Why did Sammy Hagar refuse to sing David Lee Roth songs in Van Halen?
When Sammy Hagar took over vocal duties for Van Halen, the band entered a totally new era. It was one that saw them get many number-one hits and continue to make a name for themselves as one of the most significant musical outfits in the business. It was never a straightforward sound that they had to refine and make accessible, though. The rhythms were fast, the style of music was chaotic, and the guitar playing was unlike anything else being made.
It was a sound that Sammy Hagar managed to fit right into, though. As soon as he joined the band, they started racking up number-one hits and playing to some of the biggest crowds they would throughout their time as a band. How did he do it? Well, looking at interviews where Hagar talks about playing in the band, the two things that stand out the most are his original approach to music and his laid-back attitude toward being a part of the band.
There is no doubt that Hagar was a huge fan of Van Halen before he joined. He has already admitted that he was inspired by the way that Eddie played guitar; however, that didn’t mean that when he stepped in as vocalist, he wanted to be a carbon copy of their former frontman, David Lee Roth. Hagar insisted he would only be a part of the band if he could be undeniably himself throughout, which meant getting to write music and not playing any of the previous songs sung by David Lee Roth.
“What I brought to Van Halen was just who and what I am,” he said when talking about joining the band, “It was Sammy Hagar, who and what I was at that moment, but very inspired by Eddie Van Halen’s musicianship… He inspired me to write songs… Goosebump songs.”
The band started writing different kinds of songs with Hagar at the helm, but they were tracks that resonated with fans. The only old Van Halen songs they kept in the set were ‘You Really Got Me’ and ‘Jump’. Hagar was happy to concede with these tracks as he was a big fan of The Kinks, and when it came to playing ‘Jump,’ he would get someone from the audience to come up and perform.
The other reason Sammy Hagar managed to fit into the band so perfectly is that he didn’t let joining an already-established band worry him too much. He was a fan of Van Halen and happy to be there, so to make sure that resonated in the music, he tried not to take himself too seriously.
“A lot of times, I was clowning around because Eddie and I were always goofing off so much,” said Hagar, reflecting on his time in the band, “Back then, Eddie and I were doing these crazy acrobatics where I would sing crazy lines, and he’d go nuts on the guitar. When I was in Van Halen, at least in the early days, it was all about having fun.”
