Sammy Hagar says this Van Halen classic sounds “as good as it sounded for 20 years” with Michael Anthony singing instead
Sammy Hagar has sung the praises of bassist Michael Anthony, saying his longtime bandmate can now confidently perform lead vocal duties on some Van Halen classics.
Lately, Hagar’s been showing more love to Van Halen’s Roth-era hits – something he admits wasn’t always his thing. At his recent Best of All Worlds Las Vegas residency shows, the singer tackled Panama himself, while Anthony took the mic on various fan favourites like Ain’t Talkin’ ’Bout Love, Somebody Get Me a Doctor, and Runnin’ With the Devil.
In a recent chat with Ultimate Classic Rock, the former frontman admits he’s been especially impressed by Anthony’s evolution as a singer, noting how the bassist has moved far beyond his days of providing tight, “sterile” backing harmonies to become “a really good lead vocalist.”
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“I like to get Mikey to sing lead, because he sings freaking great,” says Hagar. “People always just hear his background vocals, [but] he’s becoming a really good lead vocalist. Early on, he wasn’t, because he was always used to singing background.”
He explains that background singing requires a more restrained approach but says Anthony has since broken free of that.
“When you sing background, you have to sing very sterile. You have to sing the note and you can’t put any inflection on it or nothing. That’s the lead singer’s job. So the harmony guy has to sing very straight and very on key, and just nail the note and then hold the note [with] very little movement.”
“So when he was singing lead, it was [initially] a little stiff like that. But not anymore,” says Hagar. “In the last couple years, man, Mike’s come around. I’m listening to him sing Ain’t Talkin’ ‘bout Love and in my opinion, it sounds as good as it sounded for [the past] 20 years with him singing [it instead].”
That said, there are still a few songs Hagar keeps for himself.
“Panama is my favourite. You know, that’s the one I want to sing,” he laughs. “I don’t let Mikey sing Panama, because I like singing it. It’s a really fun song to play and sing. It’s badass.”
According to Hagar, revisiting these tracks isn’t just nostalgia; it’s about celebrating the full legacy of Van Halen, both eras included.
“We add those songs to the set because we’re doing a lot of Van Halen stuff,” he says. “Unlike the other guys that didn’t want to play my era, or can’t play my era. I like playing those songs, and I can play and sing those songs, and I think everyone appreciates them.”
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