SAMMY HAGAR regrets nothing about being in VAN HALEN: “it's the greatest thing that ever happened to me”

02-06-2025
In a new interview with Meltdown of Detroit’s WRIF radio station, Sammy Hagar was asked if he has any regrets about his time as the lead singer of VAN HALEN. He said: “Oh, hell no. Oh, no regrets whatsoever. I regret that we broke up, just to see what else we could have done. I would’ve loved to have made another record or two with (legendary VAN HALEN guitarist) Eddie (Van Halen) writing.
“Eddie and I wrote some great songs together, and I think the best stuff was yet to come; it could have been yet to come, because Eddie was really reaching out on instruments,” he continued.
“Last time I talked to Eddie before he passed, I said, ‘Man, what are you playing?’ He said, ‘Oh, man, I’ve really been playing a lot of cello.’ And I’m going, ‘Cello? Holy shit.’ (Laughs) ‘Play me something, dude. I’m ready to write a song with you on cello.’
“As artists, Eddie and I were really capable of doing a lot of stuff that he couldn’t do before me because the other guy didn’t want keyboards,” Sammy added, apparently referring to VAN HALEN‘s original singer David Lee Roth. “And when I walked in the room with Eddie, he showed me two guitar songs when I joined, on the ‘5150’ (album) — he showed me ‘Good Enough’ and he showed me ‘Summer Nights’. Those are two riffs he had. And then what did he do? He went and sat down at the piano and he started playing all this stuff. And I’m going, ‘Whoa. What?’ He starts playing to riff to ‘Dreams’. He’s sitting there playing ‘Love Walks In’. He’s just playing all these things on keyboards, and I’m going, ‘Whoa, I had no idea he was that good of a keyboard player.’ So, he really wanted to expand as a musician. To me, I think that’s what his dream would’ve been. And it was always held back by the record companies and the people around him. I think we would’ve broke out of that within a year and start doing some really crazy stuff.
“Now, all the hardcore VAN HALEN fans are out there saying, ‘No, no. You would’ve ruined it. We want ‘Poundcake’.’ But it’s all good, man. It’s all good.
“That’s the only regret I have,” Hagar concluded. “I regret nothing about being in that band. It’s the greatest thing that ever happened to me. I will never reach that pinnacle again in my musical career, and I don’t even try for it. It’s, like, why even try? I can’t do it. Those times are gone and I’m proud to have been there.”
Hagar replaced Roth in VAN HALEN in 1985 and recorded four studio albums with the band — “5150”, “OU812”, “For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge” and “Balance” — all of which topped the U.S. chart.
Sammy, Eddie, Alex Van Halen (drums) and Michael Anthony (bass) last teamed up in 2004 for a U.S. summer tour. In exchange for taking part in the tour, Anthony reportedly had to agree to take a pay cut and sign away his rights to the band name and logo.
Last November, Hagar admitted to People magazine that retirement had “crept into my head for 10 years.”
“I get insecure in between shows, in between tours, and I think, ‘Gee, do I still have it? Can I really still do all that?’ And I get out there, and it’s like it’s riding a bike or having sex,” he said.
“I’m going to retire when I can’t do this, when I can’t sing anymore… I’m not going to have people pay the kind of money that it costs to see these concerts these days and not deliver. So that’s where my retirement is. It’s in the hands of the higher being.”
“The Best Of All Worlds Tour – The Residency” reunites the rock powerhouse band of Sammy, Michael Anthony, Joe Satriani and Kenny Aronoff with a new “only in Las Vegas” setlist.
This residency showcases Sammy‘s career-spanning hits, from seminal breakouts with MONTROSE, his iconic solo hits, and a deep dive into his tenure with VAN HALEN, CHICKENFOOT, and everything in between. Presented in partnership by Live Nation and MGM Resorts International, the residency is custom-designed for Dolby Live, giving fans an intimate, high-energy concert experience in the 5,200-seat entertainment venue.
The Las Vegas residency follows on the heels of the chart-topping success of “The Best Of All Worlds” tour, which sold out amphitheaters and arenas across North America and Japan in 2024.

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