Sammy Hagar says Eddie Van Halen’s death made it “necessary” for him to carry on performing Van Halen music: “Those people who grew up with that music, they’ve got to hear it again”
Sammy Hagar feels it’s important to keep playing Van Halen music live, in order for the work of Eddie Van Halen to carry on.
Hagar and his Best Of All Worlds band are currently performing shows at Dolby Live at Park MGM for a residency. The band’s lineup includes Michael Anthony, Joe Satriani, Kenny Aronoff and Greg Phillinganes (stepping in for Rai Thistlethwayte).
READ MORE: “I’m sorry my guitar is such a pain in the butt!”: Eddie Van Halen once apologised to the Fender production line for the EVH Wolfgang’s fiddly frets
Speaking to Las Vegas Magazine, Hagar says that after Eddie’s passing in 2020, he felt it was necessary to continue performing their music for fans. Their current residency shows are billed as the “deepest dive” into the band’s catalogue yet.
“I started thinking, geez, we’re never going to play together again. Then Alex Van Halen made an announcement that he can’t play drums anymore due to his health. It’s so necessary to carry the legacy of that music on,” he says.
“The Van Hagar catalogue, I wrote every song with Eddie. Eddie wrote the music, I wrote the lyrics and the melodies. Those people who grew up with that music, they’ve got to hear it again.”
Asked if any Van Halen songs mean something different to him now, he replies, “A song like Right Now – every time I sing it, I think how it’s about right now, because something else is happening right now than what was happening in ’91 when we wrote it. And Love Walks In, I wrote about aliens and automatic writing. Now all this UFO stuff is coming out, and when I sing that song, I have a feeling it’s touching people differently.”
Soon, Eddie’s recorded work may also live on, as his brother Alex Van Halen has confirmed that he’s working on a project involving archival Van Halen material. The forthcoming project will utilise old demos, but it’s not yet clear if it will go out under the Van Halen name.
Alex has already suggested that he originally wanted Free’s Paul Rodgers to take on vocal duties, who was eventually unable to take on the job, but he’s now “looking for somebody else”. Michael Anthony, who played bass for the band between 1974 and 2006, thinks they should go forwards without one. A release date is yet to be confirmed.
The Best Of All Worlds residency ends on 21 March. The band will then continue to tour from June 2026. Find out more via the Red Rocker website.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
