The one song Sammy Hagar calls his “masterpiece”
Over the course of his illustrious career, rock icon Sammy Hagar has created a catalogue of hits that are worthy of pride and have helped him become a hero to his army of adoring fans.
Although his solo records, plus early years with Montrose, have all enjoyed degrees of success, it’s his stints with Van Halen that made Hagar become a star. Filling the shoes left behind by David Lee Roth would have been an insurmountable and hopeless task for most frontmen. Yet, Hagar was able, in the eyes of many, make Van Halen stronger than ever.
However, as much as his connections to Van Halen will fill the first line of his eventual obituary, his proudest artistic moment is the lesser-known solo cut ‘Father Time’. For Hagar, this song says more about him as a person than anything he created with the rock powerhouses.
Hagar is aware that his selection is an unusual choice, but he can’t help having a personal attachment to the creation more significant than anything else he’s ever written.
On his YouTube series, Storytime with Sammy, Hagar explained the rationale behind his selection, sharing, “People always ask what is your favourite song you ever wrote, what is the greatest song you ever wrote, what you think the best song, the best performance you have ever done. That’s impossible because, to me, I know some songs are better than others. We all know that, but it isn’t the biggest hit or anything. It’s just the one that you feel like in your heart.”
Hagar continued: “It really expresses yourself and what you are trying to say. That’s what art and music are all about. It is like, on that painting, did you really paint as well you are seeing it in your head? Did you really sing that song as well as you wanted to? Did you really write that song? Is that what you really wanted to say? Did you really feel like you brought it home a hundred per cent?”
The rock vocalist then named ‘Father Time from his 2022 album Crazy Times, which he believed is the one recording that epitomises his greatness. He shared, “And there are a few, but it would have to be ‘Father Time’ of my new album, Crazy Times.”
Naturally, as this was Hagar’s new album at the time of his statement, most people would put this selection down to recency bias, along with a dash of self-promotion. However, he was keen to stress this wasn’t the case, adding, “And it is not because it is my new album; it is because that song is my masterpiece.”
Hagar then shared his reasoning for ‘Father Time’ taking top spot, proudly saying, “I nailed it. Yes, it is exactly what I wanted to say. It is exactly how I wanted to sing it. I couldn’t sing it better if I tried singing it a hundred times more. It would not get better. To me, it is the one.”
His decision to label the track his “masterpiece” shows how highly Hagar thinks of the emotionally charged ‘Father Time’. On the song, he reflects on the battle scars and bruises that he’s accumulated on his journey so far, which have made him the person he is today.
Due to the deep meaning behind lyrics such as “Hard right to the head, left hook to the body”, he’d have simply been unable to sing it with the same force as a younger man. He needed to spend 75 years in the real world, garnering the immense life experience that he poured into the creation before doing it justice. While most artists feel they reach their creative peak early, Hagar is an exception to the rule.
