One of rock and roll’s most beloved frontmen is setting out to finish what he started.
Solo star and former Van Halen vocalist Sammy Hagar returned to the Stern Show on Tuesday, eager not only to bend Howard’s ear with wild tales from the heyday of hard rock but also to announce the creation of a brand-new supergroup featuring longtime bassist Michael Anthony, second-generation drum legend Jason Bonham, and guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani.
The ferocious foursome – who next year will embark on a “Best of All Worlds Tour” — performed publicly for the first time in Howard’s studio, playing classic Van Halen tunes like “Right Now” and “5150” while also celebrating the music of trailblazers ranging from Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin to Anthony and Hagar’s former bandmate Eddie Van Halen, who passed away in 2020 after a long battle with cancer.
Hagar has toured with countless bands over the years, but for perhaps the first time since leaving Van Halen he felt like he was sharing the stage with musicians capable of playing proper tribute to Eddie and his incredible guitar work.
“We’re going to go deep into the Van Halen catalogue, [and] if you’re going to go deep into the Van Halen catalogue, you need Joe Satriani,” Hagar told Howard, revealing his band would even be performing Van Halen hits that pre-dated the singer’s arrival in the band.
“I got no problem with that,” he continued. “I did it when I was in Van Halen. We did ‘Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love,’ we even did fucking ‘Jump.’ This is really a celebration of all that, and we are the only ones who can do it.”
Sammy said he and his band will be sharing the stage with scores of big-name guest musicians on the tour. He’s even extended an invitation to founding Van Halen members Alex Van Halen and David Lee Roth.
“If Alex Van Halen wants to jump out, if David Lee Roth wants to come out and join us — come on motherfuckers, you are welcome. This is about Van Halen!” he said.
Blown away by the prospect of a true Van Halen reunion, Howard asked Sammy if his estranged former bandmate Alex was likely to take him up on the offer.
“I would hope so,” Hagar replied. “I’ve reached out to Al about once a month for about five years now … I call, I leave a voice message, I text, and I send an email. … I say, ‘Hey Al, we ain’t getting any younger. Give me a call.’”
Regardless of who joins them on stage, Sammy and his bandmates were excited for the opportunity to put on a once-in-a-lifetime show.
“It’s my legacy tour,” Sammy told Howard. “And Mike and I, our quote is ‘Let’s go finish what we started.’ See what I’m saying?”
When original Van Halen singer David Lee Roth left to form his own band in 1984, the band was left looking for another front person.
Former Scandal vocalist Patty Smyth was briefly considered to fill the position but, as bassist Michael Anthony remembers, it wasn’t meant to be. “Patty trying to sing songs like ‘Hot for Teacher’ wouldn’t have worked out,” he joked with Howard.
Sammy, on the other hand, was so confident he’d get the call that he said as much to his then wife. “I just felt it. It just came right out of my mouth just like a lyric,” he recalled. “My wife about choked. I almost had to take her to the hospital.”
Even so, after years of repeating a cycle of recording and touring and already a successful businessman, Sammy shaved all his hair off and planned on an early retirement.
But when Eddie started calling up Sammy on the suggestion from their mutual mechanic, Claudio, the singer changed his tune.
“It started feeling good. I started saying, ‘I like this guy,’” Sammy said of their initial conversations. “I met him a couple of times — he was just a sweet human being.”
Magic ensued almost immediately upon Sammy’s arrival at the band’s studio. “Eddie, Alex, and [I] had been working on some material which was eventually going to end up on … ‘5150,’” Michael noted.
One of those songs, ‘Good Enough,’ blew Sammy away. “I heard this riff, and I just went, ‘Holy shit,’” he admitted. “I was scatting along to it, but I eventually went home and wrote lyrics.”
Another of those songs, ‘Summer Nights’ came together quite organically. “We put the cassette tape in and we’re going to go jam and just have some fun,” Anthony said of the track before praising Sammy’s on-the-spot songwriting. “He sang the actual lyric that ended up in the song — we couldn’t believe that.”
As far as the peculiar guitar Eddie used on the song, Sammy was initially puzzled. “I walked in the studio, and he showed me this guitar that they had made for him and I’m going, ‘What the fuck is that?’” he recalled. “Then they start playing this song, and this song was killer.”
Guitarist Joe Satriani gave some clarity on Eddie’s choice of axe. “It was written on a thing called a TransTrem and so Eddie could play in comfortable keys and then when he wanted to switch keys, he’d just change it with the bridge so he could always stay comfortable,” he explained to Howard. “If you’re playing a regular guitar, it’s all uncomfortable.”
Before breaking into a live version for Howard, Sammy admitted it was new territory for this band. “We just rehearsed it yesterday for the first time,” he said before joking, “We’re rehearsing on your show, Howard.”