Why did Van Halen rent the singer Sammy Hagar to change David Lee Roth in 1985?

When wanting again on the slice of rock historical past, it is wild to suppose that, with out the suggestion of a mutual auto mechanic who labored on each Hagar’s and Eddie Van Halen’s sports activities vehicles, the “Purple Rocker” who cannot drive 55 may’ve by no means gotten the gig.

However Hagar and the late Van Halen guitarist had met earlier than that serendipitous second, when former Montrose frontman Hagar shared a invoice with Van Halen in 1978, laying the foundations for the so-called “Van Hagar” period of 1985–1996.

READ MORE: Sammy Hagar Says ‘No F–king Method’ to a Tour With David Lee Roth

So why did Van Halen go together with Hagar once they wanted a brand new singer six albums into their profession? Nicely, it actually all boils down to the truth that Roth had give up the band after taking pictures to the highest of rock fame with them, permitting Van Halen the chance to experiment with a brand new form of lead vocalist.

Roth Succeeds Hagar

Initially, a couple of totally different names of potential lead singers obtained tossed round after Roth give up Van Halen to type his solo band following Van Halen’s 1984 tour. (Roth launched his first solo EP in January 1985, a couple of weeks earlier than the official break up.) Daryl Corridor is one well-known singer who says he turned down a proposal to be part of Van Halen on the time; Eddie additionally reportedly requested Patty Smyth of Scandal.

Watch: Sammy Hagar + Rob Halford – Wikipedia: Truth or Fiction?

And on the time, Hagar was experiencing success as a solo artist in his personal proper after his time in Montrose. However he obtained a telephone name from Eddie that modified the course of his profession, all seemingly thanks to that suggestion from the mechanic.

“He was engaged on Eddie’s Lamborghini, and I had a Ferrari on the identical store,” Hagar as soon as recalled. “Eddie was taking a look at my automobile, saying, ‘Who’s is that this? It is a good automobile.’ This man mentioned, ‘It is Sammy’s — it’s best to get him within the band.’ And Eddie mentioned, ‘You bought his telephone quantity?’ And he ended up calling me from the workplace. That is how silly my life is.”

Remembering the Name

In his 2011 e book, Purple: My Uncensored Life in Rock, Hagar provides of the expertise, “When Eddie referred to as me, it did not come as an entire shock. David Lee Roth had break up a couple of months earlier, and I might instructed my spouse on the time, Betsy, ‘They are going to name me, you watch.’ Who else had been they going to get? There was Ozzy Osbourne, Ronnie James Dio, and me.”

Hagar would file 4 profitable studio albums with Van Halen. And it contributed to his long-term profession as a musician. “I do not suppose I might’ve been as legendary of an artist as I’m right this moment with out the Van Halen factor,” Hagar mentioned in 2023.

“That was the height of my musical profession,” he added.

In Abstract

General, you could possibly say that Van Halen employed Hagar because the alternative for Roth as a result of they had been in search of a brand new lead singer with a distinct vocal type and power after Roth’s departure. Hagar had already established himself as a profitable rock musician, and his highly effective vocals and stage presence made him an acceptable alternative to fill the void left by Roth and produce a recent sound to Van Halen.

Now, it is all part of rock historical past.

Van Halen, “Why Cannot This Be Love” (1986)