In a recent interview with “USA Today”, Sammy Hagar, the former lead singer of the iconic rock band Van Halen, opened up about his estrangement from Eddie Van Halen after leaving the band. Hagar, who joined the band in 1985 after the departure of David Lee Roth, had already established himself as a successful musician with his solo work and as a member of the supergroup HSAS alongside Journey’s Neal Schon. However, joining Van Halen would prove to be a turning point in his career.
At the age of 35, Hagar joined Van Halen and enjoyed tremendous success as the band’s frontman. He now admits that it was the “peak” of his career. Despite the success, Hagar and Eddie Van Halen eventually became estranged. In the interview, Hagar reflects on this period, saying that he now cherishes their friendship more than ever.
Hagar’s success with Van Halen was due in part to his ability to write hits that resonated with fans. His songwriting and vocal abilities helped the band produce some of their most memorable hits. However, despite the success, Hagar eventually left the band, and his relationship with Eddie Van Halen suffered as a result.
Sammy said:
“The peak of my musical life was Van Halen. My ego wants to say I was doing great as a solo artist. Well, yeah, I was doing fine, but Van Halen was some other thing man. It was a four-headed monster, and I miss Ed dearly.”
Hagar & Eddie grew further apart following the Red Rocker’s second exit from the band in 2005, something he now seems to regret. Asked to comment on the fallout, Hagar said:
“I cherish him more than ever. What happened with us at the end was such a shame. It’s what happens when alcohol and drugs are involved, and I’m going through a divorce. It’s such a shame. If Van Halen were still together today, we’d be headlining every one of these festivals all over the world.
“I miss his unique creativity. He’d play something and I’d go what, where the hell did that come from? He was so out of left field, so original, that creativity always lifted me.”
Back in 2022, in an interview with Ultimate Classic Rock, Sammy Hagar revealed that he had to re-record his vocals in Van Halen songs when Eddie Van Halen changed his guitar parts.
VAN HALEN legend Sammy Hagar said the following about recording live:
“Better than any band. Chickenfoot, we did it too, but Joe Satriani is such a stickler about every note he plays. He plays so fast sometimes, and he’d say, ‘Nah, I hit a bad note.’ ‘You hit a bad note?’ ‘Oh, that one!’ So a lot of times, it didn’t become live. A lot of my vocals were live, but then when the guitarist changed his part – like what Eddie would do too all of the time.
He’d go back and redo his part. I’d go, ‘Well, f*ck, now I’ve got to re-sing it because it doesn’t sound right against what you’re playing now.’ But you know, Van Halen did some live stuff. Montrose, all live. Chickenfoot, there are quite a few live vocals in there. But this is 100% live vocals, except for ‘Slow Drain’ and ‘Pump It Up.’”
Earlier, during an interview with Rolling Stone, singer Sammy Hagar was asked once again if he is thinking of merely a one-off Van Halen tribute show.
Sammy said:
“I’m thinking of a one-off weekend or something where we give the money away to some cause. It can’t just be, ‘Hey, we’re going to grab some money.’ I got plenty of money. There’s nothing that I would do for money that I just wasn’t in love with the idea of doing. And I’m not in love with the idea of being Van Halen without Eddie Van Halen.
”Matter of fact, I’m dead against it. But I would love to play music with Alex and Mike again. I would love to play those songs again. And if we did a residency or a tribute, I would sing 50/50. I would sing half the Dave songs too for the Van Halen fans. And those songs are great. I don’t mind singing some of them. The lyrics don’t fit in my life today, but neither does ”Rock Candy” or ”Bad Motor Scooter.
“But I just think it’s crazy to do anything that’s called Van Halen without Eddie. I would love it if Dave wanted to do a tribute where he’d sing ten of his songs, and then I’d come out and do ten of mine. That would be great with Alex and Mike and maybe a bunch of different guitar players.
”Look at what Dave [Grohl] just did for Taylor [Hawkins]. That’s one of the greatest events in rock history. That’s right up there with the early Farm Aids, and right up there with Live Aid. That was a great event, and that could be done for Ed with everybody playing.”
