In a new interview with UltimateClassicRock, Ted Templeman – the producer behind hit records by the Doobie Brothers, Van Morrison, Van Halen, etc talked about Sammy Hagar and why he is the best rock singer.
Here’s what he said:
“Sammy’s a helluva singer. Sammy may be the best singer out there. Period”
“To me, he’s a combination of Robert Plant and James Brown. That guy can sing like nobody. I’m telling you, nobody. I’m talking just as a singer. He doesn’t know how good he is even. The guy is, I think, the best rock singer on the planet. Period.”
He further added:
“I wanted them to change the name.”
“When I first sat down with Sammy and his manager, I said, ‘Call it something else if you’re going to be in the band.’ It’s just not Van Halen without Dave to me.”
He concluded:
“Before [he joined] Van Halen, I had a plan for Sammy to do a Prince-type thing”
“Because he’s the only guy that could sing rock ‘n’ roll and soul. I mean, he can sing soul like James Brown. And people don’t even know it. I had a whole thing planned out for him. But no, he and his manager wanted to be in Van Halen, and those guys wanted a guy who could really sing because Dave is not a singer like Sammy.”
3 comments
sammy is the man !
Both in their prime Dave is a way better singer than Sammy, Prince type stuff? This dude must be down to sniffing glue
The same guy said “Without David Lee Roth, Van Halen would have never happened.”