Why Sammy Hagar is one of rock’s most under-rated guitar heroes

I f you looked up the phrase ‘guitar hero magnet’ in the dictionary of rock’n’roll, you’d likely see Sammy Hagar staring back at you. Consider the evidence – Hagar first came to prominence as the voice alongside the idiosyncratic yet ferociously talented guitarist Ronnie Montrose . Then, after a decade-long solo sojourn, Sammy’s magnetic field pulled him next to Eddie Van Halen – the guy who single-handedly redefined rock guitar playing as the flared 70s turned into the Day-Glo 80s. Then, by the time 2008 rolled round, the ebullient frontman found himself drawn to none other than the guitar hero’s guitar hero, Mr Joe Satriani, in Chickenfoot .

But what’s often overlooked is that Sammy Hagar is quite the guitar hero himself, even if he’s reluctant to admit it. We think of him as one of rock’s iconic vocalists, an outspoken frontman whose wows and entertains, but what about when his trademark Gibson Explorer Pro is slung low around him? What about when he truly is the Red Rocker?

“I can’t play guitar and sing. That is way too much work,” he says. “I can jam, but if I had to play everything every night, I’d be struggling a lot of the time…”

But consider the opening riff of 1979’s This Planet’s On Fire (Burn In Hell) – quite possibly the inspiration for AC/DC ’s Thunderstruck , with its speedy hammer-on, pull-off sequences and attendant solo. A guitar tour de force, and it’s all Hagar.

Sammy learned to play early on, convincing his mother to buy him a guitar, which she did once he assured her he was serious. He swayed her by learning to play one of her favourite tunes, Never On Sunday , on his friend’s instrument. “It was $39.95 – a Silvertone guitar and an amplifier in a case,” Sammy recalls. The young lad’s life would never be the same. “I barely made it through high school. Especially after I got my first guitar, I was flunking everything. My teachers would say, ‘Why don’t you apply yourself?’ All I cared about was music and girls.”

Growing up in California, Hagar copped licks from Dick Dale, the surf guitar king, nailing the frantic instrumental Miserlou .

“Then I tried to learn every solo Eric Clapton had ever done, going back to his work in the Yardbirds and in John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers. I learned the blues solo for Have You Heard note-for-note. And then when the Fresh Cream album came out, I learned those songs. The same was true for Disraeli Gears . I was more into Clapton, and Peter Green, than, say, someone like Hendrix.”

It shows, too – Hagar’s riffs and solo sequences are steeped in straightforward bluesy references as opposed to feedback-drenched experimental histrionics.

He’s no slouch on the lap steel guitar either. Although, as seems to be a recurring theme, Hagar’s reluctant to admit it: “I don’t play it very well. I make some good noises. It’s a fun thing. It’s pretty cool, you can make some crazy sounds and you can twist it and turn it. I play it with an open tuning, tuned to an E. You can go slightly flat and bend it ever so slightly sharp and really get some good emotion out of it. That’s all I’m good for. I don’t have a bunch of chops. I don’t have a technique where I can play a real song on there…”

Sammy’s modesty with regard to his abilities is off the chart (and unusual considering the ego usually associated with guitarists). Of Ten 13 – his 2000 album with The Waboritas where he shared guitar duties with Vic Johnson – he simply stated: “I let Vic play a lot of the basic tracks and then I came back and did some of them myself. He played probably half the solos. I don’t put on there who played what, because I think it’s so stupid.”

In fact, Sammy’s 1987’s solo album I Never Said Goodbye is the only record where he is credited as the sole guitarist. Somewhat ironically, Eddie Van Halen features throughout, albeit playing bass.

Hagar’s guitar prowess certainly changed the Van Halen dynamic when he joined the band. As former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony recalled in 2010: “All of a sudden we’re taking it to a new level. Not only do we have this guy who can really sing, but now we’ve got another guitar player, too. It was something new, something different, and Eddie was really into it. Sammy was the key.

“It was nothing less than a rebirth of Van Halen. There was a lot of energy flowing through that studio when we were working on the 5150 album, ideas coming left and right, all fresh and exciting. With Sammy, we had real melody. He was just a great all-around musician. Eddie could say: ‘Hey, Sam, I got this idea,’ and Sammy could pick up a guitar and go, ‘Yes, but what about this?’ That was all new with us. We started to become a more musical band.”

With Eddie experimenting with keyboards, a good deal of the guitar work on the 5150 tour was left in Sammy’s capable hands. The singer’s nightly six-string rendition of Love Walks In proved a highlight and opened many eyes to Hagar’s skill. Don’t believe us? Check out Van Halen’s Live Without A Net DVD for proof.

Despite his obvious talent, and the signature models to his name, it seems Hagar still won’t admit to being a guitar hero. Perhaps it’s because he doesn’t feel he’s paid his dues. “Because I sing and play guitar I’ve never, except in the early days, did what you’re supposed to do to become the hottest guitar slinger like a Joe Satriani or Eddie Van Halen,” he shrugs. “Those guys sat in a room and practised scales all day. I’d go in, I’d practise a few licks then I’d be going ‘ooh baby…’ and I’d start singing. So it kept me from being a real slinger.”

Slinger? Singer? Take your pick. It seems Sammy Hagar has the best of both worlds. “If you want to be a singer and a guitar player, it’s awesome,” he says. “It’s the best way to go…”

Originally published in Classic Rock Presents Chickenfoot III