Singled Out: Hirsh Gardner's Don't Ever Wanna Lose Ya

10-31-2024

Hirsh Gardner from the veteran AOR band New England is gearing up to release his new album "Third Time's A Charm" and to celebrate we asked him to tell us about the first single, "Don't Ever Wanna Lose Ya". Here is the story:

Now this song was originally released in 1979 on the debut album of my band New England. The song was a Billboard Top 40 hit single and was the number one most added record in the USA coincidentally the same week the Eagles released Hotel California. So why you may ask did I decide to re-record the song and release it in 2024.

About 5 years ago New England was doing a gig in LA. Jimmy Waldo and I arrived in town a little early and went straight to the studio to set up and get ready for the rest of the band to arrive. We mic'd up the drums and Jimmy's keyboards and decided to have a little fun so we recorded the basic tracks to Don't Ever Wanna Lose Ya. We thought it sounded pretty good so I uploaded the tracks we recorded and then we went about the business of rehearsing for our upcoming shows in LA and Japan.

So now it's a few years later and I'm home in Boston recording tracks for my new album. Going through the hundreds of music files on my computer I found the original tracks that Jimmy and I recorded. OMG...they were incredible. I was so inspired hearing the material that I laid down some guitar tracks, bass and sang the lead vocal and back-up vocals. The track was coming alive and was I getting an incredible vibe when hearing it blast through the speakers.

Now I was working with my co-producer Chris Laney (guitar, keys and producer for Pretty Maids) and I sent him the song to see if it would be a good fit for the album. On my previous two solo albums I included a few covers of my fav songs so I thought that Lose Ya fit well into that groove. Chris loved it and sent back the track with all new guitar parts and a mix that absolutely floored me. So the final has Jimmy Waldo on keys, Gary Shea, New England's bass player, Chris Laney on guitar and me on vocals.

Don't Ever Wanna Lose Ya was written by John Fannon, lead vocals and guitar for our band New England. Back in 1979 the song was produced by Paul Stanley, yes that Kiss Paul Stanley and Mike Stone, engineer for Queen, Asia, Journey and many others. We all felt that the song was a smash. It shot into the Billboard Top 40 and was the number one added record in the US radio market. We felt we had all the ingredients for success: a killer production, fantastic guitars, and memorable vocals. Plus, we were managed by none other than Kiss's manager Bill Aucoin-so the stars seemed aligned. Yet, despite our talent and potential, we didn't quite achieve the success that we had hoped for. Sometimes the music industry is a mysterious beast, isn't it?

Well, New England was recently voted number 14 of the top 50 AOR bands largely on the popularity of that song. I believe that Don't Ever Wanna Lose Ya is an amazing tune and I am thrilled that it is getting the recognition again that it deserves.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen and watch for yourself below and learn more here