Sammy Hagar

Sammy Hagar live 2008 (Moondance Jam in Walker, Minnesota)

Samuel Roy Hagar (born October 13, 1947 in Salinas , California ) is an American singer , guitarist and songwriter . He began his career in 1973 as a singer with the band Montrose , was a singer with Van Halen from 1985 to 1996 and in 2004 and founded the band Chickenfoot in 2008 . Because of his fondness for the color red, he was nicknamed "The Red Rocker".

Private life

Hagar grew up in poor conditions. He was the youngest of four children in the family and has two sisters (Velma and Bobbi) and one brother (Robert). His father Bobby was a steel maker in the Kaiser Steel Mill in Fontana; when he was younger he was a boxer. Due to a traumatic experience in World War II, he became addicted to alcohol and, when he was drunk, was aggressive towards his wife Gladys. In 1957, his wife and children left him after Bobby Hagar fell asleep with a lit cigarette and set fire to the house where the family lived. Bobby Hagar lived in the house for a while; when he was fired, he was homeless for the rest of his life.

Hagar married his first wife Betsy Berardi on November 3, 1968, with whom he has two sons named Aaron and Andrew. In 1994 the couple divorced after 26 years of marriage. On November 29, 1995 he married Kari Karte, with whom he is married to this day. The couple have two daughters, Kama and Samantha.

Career start with Montrose

After a brief career as a boxer, with which he followed in his father's footsteps, his interest in the burgeoning music scene in Southern California began, especially in his first band "The Fabulous Castiles". In 1967 he recorded together with Pete Samson and the group "Peppermint Trolley Co." a single entitled Reach Out to Find Me and Read My Thoughts , which was released on the Ranwood label.

Other stations of the young musician were "Skinny", "The Mobile Home Blues Band" (1968), "Justice Brothers" and "Dust Cloud". His first major success, however, came after guitarist Ronnie Montrose asked him if he wanted to join his band Montrose as a singer and rhythm guitarist . The group released two albums with Hagar, namely Montrose (1973) and Paper Money (1974), before the singer left the band after problems with the band's founder along with bassist Bill Church and drummer Denny Carmassi .

For the first time solo

Hagar started a recording and touring career with increasing success with hits like Red , Heavy Metal , Three Lock Box and his probably best known song I Can't Drive 55 , a protest against the (now revoked) speed limit of 55 miles per hour on everyone US highways.

HSAS

In 1983/84 Sammy and Neal Schon formed the supergroup HSAS (Hagar Schon Aaronson Shrieve) together with the former Foghat bassist Kenny Aaronson and the former Santana drummer Michael Shrieve . HSAS went on a short tour and released an album entitled Through the Fire , the songs of which were recorded live during two concerts on the tour. For most of the tracks, the audience noises were removed in the studio, giving the impression of a studio album. Then the group broke up, already returned to his band Journey and Hagar became a member of Van Halen. One song in particular, the cover of A Whiter Shade of Pale , was played a lot. It was the only HSAS single hit in the US charts.

Van Halen

After the separation of Van Halen and David Lee Roth , the remaining band members of the group were looking for a new singer. Thanks to Eddie Van Halen's assessment of Montrose, Hagar was invited to audition and engaged. After initial success with his debut as a singer with Van Halen, 5150, and the single Why Can't This be Love , Hagar released the solo album I Never Said Goodbye , which was produced by Eddie van Halen, in which Michael Anthony also participated . With Hagar on the microphone, Van Halen had further great successes with their albums OU812 (1988), For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991) and Balance (1995), all of which reached number one on the US album charts .

After Balance , Van Halen and Hagar went their separate ways, the 1996 album Van Halen Best of Volume 1 contained two new pieces that David Lee Roth had sung again, but there was no reunion of the original line-up. It was not until eight years later that Hagar started working again with Van Halen, this time for the album The Best of Both Worlds , a compilation with three new pieces that Hagar sang. The subsequent tour ended on November 19, 2004, Hagar and the bassist Michael Anthony no longer belonged to the group, but performed repeatedly at Hagar concerts under the name "The Other Half".

Solo again

The first album Hagar released after Van Halen's departure was Marching to Mars , followed by the single Little White Lie , recorded with Huey Lewis ( harmonica ) and Slash , on the B-side of which is the Montrose- Title Rock Candy was located. This track was recorded by the original line-up of the band Montrose.

To promote the album, Hagar looked for a band for the tour that consisted of David Lauser ( drums ), guitarist Vic Johnson, keyboardist Jesse Harms and bassist Mona Gnader. Lauser had played with him before Hagar's engagement with Montrose and was also the drummer on Standing Hampton , Three Lock Box , VOA and the 1987 solo album I Never Said Goodbye . This group, only reduced to the keyboard player, is still Hagar's live band today, which in the meantime operates under the name "The Wabos" after it was initially christened "The Waboritas". All albums that Hagar recorded from 1999 onwards were recorded with this band (exception: Cosmic Universal Fashion (2009), which was a solo album).

Cabo Wabo Cantina

Hagar live at Cabo Wabo Cantina (2005)

In 1990 Hagar founded the " Cabo Wabo Cantina " in Cabo San Lucas , a former fishing village on the southern tip of the state of Baja California Sur , Mexico. With the help of Van Halen, he built the nightclub, which was much too big for the place at the time. The band's management withdrew from the company in 1994, which after a good start gradually lost audience and became economically uninteresting for the group. Hagar then continued to run the club with his business partner Marco Monroy and won over locals and tourists; the club regained a foothold economically. Every year from October 13th, Hagar's birthday party, the so-called Birthday Bash, takes place there for one week, during which various bands perform and numerous celebrities gather.

On April 22nd, 2010 the Cantina celebrated its twentieth anniversary; Meanwhile there is also a "Cabo Wabo Cantina" in Las Vegas, which opened on April 12, 2009, and a cantina in Lake Tahoe . In 1996 Hagar founded “Cabo Wabo Tequila ”, of which he now sells four varieties ( Blanco, Reposado, Añejo and Uno ), which are also served in the Cabo Wabo Cantina. Hagar has been operating the online radio "Cabo Wabo Radio" since December 2007, a 24-hour live stream from San Lucas, Mexico.

Hall of Fame

On March 12, 2007, Van Halen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland , Ohio. Only Sammy Hagar and ex-bassist Michael Anthony were present at the award ceremony in New York's Waldorf-Astoria . Eddie Van Halen was unable to attend due to the rehab on March 8, 2007, and David Lee Roth, as well as Alex Van Halen, stayed away from the ceremony.

Chickenfoot

In 2008 he founded the supergroup Chickenfoot with his ex-bandmate from Van Halen times, Michael Anthony , the guitarist Joe Satriani and the drummer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers , Chad Smith . The debut album Chickenfoot was released in June 2009. On the last weekend in January 2011, the group began recording their second album in Hagar's own studio “The Foot Locker” (up to the technical upgrade “Red Rocker Studio”), which was finally released in September of that year was published under the title Chickenfoot III .

Contribution to soundtracks

Hagar has succeeded several times in the course of his career in contributing titles to the soundtracks of successful films, for example Heavy Metal ( Heavy Metal , 1981), Footloose ( The Girl Gets Around , 1984), Over the Top ( Winner Takes It All , 1987 ), or Back to the Future II ( I Can't Drive 55 , 1989). As early as 1980 he had Bad Reputation for Up the Academy (Original: Up the Academy ), a film directed by Robert Downey Sr. , provided.

Welfare

Hagar is involved in numerous social projects. For example, he runs the Sammy's Bar & Grill restaurants in Maui , Las Vegas and at JFK International Airport in New York , whose profits go to the Blessings in a Backpack organization . Blessings in a Backpack is currently distributing groceries to 27,000 children in need in 27 American cities. Hagar is also involved with The Ritter Center (helping the homeless and the working poor), Oak Hill School (a therapeutic school with a focus on autism ), the Nevada Cancer Institute and To Celebrate Life (National Breast Cancer Foundation) and the Emeril Lagasse Foundation . On December 11, 2010, Hagar gave a concert for the benefit of the Ritter Center , which raised more than $ 20,000 in donations.

Autobiography

On March 15, 2011, Hagar's autobiography , "RED - My Uncensored Life in Rock," which he had written with the music journalist Joel Selvin , was published by HarperCollins . It reached number one on the New York Times Bestseller List in the hardcover nonfiction category and number three in the e-book nonfiction category .

Discography

see also Montrose (1973/74), Hagar Schon Aaronson Shrieve (1984), Van Halen (1986–1996), Chickenfoot (from 2008)

Albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)				Remarks
		DE	CH	UK	US
1976	Nine on a ten scale	-	-	-	-
1977	Sammy Hagar	-	-	-	US167 (9 weeks) US
1978	Musical chairs	-	-	-	US100 (11 weeks) US
	All Night Long / UK: Loud and Clear	-	-	UK12 (8 weeks) UK	US89 (9 weeks) US	Live album; the 1979 UK version includes an additional title
1979	Street Machine	-	-	UK38 (4 weeks) UK	US71 (13 weeks) US
1980	Danger Zone	-	-	UK25 (3 weeks) UK	US85 (12 weeks) US
1982	Standing Hampton	-	-	UK84 (2 weeks) UK	US28 platinum (32 weeks)US
	Three lock box	-	-	-	US17th gold (34 weeks)US
1983	Rematch	-	-	-	US171 (9 weeks) US	compilation
1984	VOA	-	-	-	US32 platinum (36 weeks)US	the abbreviation VOA stands for Voice of America
1987	Sammy Hagar / I Never Said Goodbye	DE56 (5 weeks) DE	-	UK86 (2 weeks) UK	US14th gold (23 weeks)US	originally published only with the artist's name on the cover; The title I Never Said Goodbye was subsequently found through an MTV competition and has been used since then
1994	Unboxed	-	-	-	US51 gold (11 weeks)US	Best of album
1997	Marching to Mars	-	-	-	US18 (17 weeks) US
1999	Red voodoo	-	-	-	US22 (14 weeks) US	Sammy Hagar and the Waboritas
2000	Ten 13	-	-	-	US52 (2 weeks) US	Album title: October 13th, English 10/13, is Sammy Hagar's birthday Sammy Hagar and the Waboritas
2002	Not 4 Sale	-	-	-	US181 (1 week) US	Sammy Hagar and the Waboritas
2003	Sammy and the Wabo's Live: Hallelujah	-	-	-	US152 (1 week) US	Live album Sammy Hagar and the Waboritas
2004	The Essential Red Collection	-	-	-	US75 (2 weeks) US	Best of album
2006	Livin 'It Up	-	-	-	US50 (2 weeks) US	Sammy Hagar and the Wabos
2008	Cosmic Universal Fashion	-	-	-	US95 (1 week) US
2013	Sammy Hagar & Friends	DE79 (1 week) DE	CH97 (1 week) CH	-	US23 (2 weeks) US
2014	Lite roast	-	-	-	US188 (1 week) US	with Vic Johnson
2015	At your service	-	-	-	US78 (1 week) US	Sammy Hagar & the Circle
2019	Space between	DE74 (1 week) DE	CH25 (1 week) CH	-	US4 (2 weeks) US	Sammy Hagar & the Circle

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

Singles

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)		Remarks
		UK	US
1977	You Make Me Crazy Musical Chairs	-	US62 (8 weeks) US
1979	(Sittin 'On) The Dock of the Bay	-	US65 (5 weeks) US	Original: Otis Redding Background singers: Brad Delp and Barry Goudreau from Boston
	Plain Jane Street Machine	-	US77 (7 weeks) US
	This Planet's on Fire (Burn in Hell) / Space Station # 5 Street Machine / Loud and Clear	UK52 (5 weeks) UK	-
1980	I've Done Everything for You Loud and Clear	UK36 (5 weeks) UK	-
	Heartbeat / Love or Money Danger Zone	UK67 (2 weeks) UK	-
1982	Piece of My Heart Standing Hampton	UK67 (3 weeks) UK	US73 (4 weeks) US
	I'll Fall in Love Again Standing Hampton	-	US43 (10 weeks) US
	Your Love Is Driving Me Crazy Three Lock Box	-	US13 (19 weeks) US
1983	Never Give Up Three Lock Box	-	US46 (8 weeks) US
1984	Two Sides of Love VOA	-	US38 (12 weeks) US
	I Can't Drive 55 VOA	-	US26 (16 weeks) US
1987	Winner Takes It All	-	US54 (14 weeks) US	from the movie Over the Top Soundtrack
	Give to Live I Never Said Goodbye	-	US23 (17 weeks) US
	Eagles Fly I Never Said Goodbye	-	US82 (13 weeks) US

More singles

• Flamingos Fly (1977)
• Turn Up the Music (1977)
• There's Only One Way to Rock (1982)
• Returning Home (1987)
• Boy's Night Out (1987)
• High Hopes (1994)
• Buying My Way into Heaven (1994)
• Marching to Mars (1997)
• Little White Lie (1997)
• Both Sides Now (1997)
• Shag (1999)
• Mas Tequila (1999)
• Serious Juju (2000)
• Let Sally Drive (Ride Sally Ride) (2001)
• Hallelujah (2003)
• Let Me Take You There (2005)
• Sam I Am (2006)
• Open (2007)
• I'm on a Roll (2008)
• Cosmic Universal Fashion (2008)
• Knockdown Dragout (2013)

literature

• US singles: Joel Whitburn : Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2006 . Billboard Books, New York 2007, ISBN 0-89820-172-1 . / US albums: Joel Whitburn : Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2006 . Billboard Books, New York 2006, ISBN 0-89820-172-1 .
• Red - My Uncensored Life in Rock ; Sammy Hagar, Joel Selvin; ! t Books, 2011; ISBN 978-0-06-200928-9 .

swell

1. ↑ http://www.redrockerdiscography.com/
2. ↑ Biography of "The Wabos" (English)
3. ↑ HSAS short biography on allmusic.com (English)
4. ↑ http://www.anti-m.com/montrose/HAGAR.htm
5. ↑ History of the Cabo Wabo Cantina (English)
6. ↑ Video: Sammy Hagar - The Red Rocker gives Back (English)
7. ↑ Info on the website of the Ritter Center  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
8. ^ New York Times, Best Sellers, April 3, 2011
9. ↑ ^{a b} Chart sources: Germany Switzerland UK USA
10. ↑ Source for awards: USA (RIAA database)
11. ↑ RockStory - Heavy Metal: The Us Festival 1983 , Fredrik Nilsson, Rock'n 'Prog, accessed May 20, 2014
12. ^ I Never Said Goodby - Album Review, Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic

Web links

Commons : Sammy Hagar  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Sammy Hagar in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Sammy Hagar at Allmusic (English)
• Official website
• Website of the Cabo Wabo Cantina

Welfare

• Website Blessings in a Backpack
• The Knight Center
• The Oak Hill School
• Nevada Cancer Institute
• To Celebrate Life
• Emeril Lagasse Foundation