I Never Said Goodbye is the ninth studio album by American rock musician Sammy Hagar. The album was released on June 23, 1987 by Geffen Records. Released while Hagar was a member of Van Halen, I Never Said Goodbye was Hagar's first solo album since 1984's VOA. 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. The album spent 23 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart and became Hagar's highest charting solo album, peaking at number 14 on August 15, 1987.
The album was originally entitled Sammy Hagar and included an untitled cover. It was renamed I Never Said Goodbye after the new name was 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.
The album features Eddie Van Halen on bass guitar. The songs "Give to Live" and "Eagles Fly" were also performed live by Van Halen together with Hagar. "Give to Live" topped the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in 1987, becoming Hagar's first song to reach number one on that chart.
David Lauser – drums, backing vocals Omar Hakim – drum overdubs on tracks "Hands and Knees" & "Back into You" Albhy Galuten – additional keyboards and percussion Eddie Van Halen – bass, backing vocals, guitar solo on "Eagles Fly" Sammy Hagar – lead vocals, all guitars Jesse Harms – keyboards, backing vocals
David Thoener – engineer, co-producer Rob Beaton, Cary Butler, Robert DelaGarza, Marc DeSisto, Mark McKenna, Toby Wright – assistant engineers Greg Fulginiti – mastering at Artisan Sound Recorders
