Sammy Hagar recently opened up about his sense of ownership over Van Halen’s music following his time performing in the band. Reflecting on the “Best of All Worlds” tour, which featured classic hits from both the Roth and Hagar eras, Hagar expressed how playing these songs with Michael Anthony made him feel a deep connection to the band’s catalog. This tour, which was warmly received by fans, followed the unsuccessful all-star tribute tour led by Alex Van Halen after his brother Eddie’s passing.
Hagar shared in a recent interview with Rolling Stone that he feels an exclusive link to Van Halen’s legacy, especially as he remains the only one still performing the band’s music. “The whole Van Halen catalog, mainly my catalog… I feel like I own it now, because nobody else can do it,” he said. “Mikey and I, we feel like we own it, and we feel this obligation to the music and to the fans to carry it on.” He went on to describe the financial scale of the tour, noting that it was more expensive than Van Halen’s “Monsters of Rock” tour. “It costs more than the Van Halen Monsters of Rock tour to take this tour on the road.”
In addition to reflecting on his musical legacy, Hagar addressed his feelings about being excluded from Alex Van Halen’s memoir, Brothers. The book, which chronicles the band’s early years and ends with the death of Eddie Van Halen, left Hagar entirely absent. “It’s sad. I haven’t read the whole book, but I’ve seen all the excerpts, and I heard some of the interviews. It breaks my heart,” Hagar confessed. “I think what Alex is going through, losing his brother, never played with anybody else in his life, and then his health… When I saw how rickety he is, I realized, ‘No wonder he’s not answering my call when I say, ‘Do you want to go out and play with us?” He can’t.”
Hagar added a note of sympathy for Alex’s situation, understanding how painful it must be for him. “I can only put myself in those shoes and say, ‘What if I couldn’t sing and perform anymore?’ The thing that I did my whole life, the thing I devoted my life to, the thing that made me rich and famous and gave me the most beautiful life on the planet, and all of a sudden I can’t do that anymore? I would feel like I was robbing the fans, to start with. When you put yourself in his shoes, I’m saying, ‘Okay, I feel sorry for him.'”
However, the omission from Alex’s book still puzzled Hagar. “Why he left me out, I would like to hear him explain that someday, because I don’t get it completely,” he said. “I know that he’s bitter about some things, whatever that is… It’s like, ‘If you don’t want that era, that even gives me more justification to say I own it then.'”
Hagar concluded by reiterating his commitment to keeping the Van Halen music alive. “This music is too good to throw away. When you see the way these fans react, like I said, when we go out and play these songs… it’s like, ‘Oh, my God.’ You’re sitting there going, ‘Is this real? These people are happy.'” For Hagar and Anthony, their bond to the music is not only about performing but ensuring that the legacy continues to resonate with fans worldwide.
