David Lee Roth has offered a playful response to Sammy Hagar’s recent claim that Eddie Van Halen’s ghost visited him and gifted him a song. A fan-shot video captured Roth’s remarks during his August 13 performance at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom in New Hampshire.
Roth on Sammy Hagar’s Story
While performing Van Halen’s classic “Dance The Night Away,” Roth took a moment to address his former bandmate’s comments.
“One of my esteemed colleagues — he’s a contemporary, he’s got a great voice, he’s got a great catalog. You all know Sammy Hagar, right? He’s got a great voice,” Roth told the crowd.
“And Sammy, aloud, he described to the media about six weeks ago that the ghost of Eddie Van Halen visited him and graced him with a song that he memorized and then went home and recorded. It’s on the Internet.”
Roth’s Fictional Encounter With Eddie
Roth then launched into a humorous tale of his own supposed encounter with Eddie’s spirit.
“I don’t know what the odds are, but last night the ghost of Eddie Van Halen visited me at the fcking hotel room. I was watching the weather report, and he came in and he was laughing. His fcking ghost was laughing,” Roth said.
He continued by mimicking Eddie’s accent, claiming the late guitarist confessed something about Hagar’s ghost-given song.
“I said, ‘What did you do now?’ He said, ‘Dave, Dave…’ Actually, you want me to do his accent? [Adopts Eddie’s accent] ‘Hey, Dave.’ He said, ‘Dave, you know that song I gave Hagar?’ I said, ‘What now?’ He said, ‘It’s actually [Iron Butterfly’s] ‘In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida’ backwards. Don’t f*cking tell him.’ This all stays in this room, right? I laughed.”
An Emotional Ending
Despite the jokes, Roth ended his story on a heartfelt note, recalling a touching moment of brotherhood.
“We shared a ghost cigarette, a ghost Marlboro. Not one of those pssy-a-s white ones, but the [Marlboro Reds]. And I hugged my brother Ed, and I said, ‘Man, do I fcking miss you.’ And he said, ‘I miss you too, Dave.’ He said, ‘But you know what? You should still go to hell.’ And I said, ‘Save me a seat.’”
Background
Roth’s comments highlight the complicated relationship between Van Halen’s two most famous vocalists. While both shared the spotlight at different times in the band’s history, their connection to the late Eddie Van Halen continues to resurface — often in ways that mix humor, rivalry, and genuine emotion.
