“Don’t Tell Me You Love Me” by Night Ranger

After the demise of Sly and the Family Stone, saxophonist Jerry Martini formed Rubicon, a funk rock band who’s 1978 single “I'm Gonna Take Care of Everything” spent 11 weeks on Bilboard’s hot 100. After the demise of that group, bassist Jack Blades, guitarist Brad Gillis and drummer Kelly Keagy moved on to perform in Northern California as Stereo. They soon changed their name to Ranger and were in the process of recording their debut album for Boardwalk Records when a country band named the Rangers claimed a trademark infringement...

“Don’t Tell Me You Love Me” was released in December of 1982 and was the first single from Dawn Patrol. It’s an energetic track that features two different guitar solos (how 80’s can you get?) and bassist Jack Blades on lead vocals. It also helped put Night Ranger on the map as one of the up and coming “Hard Rock” acts of the day.
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Night Ranger’s next album would eventually stamp them as an iconic band and 80’s trope, with the hits “(You Can Still) Rock in America,” “When You Close Your Eyes, ” and “Sister Christian,” but for me “Don’t Tell Me You Love Me” was their best.