Never Can Say Goodbye - Single Version

This was written by Clifton Davis, who was the star of a US TV show called That's My Mama. He also starred in the TV series Amen and the movies Crooklyn and Any Given Sunday. Davis was working on the song at Motown Records' offices in Los Angeles in a room adjacent the office of Hal Davis, a producer at the label. According to Hal, when he heard it, he asked Clifton for the song and recorded the track that night with a group of session musicians that were regulars on Jackson 5 tracks. The group tracked their vocals two days later.

This song is about one of those unhealthy relationships that never seems to work out, but also won't end because something always pulls them back together. Jackson 5 frontman Michael Jackson was just 12 years old at the time, but had a talent for putting the requisite emotion into anything he sang. Motown Records had some concerns about the song being too adult for the group, but Hal Davis, who produced the track, had some sway in the office and convinced them to release it as a single. His instincts were right: the song climbed to #2 on the Hot 100 and also gave them their fifth #1 R&B hit.

Five different artists have charted with this song in the US. In 1971, Isaac Hayes took it to #22; Gloria Gaynor had her first Top 40 hit when her 1974 cover went to #9 US and #2 UK - she hit big with "I Will Survive" four years later. In 1975, the duo Napoli & Glasson (Jeanne Napoli and Barbara Glasson) released a French version called "Il Est Toujours Temps Pour Partir" that went to #106. In 1987, a British duo called The Communards took it to #4 UK and #51 US.