The 1986 Van Halen song Sammy Hagar almost passed out for: “He was hyperventilating”
Whenever laying down a classic song in the studio, the pressure usually weighs heaviest on the vocalist. It’s one thing to be able to play songs on tour night after night, but even with that busy schedule, their voice still has to be in good enough shape to be able to sound like they are at their peak whenever putting the final performance onto the grid.
Although Van Halen usually didn’t have to worry about getting just the right performance out of Sammy Hagar, ‘The Red Rocker’ admitted he almost keeled over after running through ‘Dreams’ for the first time.
The story illustrates just how demanding Van Halen’s music could become during the Hagar era. As the band expanded its sound, the songs increasingly required both technical precision and considerable vocal stamina.
But a Van Halen with Hagar in the fold wasn’t just going to be some fly-by-night thing. David Lee Roth had been one of the biggest stars in the world when he left, and if they were going to change things up, that meant going in a completely different direction to make sure they didn’t go down the toilet.
And when Hagar first joined the group, he seemed to be the answer to their prayers. There had always been limitations on what Roth could do, but as soon as Hagar opened his mouth and screamed, his raw performance ability was miles above Roth’s bluesy register. He may not have had the same stage presence, but that kind of thing only comes after you have a rapport with the group.
Now that they had a new voice to work with, Eddie also took the liberty of flirting with new sounds. The synthesiser had become his instrument of choice for a while, and when coming up with the original melody for ‘Dreams’, he hit on something that bridged the gap between the poppiness of ‘Jump’ and the more earnest songwriting coming from top 40 radio at the time.
Before Hagar even started singing the tune, it would already be a bit of a beast to sing. There are moments where a singer can get breaks throughout the tune, but whenever the chorus comes around, hitting those high notes is enough to make any tenor vocalist feel strained, let alone a baritone.
That challenge is part of what gives the track its emotional impact. Rather than sounding effortless, the vocal feels like a genuine struggle towards something bigger, mirroring the aspirational message contained in the lyrics.
Hagar was willing to give it a shot, though, but he admitted to almost fainting when he got done in the vocal booth, with producer Mick Jones recalling to Louder, “I was able to push Sammy to new heights. Literally. He was singing so high that he was hyperventilating. He almost passed out.”
And it’s not like Hagar didn’t leave that in the final mix. Looking back on the song, it’s easy to hear him right on the edge whenever he was singing the chorus, but getting that kind of result actually works in the song’s favour, especially with the lyrics about someone trying to live out their dreams to the fullest.
Even though ‘Dreams’ is still a staple of Hagar’s songbook, it’s not like he doesn’t put himself through his paces, though, saying that the tune is still one of the hardest that he’s ever had to sing. But they didn’t say this was an easy business, and if it meant putting a little bit more elbow grease to get the right song, then so be it.
Ultimately, ‘Dreams’ stands as a reminder that some of the greatest performances emerge from discomfort. By pushing himself to his limits, Hagar helped create a song that remains one of the defining moments of Van Halen’s second chapter.
