I Never Cry

1976 single by Alice Cooper
"I Never Cry"
Single cover
Single by Alice Cooper
from the album Alice Cooper Goes to Hell
B-side"Go to Hell"
ReleasedJune 7, 1976 (1976-06-07) (US) [1]
GenreSoft rock[2]
Length3:44
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)
  • Alice Cooper
  • Dick Wagner
Producer(s)Bob Ezrin
Alice Cooper singles chronology
"Welcome to My Nightmare"
(1975) 		"I Never Cry"
(1976) 		"You and Me"
(1977)

"I Never Cry" is a song by American rock singer Alice Cooper. It was originally released on his second solo studio album Alice Cooper Goes to Hell (1976). The song was written by Cooper and Dick Wagner.

Background

On an episode of his radio show broadcast on November 23, 2009, Cooper stated that "I Never Cry" was his biggest selling single; it was one of only two gold records Cooper earned in the US, the other being for his 1989 comeback hit "Poison". "I Never Cry" was written about Cooper's experiences with alcoholism, which one year later sent the performer into rehab. He called the song "an alcoholic confession".

As with most of Cooper's softer ballads, it fared poorly in recurrent rotation; it was too soft for the classic rock format, while classic hits stations have largely ignored it.[3]

"I Never Cry" was performed live by Cooper, though not consistently, during all tours up to his break in touring due to his addiction to crack cocaine and eventual relapse into alcoholism following 1981's Special Forces tour.[4] When Cooper returned to touring after Constrictor (1986), "I Never Cry" was never again performed until the 2002 'Descent into Dragontown' tour, following which the song became was a regular part of setlists on the 2005–06 'Dirty Diamonds' and 2009–10 'Theatre of Death' tours.[4]

Chart performance

The song peaked at No. 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and at No. 9 on Cash Box in January 1977. In Canada, it spent two weeks at No. 5.

Weekly charts

Chart (1976–1977) Peak
position
Australia 23
Canada RPM Top Singles 5
Canada RPM Adult Contemporary[5] 18
US Billboard Hot 100[6] 12
US Billboard Adult Contemporary[7] 24
US Cashbox Top 100 9

Year-end charts

Chart (1976) Rank
Canada RPM Top Singles [8] 80
Chart (1977) Rank
Canada RPM Top Singles

[9]

126
US (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual) [10] 99

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[11] Gold 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Cover versions

  • "I Never Cry" was covered by Spanish rock band Hombres G on their debut studio album as "No llorare".[12]
  • It was also covered by Poison on the 2007 studio album, Poison'd!

In popular culture

  • OPM R&B artist Jay R performed the song in season 1 of the Philippine singing competition Your Face Sounds Familiar with a full impersonation of Alice Cooper. Cooper acknowledged the performance in a tweet.[13]
  • Child actor Awra Briguela performed the song in Kids 1 of the Philippine singing competition Your Face Sounds Familiar with a full impersonation of Alice Cooper.[14]
  • Actor Christian Bables performed the song in season 3 of the Philippine singing competition Your Face Sounds Familiar with a full impersonation of Alice Cooper. Cooper acknowledged the performance in a tweet.[15]
  • The song was used in the final scene and closing credits of the 2011 Bobcat Goldthwait action black comedy film, God Bless America.
  • The song was covered by Filipina-Australian actress Iya Villania on her sole studio album, Finally! (2008)[16]

References

  1. ^ "Alice cooper singles".
  2. ^ "Alice Cooper Goes to Hell". iTunes (UK). 25 June 1976. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  3. ^ Ross, Sean (April 2, 2021). "Lost Factor's Top 10 Artists: 1970-94". Radio Insight. Retrieved April 14, 2021. Alice Cooper – The rocker/radio host is here on the strength of his four ballad hits that eventually got lost between two constituencies: "Only Women," "I Never Cry" "You and Me," "How You Gonna See Me Now."
  4. ^ a b "I Never Cry by Alice Cooper Song Statistics". Setlist.fm. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  5. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1976-12-18. Retrieved 2019-06-08.
  6. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 192.
  7. ^ "Adult Contemporary Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  8. ^ "Top Singles – Volume 26, No. 14 & 15, January 08 1977". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Archived from the original on March 19, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
  9. ^ "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
  10. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
  11. ^ "American single certifications – Alice Cooper – I Never Cry". Recording Industry Association of America.
  12. ^ hombresg.8k.com - Discografia, archived from the original on December 21, 2009, retrieved January 10, 2010
  13. ^ News, ABS-CBN. "What Alice Cooper says about Jay R's performance". {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  14. ^ Corp., ABS-CBN. "Your Face Sounds Familiar Kids: Awra Briguela as Alice Cooper - I Never Cry". ABS-CBNENT.
  15. ^ News, ABS-CBN. "Mentoring Session Christian Bables Preparation as Alice Cooper YFSF 2021". {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  16. ^ [1] Archived December 30, 2009, at the Wayback Machine

External links

  • Alice Cooper – I Never Cry on YouTube
  • "I Never Cry" at Discogs (list of releases)
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