“It was a mind-blower”: Sammy Hagar on the major highlight of his career
There’s no question that Sammy Hagar saved Van Halen from extinction. The band had considered several singers to replace David Lee Roth, including Patty Smyth, Eric Martin and even Daryl Hall, yet none of them worked out.
However, life has a strange way of unfolding. One day, while seemingly out of options in the search for a new frontman, Eddie Van Halen found himself at his Ferrari mechanic’s garage, admiring a black Ferrari 512. The car belonged to none other than Sammy Hagar. After confiding in the mechanic that David Lee Roth had quit the fold—a fact not yet public knowledge—the mechanic suggested Eddie give Hagar a call. The rest, as they say, is history.
Unlike Van Halen, whose fortunes had plummeted after their hit album 1984 due to the acrimonious departure of Roth, Hagar was enjoying a particularly fruitful period of his career. After departing the influential hard rock band Montrose in 1975, he embarked on a solo career. It experienced new heights in 1984 thanks to the popular single ‘I Can’t Drive 55’, a protest song against a speeding ticket that resonated with regular Americans, and the album it was from, VOA, which cemented the Red Rocker’s status as a man of the people.
Not only did Hagar enjoy a stellar mid-1980s, but his iteration of Montrose was a key influence on Van Halen when they started. Eddie was a big fan of the band and eagerly told Hagar about this on the handful of occasions they’d met in the past. So, after the mechanic suggested he contact Hagar, he did just that.
It wouldn’t take long before Ferrari enthusiast Hagar went to see his mechanic, and he heard about his conversation with the guitar hero. After learning of this dialogue, he knew what would happen. He even told his wife that Van Halen would call him, and hilariously, she told him she hated them.
Despite sensing that an opening was coming and understanding that, on paper, he was the only available vocalist who could, Hagar still had his misgivings. He and Roth were completely different frontmen—he even deemed his predecessor “fake”—and his hearty hard rock differed significantly from their outlandish metal.
However, after he received the call, he spoke to Eddie about the details of their operation, and they eventually had their first rehearsal together; Hagar knew that while being different, he was precisely what Van Halen needed. Their first album together was 1986’s 5150, and it was such a success that it hit number one on the Billboard 200, which was significant. Not only was it a major commercial success, but the fact that 1984 peaked at number two symbolised how Hagar’s tenure was to take the band to new heights.
Given its success, Hagar is sure that 5150 is the highlight of his career. He told Classic Rock in 2014: “It was a mind-blower. To have the success that we had with that record – a second run for the band – it was kind of a miracle in rock’n’roll. The fans could have rejected it, but they bought into our trip. I would say that record was the highlight of my musical career. And the power in those songs – you can still feel it.”
While Hagar’s run of four albums with Van Halen was a tremendous return to form, pushing them into new musical areas, nothing tops 5150 from this period.
