The Band Of The Month for June is Van Halen / Sammy Hagar

In July 1985, given Eddie Van Halen’s appreciation of Montrose and at his mechanic’s suggestion, the band auditioned and quickly hired Sammy Hagar to fill the lead vocalist position left by David Lee Roth. The first Van Halen album to feature Hagar, 5150, was a huge hit, and became the band’s first No. 1 album on the Billboard charts. All four studio albums produced during Hagar’s tenure in the band reached No. 1 on the Billboard pop music charts and 17 singles breached the top 12 of the mainstream rock tracks chart. Their third album together, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge was awarded the 1992 Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance with Vocal. In 1996, Sammy was replaced by Gary Cherone (Extreme), but later reunited with the band from 2003-2005.

Did you know? Here are some interesting facts about Van Halen and Sammy Hagar:

-Sammy Hagar came to prominence in the 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose.
-Patty Smyth (Scandal) and Daryl Hall (Hall & Oates) were both invited to replace David Lee Roth. Both declined.
-In 1987, Hagar had his first #1 hit on Billboard’s Album Rock Tracks with “Give to Live” from I Never Said Goodbye, released after he had joined Van Halen.
-During the recording of songs for the film Twister, escalating tension between Hagar and the Van Halen brothers boiled over and Hagar departed on Father’s Day, 1996.
-In 2002 Sammy Hagar toured with David Lee Roth in a trek dubbed the “Sans Halen Tour.” A coin toss before the tour determined who would open and who would close on the first date of the tour. They flip-flopped back and forth after that.
-In July 2004, Van Halen released a new 2-CD compilation featuring three new songs with Hagar: “It’s About Time,” “Up for Breakfast,” and “Learning to See.” These new songs were credited to Hagar/Van Halen/Van Halen, which was unusual since normally the entire lineup, which also included Michael Anthony, would be credited.
-On March 12, 2007, Hagar was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame as a member of Van Halen.
-Hagar founded the Cabo Wabo Tequila brand and restaurant chain, as well as Sammy’s Beach Bar Rum.
-Sammy and original Van Halen bassist, Michael Anthony, currently play together in a band called The Circle, with Jason Bonham, the son of the legendary Led Zeppelin drummer, John Bonham.
-Sammy Hagar would regularly have sex with 4-5 different women in the band’s backstage changing tents during
Eddie Van Halen’s 20 minute guitar solos. “Awesome! No wonder why those guitar solos were so long!” – Mick Jäger

Top 10 downloaded Van Hagar songs on iTunes:
1. Right Now
2. Why Can’t This Be Love
3. Dreams
4. When It’s Love
5. Human’s Being
6. Love Walks In
7. Poundcake
8. Can’t Stop Lovin’ You
9. Summer Nights
10. Best of Both Worlds

Some of our favorite Van Hager songs!

1. 5150
2. Dreams
3. Why Can’t This Be Love
4. Don’t Tell Me (What Love Can Do)
5. Runaround
6. Top Of The World
7. Judgement Day
8. Right Now
9. Summer Nights
10. Poundcake