"Never Thought (That I Could Love)" by Dan Hill

Song#:  3358
Date:  12/12/1987
Debut:  88
Peak:  43
Weeks:  20
Genre:  Adult Contemporary



Pop Bits:  After being absent from the US Pop chart for nearly a decade, Canadian singer/songwriter Dan Hill returned in a big way with the #6 "Can't We Try," a duet with Vonda Shepard. It would do even better at AC reaching #2. The song was taken from Hill's second self-titled effort (his first was his 1975 debut LP) as was this follow-up single. The track would be another winner at AC reaching #2. Over on the Pop chart, it didn't perform as well stopping short of the Top 40. A third single from the album, "Carmelia," would reach #8 at AC, but fail to make the Pop chart. The album sold a few copies and was able to hit #90. Hill's 1989 follow-up album, Real Love, would be less successful only generating the #3 AC track "Unborn Heart." Hill would continue to record and would get three more songs on the AC chart including the 1991 #7 "I Fall All Over Again."

ReduxReview:  This was a good follow up to "Can't We Try." I thought it would have at least made the Top 40, but it stopped short. While it was quite a nice ballad, I think it just leaned a little too much towards the AC crowd in a Manilow/Air Supply kind of way, which wasn't necessarily gonna work for the pop crowd. "Can't We Try" was a grander song that appealed to a wider audience. Still, this was a lovely tune that continued Hill's streak of romantic ballads.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  Hill's biggest Pop chart hit was 1977's "Sometimes When We Touch." The ballad was co-written by Hill with Barry Mann. The single got to #3 Pop/#10 AC. While many artists have recorded the song including Barry Manilow, Tina Turner, Rod Stewart, and Bonnie Tyler, none have been able to get the song on the Pop chart. However, in 1985 the song became a Country hit. Mark Gray and country superstar Tammy Wynette turned the tune into a duet and took it to #6 on the Country chart. It wouldn't be Hill's only song to make the Country chart. In the 90s, Hill hooked up with country singer/songwriter Keith Stegall and the pair wrote songs for several country artists. Five of their songs reached the Country chart with three of them making the Top 10 including a pair of #2 hits, "Love of My Life" by Sammy Kershaw (1997) and "I Do (Cherish You)" by Mark Wills (1998). The latter song was later covered by the boy band 98 Degrees. Their version was released as a single in 1999 and got to #4 AC/#13 Pop.

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