Don't Ever Wanna Lose Ya
| "Don't Ever Wanna Lose Ya" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by New England | ||||
| from the album New England | ||||
| Released | May 1979 | |||
| Genre | Pop rock | |||
| Length | 5:22 | |||
| Label |
| |||
| Songwriter(s) | John Fannon | |||
| Producer(s) | ||||
| New England singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Don't Ever Wanna Lose Ya" is the debut single by American rock band New England, released from their self-titled debut album (1979). Produced by Paul Stanley and Mike Stone, it is their most successful song, reaching at number 40 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Background[edit]
In an interview with VWMusic, John Fannon recounted the process of composing and recording the song:
Living in an apartment in those days, I wrote mostly on acoustic guitar. I am not sure I would have come up with the chords to the main intro hook on electric guitar because of the voicings I was playing. I did quickly figure out that it would be pretty cool with my Les Paul and Marshall. The lyrics came because it was raining pretty hard that night I was writing and thinking about a loved one getting home safely. When we recorded the demo we knew we had something special and then when we recorded it for our album and Mike Stone captured the power and energy of the band, the excitement was definitely building.[1]
The original demo of the song did not have a guitar solo because Fannon was concerned about the length, but Paul Stanley wanted it have one since it was a rock song.[1][2][3] Upon Fannon's request, Stanley sung the background vocals in the second and third verses of the song.[1][3]
The song received heavy radio exposure on album-oriented rock (AOR) stations in the United States and was also added to radio stations in Canada, Japan and Europe.[1]
Composition[edit]
The instrumental of the song contains keyboards and guitar riffs.[4][5] The lyrics focus on the singer's fear of losing his loved one.[5]
Critical reception[edit]
Classic Rock History ranked "Don't Ever Wanna Lose Ya" as the best song by New England.[5]
Charts[edit]
| Chart (1979) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100[6] | 40 |
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d Daly, Andrew (May 28, 2022). "An Interview with John Fannon of New England". VWMusic. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
- ^ "Interview: New England "It's great to be rocking again!"". Roppongi Rocks. December 23, 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
- ^ a b Daly, Andrew (January 21, 2023). "Hirsh Gardner: The ClassicRockHistory.com Interview". Classic Rock History. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
- ^ "New England - New England | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
- ^ a b c Kamau, Eric (April 30, 2023). "Top 10 New England Songs". Classic Rock History. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
- ^ "Billboard Hot 100: Week of June 16, 1979". Billboard. Retrieved 18 August 2023.