Sammy Hagar recalled why he “wanted to break” David Lee Roth’s “f—-’” neck when they toured together in 2002.
In 1985, the 77-year-old singer-songwriter replaced Roth as the frontman of Van Halen, joining guitarist Eddie Van Halen, Eddie’s brother and drummer Alex Van Halen and bassist Michael Anthony.
Hagar parted ways with the legendary rock band in 1996, but later rejoined Van Halen from 2003 to 2005.
Roth was Van Halen’s lead singer from 1974 to 1985 before briefly reuniting with the band in 1996.
He returned as a full-time member of Van Halen from 2006 to their disbandment in 2020.
As Hagar and Roth fronted Van Halen during different eras, they maintained a rivalry for decades.
However, the two teamed up when they co-headlined the “Song for Song, The Heavyweight Champs of Rock and Roll” tour, though they clashed behind the scenes and in the media.
During a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Hagar weighed in on whether he would ever consider sharing a bill with Roth again.
“The circumstances would have to be right,” he said. “Dave always wants too much. He always tries to upstage. He tried to pull stuff on the Sam and Dave tour [in 2002]. The nights when he was opening, when we flip-flopped … which I would never do again. I would never bother. But look, I’m not an opening act for anybody.”
The Red Rocker claimed that Roth would let fans down by pulling out of shows at the last minute when they were touring together.
“On those nights, he would call in and say that the bus broke down, 10 minutes before he was supposed to go on,” Hagar said. “And because I care about my fans, I would go on. And I did that about four times. I wanted to break the guy’s f—-’ neck.”
“And the stupidest thing is, he did the worst when he headlined,” he added. “He couldn’t follow me with a band of kids playing Eddie’s guitar solo note for note and playing ‘Eruption’ and s—. He did his whole Van Halen show from 1983, and I’m going, ‘What an idiot!’ He should have represented himself a little more like who he was as a solo artist.”
Hagar rose to fame in the early 1970s as the lead singer of the rock band Montrose and later established himself as a successful solo act before becoming a member of Van Halen.
While speaking with Rolling Stone, Hagar shared that he felt “so fortunate” to have had a solo career prior to joining Van Halen.
“Because even Mick Jagger and people will tell you, being in the biggest rock band in the world and then trying to go solo ain’t the easiest,” he said. “And so I’m saying, I’m a very fortunate guy, and I have my own music and my own image.”
Hagar also noted that there are “a lot” of famous singers who continue to perform though their voices have deteriorated over time.
He insisted, however, that he will only sing songs that he is confident he can perform to the best of his ability.
“If I can’t sing the songs, I ain’t going to sing the songs,” he declared. “And fortunately, I got a lot of songs. I got about 600 songs I’ve written in my life between all my bands and my solo career where I can pick enough songs where I could probably do a show that are low enough to where if I can’t hit the high notes.”
“But I don’t even want to do that,” Hagar added. “I don’t want people out there screaming for ‘Dreams.’ And I can’t do it.”
