The future of Van Halen might have appeared to be in doubt after David Lee Roth left the band in 1985, but they quickly rebounded with new singer Sammy Hagar — and the first in a series of No. 1 albums.
Van Halen’s label, Warner Bros., certainly worried over what Roth’s departure might mean for the band. During the search for Roth’s replacement, label execs argued for a name change, and for a brief period, it looked like they might opt for a rotating series of guest singers instead of recruiting a full-time frontman (or frontwoman: Scandal’s Patty Smyth has said she was approached for the job). Roth, meanwhile, was busy going platinum with his solo covers EP Crazy From the Heat.
In the midst of uncertainty, guitarist Eddie Van Halen got a tip from an unlikely source: The mechanic working on his Lamborghini shared another rock ‘n’ roll client, singer Sammy Hagar, whom the band knew from Hagar’s days fronting Montrose. Although Hagar had gone on to become a solo artist in his own right, the idea proved too intriguing not to explore.
Hagar and Van Halen quickly hit it off, and after playing with Eddie and fellow VH co-founders Michael Anthony and Alex Van Halen, he knew he needed to join what he’d later refer to as “the ultimate rock ‘n’ roll band.” After being jilted by Roth, Hagar’s new bandmates took a quick shine to their freshly appointed singer’s powerful vocals — not to mention the fact that he could play guitar, adding another component to their live show. The overall effect, as Alex liked to quip in the days after Hagar’s arrival was announced, was like driving a Porsche after years of owning a Volkswagen.
“There was no real camaraderie [with Roth],” Alex told Creem. “I’m not saying that we fought all the time or anything like that, or that we hated each other, because that’s not the truth at all. It was basically a cut-and-dried, black-and-white situation. We looked at the structure and said, “Hey, this works – okay, so let’s do it.” Well, now we have something that feels right. And works.” “Dave is a very creative guy and working with him was no problem,” Eddie told Rolling Stone. “It was living with the guy.”
