"Never Give Up" by Sammy Hagar

Song#:  1391
Date:  03/26/1983
Debut:  79
Peak:  46
Weeks:  8
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  Hagar grabbed his biggest solo hit with the #13 (#3 rock) "You're Love Is Driving Me Crazy" from his album "Three Lock Box." This second single got close to the Top 40, but peaked just short. Oddly, the song was ignored at rock radio and failed to make that chart. The solid showing of "You're Love" propelled the album to gold, but that was a drop following his platinum-selling LP "Standing Hampton."

ReduxReview:  This song, especially the verses, infringe a bit on Bob Seger territory. In fact, if Seger co-wrote a tune with Rick Springfield, it might sound like this. The results are pretty good. It's obviously not as strong as "You're Love," but it's a good tune that should have gotten into the Top 40. The tune could possibly be the most pop-oriented one Hagar has done. That could be because Hagar didn't write it. He usually writes/co-writes most all of his material, but this one was composed by Alan Pasqua and the album's producer Keith Olsen (who was Springfield's producer at the time - hence the connection). It worked well, but I guess it wasn't quite strong enough to really conquer pop radio.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  The previous year, Hagar contributed a song to the soundtrack for the film "Fast Times At Ridgemont High." His song was titled after the film and appeared in Spicoli's joyride scene. The song would not be issued as a single, but would become the b-side to "Never Give Up."

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