Sammy Hagar has spent decades sharing stages and studios with some of rock’s most celebrated musicians, including Ronnie Montrose and Joe Satriani. But when the conversation turns to Eddie Van Halen, he still struggles to find an equal.
As Hagar prepares to bring his Best of All Worlds tour back for a limited summer run — featuring Satriani, bass guitarist Michael Anthony and drummer Kenny Aronoff — the singer has been reflecting on his years with Van Halen and on the impact the guitarist continues to have on musicians years after his death in 2020.
For Hagar, Van Halen wasn’t simply a groundbreaking guitarist. He was a transformational figure whose influence extended far beyond the instrument itself.
“I can’t imagine where guitar players would be without Eddie,” Hagar says. “He just took a fuckin’ hard left, man, and we’re going to outer space. There were great guitar players before him: Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, David Gilmour, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix.
People call him a rock god — he’s a music god. When I bring keyboard players into the band they say, ‘This guy played keyboards just as unique as he played guitar.’”
— Sammy Hagar
“I mean, Hendrix kind of did the same thing — he got that whammy bar in there and changed everything. But Eddie took the whammy bar and the hammer and the frickin’ tapping.
“But it wasn’t just the innovation of what he did; he was a great musician. He was a master. He was fuckin’ Beethoven — he was that unique. He belongs in that category.”
Hagar argues that Van Halen’s impact is often reduced to flashy technique when it should be measured by his broader contribution to modern music.
“People call him a rock god — he’s a music god, in my opinion,” he says. “When I bring keyboard players into the band now and they have to learn ‘Right Now’ and some of his keyboard parts, they’re holding their heads in their hands and saying, ‘Fuck! This guy played keyboards just as unique as he played guitar.’
“And on guitar, Joe [Satriani]’s going, ‘Wow, this chording!’”
![Van Halen - Right Now (Official Music Video) [HD Remaster] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/gU7d2EHV_OQ/maxresdefault.jpg)
In fact, Hagar believes Van Halen’s influence helped keep the guitar relevant at a time when electronic instruments were increasingly dominating popular music.
I just loved working with him. I don’t know how many songs we wrote together, but it made me a better musician. I expanded my lyrical abilities.”
— Sammy Hagar
“So I can’t imagine where guitar players would be without Eddie,” he says. “I think they probably would’ve come and gone and we’d be listening to electronic music. I think Eddie saved guitar players — he saved us so we could continue and compete with those damn keyboards and electronic instruments and Pro Tools and all that crap.”
Hagar’s admiration isn’t limited to Van Halen’s playing. He says the guitarist fundamentally changed him as a songwriter and vocalist during their decade together.
“I just loved working with him,” Hagar says. “I don’t know how many songs we wrote together, but it made me a better musician. I expanded my lyrical abilities.”
He points to songs like “Love Walks In” and “Black and Blue” as examples of the unexpected places Van Halen’s music could take him creatively.
“Like when he was playing ‘Love Walks In’ on piano — stuff came out of my mouth I would never have sung,” Hagar says. “The way his playing inspired a lyric and the words that fit melodically, rhythmically within the song, just writing with him was crazy.
So many people think the early stuff was his best stuff. Was that the best stuff? It was his simplest stuff.”
— Sammy Hagar
“I remember when we wrote ‘Black and Blue’ — it’s the most syncopated lyric/guitar thing I’ve ever heard in my life. I would never write a song like that without Eddie.”
According to Hagar, Van Halen’s writing only became more adventurous as the years went on.
While many fans still point to the band’s earliest recordings as the guitarist’s creative peak, Hagar believes some of his most sophisticated work arrived later.
“So many people think the early stuff was his best stuff,” he says. “Well, no, that was just the first time you heard him. It was so fresh and new when you heard ‘Eruption’ or ‘Spanish Fly’ or these intros on these songs.
“Was that the best stuff? It was his simplest stuff.”
![Van Halen - Can't Stop Lovin' You (Official Music Video) [HD] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/_Kh_AGh3Gqs/maxresdefault.jpg)
Hagar points to “Can’t Stop Loving You,” from 1995’s Balance, as one example of the complexity Van Halen was exploring during the band’s later years.
I was always joking that in the later years, Ed was trying to fuck me up. The way he started writing music. It was like he was saying, ‘Sing to this, asshole.’”
— Sammy Hagar
“When we play that song now, Joe looks at me and goes, ‘Wow, what a piece of music! Every single bar is different. It just keeps changing.’ And this is Joe Satriani. This isn’t some kid that’s just learning how to play guitar.”
The increasingly intricate music sometimes left Hagar wondering whether his bandmate was deliberately trying to challenge him.
“I was always joking that in the later years, Ed was trying to fuck me up,” he says with a laugh. “The way he started writing music. It was like he was saying, ‘Sing to this, asshole.’
“Like he was just trying to stretch me out until either I did it or I said, ‘I quit. I can’t do that. Make that an instrumental.’ But I did it.”
More than three decades after joining Van Halen, Hagar remains convinced that the experience represented the artistic high-water mark of his career.
“It was an honor being able to play with Eddie,” he says. “It made me a better musician. It made me a better writer. It made me a better singer, without a doubt. I did my best vocals ever with Van Halen.
“The peak of my life and my career pinnacle? Van Halen, without a doubt. Do I think I’m ever gonna be bigger than that again? Fuck no! I might be richer, but I ain’t gonna be more famous.”
