get radio programmers to play new artists even when the single is shorter. Lead singer

said that the band was surprised that Capitol released "Don't Want to Say Goodbye" as the lead single and said that "They pressed up the records without saying anything on the label because they thought that we sounded a lot like the

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the disco music era i ...

and they wanted to fool program directors." Carmen also said that "I didn't want to tell anybody how to do their business, but a five-minute ballad as your first single? I couldn't see tons of music stations throwing that record on." The band had wanted "Go All the Way" to be their first single, and were proven prescient when that song was released as the second single and went to the Top 10. "Don't Want to Say Goodbye" was later released as the B-side of the Raspberries' 1974 single "

Ecstasy Ecstasy may refer to: * Ecstasy (emotion), a trance or trance-like state in which a person transcends normal consciousness * Religious ecstasy, a state of consciousness, visions or absolute euphoria * Ecstasy (philosophy), to be or stand outside o ...

". It was also included on several Raspberries' compilation albums, such as '' Raspberries' Best'', '' Capitol Collectors Series'' and '' Greatest''.

References

{{authority control 1972 songs 1972 debut singles Capitol Records singles Raspberries (band) songs Songs written by Eric Carmen Song recordings produced by Jimmy Ienner